Ramadan fasting in health and disease (2019): A narrative review

Abstract

Introduction: Literature on the health aspects of Ramadan fasting (RF) is widespread in many journals, making it less readily available to those interested in the subject. Materials and Methods: This is a narrative, nonsystematic review of international literature from two major online databases (viz., Scopus and PubMed) in 1 year (2019). The search term “RF” was used, and relevant literature was narrated in a concise thematic account excluding diabetes. Results: The publications spanned the fundamental, clinical, ethical, professional, cultural, and advocacy facets of the subject. The publications crossed the conventional disciplinary lines and geographical locations and appeared in journals with different access systems. The content is presented under relevant themes depending on the available literature. Basic coverage included changes in physiology, nutrition, and metabolism during Ramadan. Clinical aspects such as the impact of RF on kidney function, pregnancy outcome, fetal life, structure and function of eyes, and athletes' well-being received comparatively prominent coverage by researchers in 2019. Gut, liver, skin, skeleton, and blood were also covered. Other workers focused on documenting the perception, attitudes, and practices of both patients and health-care professionals during Ramadan. Conclusions: The health aspects of RF received sustained academic interest with a wide spectrum in 2019. We provided a scoping overview to help researchers and clinicians catch up quickly with the state-of-the-art today.

Biochemical and Physiological Effects of Food-Induced Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) in our Population. A Comparative Clinical Study

“…20 These foods are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and may have antiinflammatory properties that can help reduce esophageal inflammation and GERD symptoms. 21,22 In addition, the Mediterranean diet is known to be associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, which may also have beneficial effects on GERD symptoms. 3,6,23 Our study also found that both dietary interventions led to significant improvements in quality of life for patients with GERD.…”

Ramadan fasting in health and disease (2020): A narrative review

“…Due to the extensive number, articles on diabetes were submitted separately elsewhere and were excluded from the present manuscript. [6] The selected articles were reviewed and narrated thematically to provide reasonably concise but adequate representative reading material. Only fulltext research articles and systematic reviews-meta analyses in English were included.…”

“…The literature published in 2017-2019 has been reviewed previously. [4][5][6] The present article aims to provide a thematic overview of the global research work in 2020. For practical reasons, the narrations of the diabetes-related literature of 2019 and 2020 were published separately.…”

Diabetes, Kidneys, Heart, and Ramadan

“…These "year in review" articles have been a regular feature of their activities since 2018. [1][2][3][4] Many found them useful in bringing together all the years of work under a single cover. Also, Habas et al provided a comprehensive review and update on sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors' mechanism of action and use in the high-risk group of kidney transplantation recipients.…”