ISLAMABAD - As people prepare to end their fasts to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, health experts have suggested to avoid over-eating and excessively spicy and greasy food on Eid.
According to them, people should allow their bodies time to adjust. If people eat too much they can find themselves with unpleasant side effects, such as non-ulcer dyspepsia, food poisoning, indigestion and other stomach-borne conditions as the patients are brought after Ramazan in the hospitals, with the majority complaining of diarrhea and food poisoning.
Dr. Waseem Khawaja from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said that people should take small and frequent meals and avoid heavy meals soon after Ramazan. A normal person should take 3 to 4 litre water and do not take spicy and oily or fried items. He said that cases of gastroenteritis, diarrhoea and food poisoning were already showing an increase due to monsoon season and after Ramazan such cases increase manifold due to overeating and bad eating habits.   He advised diabetic patients to avoid consuming too much sweets and blood pressure patients to avoid taking too much salty dishes. He said that unhealthy meals increase the problems of Ulcer patients so that they should also avoid taking spicy and oily diet.
Dr. Sharif Astori from Polyclinic said that increase in humidity creates conditions optimum for the growth of bacteria. The time in which food decays decreases and food produces more toxins than usual and unfresh food causes food poisoning or dehydration. He also suggested avoiding oily and spicy food items in this season that get rotten within few hours and create vomiting, diarrhea and other stomach problems.
He said during Eid days outpatient departments are closed so emergency of the hospital treat such patients. He said that the emergency witness huge rush of such patients and the number gets double during Eid days. He advised to take light and digestible food after a month long fasting of Ramazan.