Nutrition Specialist Lecturer Kübra Şahin, drawing attention to the importance of increasing meal frequency, balanced food consumption, adequate fluid intake, and ensuring portion control during the month of Ramadan, said, “The best menu for Suhoor is breakfast-style nutrition. Soup, which will provide a feeling of fullness to the stomach, should be included in the menu.”
Şahin, who recommended making at least 2 snacks to eat frequently and in small portions between Iftar and Suhoor, said, “One must wake up for Suhoor to boost metabolism and avoid gaining weight.”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Lecturer Kübra Şahin made important warnings about healthy eating during Ramadan.
Iftar, Suhoor, and snacks should be balanced!
Nutrition Specialist Kübra Şahin, drawing attention to the importance of increasing meal frequency, balanced food consumption, adequate fluid intake, and ensuring portion control, emphasized that during Ramadan, the number of meals should be arranged to include Iftar, definitely Suhoor, and 2 small snacks, reaching a total of at least 4 meals. Şahin said, “Every day, the 4 basic food groups (cheese/egg/meat/chicken/fish group, milk/yogurt group, vegetable-fruit group, and grain group) should be consumed in specific amounts evenly and balanced during Iftar, Suhoor, and night meals.”
Ramadan is incomplete without soup!
Nutrition Specialist Kübra Şahin, also noting that soups are the most important starter food on Ramadan tables, said, “For main meals; soup, lean-skinless meat varieties like meat-chicken or fish, vegetable and legume dishes, salads made from various vegetables, whole grains like bulgur, tarhana, noodles, rye, whole wheat or mixed multi-grain breads, and compote or hoşaf should definitely be preferred to ease digestion. When breaking the fast, it is advisable to start with soup, then take a break, and resume eating with light meals such as meat-vegetable stew; allowing time for slow digestion, continue after 15-20 minutes with low-fat / grilled meat dishes, legumes, vegetable dishes, salad, ayran, cacık. This will be effective both in providing a feeling of fullness and in preventing digestive problems.”
The best menu for Suhoor is breakfast!
Şahin, who recommended choosing meat or meatless vegetable dishes as main courses, red meat 1-2 days a week, white meat 3-4 days, and legume dishes 1-2 days, continued as follows:
“The best menu for Suhoor is breakfast-style nutrition. Soup, which will provide a feeling of fullness to the stomach, should be included in the menu. Consuming foods high in protein increases the duration of satiety. For example, boiled eggs or an omelet with peppers and tomatoes are very suitable foods for Suhoor. If high-fiber bread products such as whole wheat flour bread, rye bread, or bran bread are consumed instead of regular bread, the feeling of fullness will increase. Additionally, milk consumption is important both for providing a feeling of fullness and for its fluid content. Protein and calcium-rich foods like yogurt, cacık, and ayran should also be included in meals.”
At least 2 snacks should be consumed between Iftar and Suhoor
Şahin, emphasizing that instead of high glycemic index foods like white bread and rice pilaf that rapidly raise blood sugar, fiber-rich, low glycemic index foods such as bulgur pilaf, whole wheat bread, or whole wheat pasta should be preferred, said, “For snacks; fresh seasonal fruits, soup, ice cream, milk desserts, dried fruits, and oily seeds should be preferred. At least 2 snacks should be made to eat frequently and in small portions during the period between Iftar and Suhoor.”
At least 2 servings of fruit should be consumed raw or as compote daily
Şahin also stated that at least 2 servings of fruit should be consumed raw or as compote daily, saying, “Foods high in sugar quickly raise and lower blood sugar, which will cause you to get hungry very quickly the next day and your blood sugar to drop much faster. Instead of syrupy desserts; milk or fruit desserts should be preferred. Consuming large quantities of pastry-based foods believed to be filling, such as mantı, pasta, börek, gözleme, bread, and fried foods, at Suhoor is dangerous. Because these types of foods can cause heaviness, burning, and sourness in the stomach upon waking up.”
Tea should be drunk 2 hours after meals!
Lecturer Kübra Şahin, noting that the body's water needs are met by metabolic water, daily consumed liquids (such as tea, coffee, freshly squeezed fruit juices, ayran, compote juice), and eaten foods, said, “An average of 2–2.5 liters of water should be consumed between Iftar and Suhoor to meet fluid requirements. It is not correct to drink tea or coffee immediately after eating. Substances found in tea and coffee reduce iron absorption. Therefore, tea or coffee should be drunk at least 2 hours after a meal.”
Pay attention to the satiety signal!
Lecturer Kübra Şahin, pointing out that after a day-long fast during Ramadan, people consume food very quickly and in large quantities at Iftar, said, “This habit causes blood sugar to rise rapidly. The brain generates a satiety signal at least 20 minutes after starting to eat. Therefore, eating quickly will cause more food to be consumed and weight to be gained until the satiety signal is generated. Since one remains hungry from Suhoor until Iftar, the metabolic rate gradually slows down. A person may lose some weight initially, but after a while, weight loss stops, and then weight gain occurs. To protect against these negative effects, meal frequency should be increased.”
Suhoor to prevent weight gain…
Nutrition Specialist Kübra Şahin, stating that to prevent weight gain with a balanced and healthy diet, the energy intake must first be reduced, said, “It is not correct to consume all foods in a single meal after a long period of hunger. Therefore, it should be consumed in small amounts, dividing the meals. The most important point to increase metabolic rate is to eat small amounts frequently. One must wake up for Suhoor to boost metabolism and avoid gaining weight. Suhoor meals should be consumed slowly, chewing thoroughly. Raw vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, which are low in energy, high in liquid content, and rich in Vitamin C, must be included in Suhoor. In cases where there is no desire to eat much at Suhoor, 1 glass of milk and 1 portion of fruit will be sufficient to keep blood sugar balanced.”
Light meals should be preferred for Iftar
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Lecturer Kübra Şahin, noting that another way to increase metabolic rate is to consume all foods at Iftar by dividing them and taking breaks, rather than eating them all at once, concluded her words by saying, “Light meals should be preferred. Desserts, fruits, and nut-type foods should not be consumed immediately after the meal. These should be consumed with 1-hour intervals. The energy expended on a fasting day is different from the energy expended on a normal day. Therefore, having a balanced nutrition program will especially prevent the increase in body fat.”