A Muslim living with diabetes faces the challenge of balancing their faith and health to reap the benefits during Ramadan without compromising their health.
If you’re fasting this Ramadan with diabetes, there are steps you can take to prepare for a healthy, stress-free month. Check out Droobi’s checklist to prepare for Ramadan – whether you’re about to start fasting or right in the middle of the month, it’s always a good time to go through this list to equip yourself with the tools and strategies to keep your blood sugar levels steady.
Here’s a tip: Print this sheet out to refer back to it when you need to. It’s important that you take these next steps to be able to make the most out of Ramadan.
- Find out if you’re eligible to fast. It’s best to speak to your doctor about this one. You can also check out our blog post here. about when it’s recommended not to fast.
- If you are eligible to fast, become familiar with the signs and symptoms that you medically MUST break your fast for health reasons. You can find all the signs and symptoms of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia here.
- Set up an appointment with your doctor about adjusting your medication schedule for the fast. A Droobi Certified Diabetes Educator wrote a small piece about medication. But you should always follow your doctor’s advice on this one.
- Get a new blood sugar monitoring schedule. Your new schedule will be tailored to your type of medication and your previous pattern of blood sugar readings. Check out our blog post here about the best times to check your blood sugar while fasting.
- Get a custom meal plan from your Droobi coach that’s tailored for your diabetes and Ramadan schedule. Each meal plan is prepared by our dieticians to give you healthy delicious recipes that will keep your blood sugar levels steady.
- Learn about the best way to break your fast and sequence your food to avoid high blood sugar readings. We made a special guide here.
- Start going for a walk ten minutes after eating to get your body used to moving after food. A little activity will help prevent a blood sugar spike. Check out more hacks to keep your blood sugar level steady here.
- Start avoiding midday naps. It’s advised to avoid sleeping in the late afternoon if you have diabetes because you might miss the signs of having low blood sugar levels. For more information, check out our guide on how to organize your sleep this Ramadan.