By Zubeida Jaffer
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. We all grew up with this familiar saying. This Ramadan (Islamic month of fasting), I learnt that a banana a day was an equally good idea.
Fasting is a time for self-reflection and seeking to consciously become a better version of oneself. I want to share three learnings as the month comes to an end.
I have experienced sluggish digestion over the past year and before the fast, I thought it would be useful to have an acupuncture treatment to unblock different meridians in my body. The acupuncturist based in Military Road Steenberg and is a pharmacist did not have an available appointment and so we had a telephone consultation. After listening to me, he suggested that I cut out bread and see what happens. I decided to do so for the month of Ramadan and to eat a banana instead with a teaspoon of peanut butter every morning.
I could not believe the immediate effect it had. I have for a long time now not experienced such a well-functioning digestive system. But then I was a bit concerned about having a banana every day and asked Google. Google confirmed that a banana is very good for one’s gut health. It also helps lessen the risk of heart disease and strokes. It has a host of minerals that are beneficial including potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C.
So, a banana a day for breakfast will be my new normal. I do love toast though.
The second thing I learnt was when I read about the findings of Yoshinori Ohsumi who was awarded a Nobel Prize for Physiology in 2016. Ohsumi has proved and found that when a person is hungry (fasting) in a period of not less than 8 hours and not more than 16 hours, the body will form a special protein throughout the body called autophagosome. This has been compared to a giant broom that collects useless dead cells.
According to Ohsumi, the concept of autophagy is to make the body hungry. When a person’s body is hungry, then the cells of his body are also hungry.
These hungry cells will eat their own cells that are no longer useful or cells that have been damaged or dead cells, so as not to become garbage in the body.
In this way, the body of a fasting person will cleanse itself.
Oshumi has concluded from his research that a person should undergo the practice of starvation (FASTING) two or three times a week. The month of fasting is compulsory in Islam, but Muslims are also encouraged to fast on a Monday and Thursday every day of the year.
This means that the concept of AUTOPHAGI has actually been suggested more than 1400 years ago by the Prophet Mohammed (Peace be Upon him)…
My third learning comes from the Holy Quran. I grew up with parents who always taught me that we had to respect all of God’s prophets and not discriminate against people of different religions. This Ramadan I was pleased to find the verse in the great book that confirms this. It reads as follows:
“The same religion has He
Sura XLII, Verse 13
Established for you that
Which He enjoined on Noah-
(and other prophets)…
… so that you remain
Steadfast in Religion and make
No divisions therein.”
The essence of the prophetic messages remain the same and yet we seek what divides us rather than what binds us together.
This month was truly blessed. I hope I will live to enjoy another Ramadan.
May all Muslims in South Africa and the world over have a blessed Eid. May we be conscious of all those less fortunate than ourselves who fast not out of choice but struggle to feed themselves every day in our unequal country and unequal world.
Monday 02 May 2022
