Publisher's Synopsis
more than one billion people in the world are Muslims. The major religious period of the Islamic calendar is Ramadan which is considered as a period of purification, internal meditation and regeneration, when
healthy post-pubescent Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset for 4 weeks (Zerguini et al., 2007). During the month of Ramadan Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and smoking from sunrise to sunset known as Ramadan intermittent fasting (RIF). Because the Islamic calendar is lunar, Ramadan occurs at different times of the calendar year over a 33-year cycle. This causes the occurrence of Ramadan during markedly different environmental conditions in the same country in different years (Leiper et al., 2003). The length of the RIF depends on the geographical location and the season of the year, and can be as long as 18 h a day in the summer of temperate regions (Meckle et al., 2008). During the month of Ramadan people are allowed to take only two meals in each day, one just before dawn known as Sahur meal and another after sunset known as Iftar meal. All types of foods are allowed during Sahur and Iftar meal but there is a trend for the majority of Muslims to eat foods that are rich in fats, animal proteins and sugar (Chaouachi et al., 2009; Leiper et al., 2003). Normally the gap between Sahur meal and Iftar meal is about 13 hours, i.e., during the RIF, every day the fasting individuals refrain from food and fluid intake for at least 13 hours. This might be a potential cause of dehydration during this time (Ramadan, 2002; El ati et al., 1995).
Significance of Ramadan fast: Ramadan is a month of worship, and fasting is the mean of fostering piety. Muslims celebrate the glory of Allah (God) during Ramadan and thank Him for revealing the Qur'an, which they consider a guide for humanity. Muslim thinkers emphasize the religious significance of fasting and its implications for self-purification and spiritual growth, rather than the outward observance of the many rules regarding the fast (Ismail Poonawala, professor of Islamic Studies at University of California and Heather Laird.).,
