Fasting during the flu? here's how to keep it smooth

Being sick when you are not fasting can make you feel uncomfortable, especially if you are fasting. When fasting, you don't eat or drink, this makes your throat dry and can make you feel uncomfortable. Then, how do you fast when you have a cold and cough? Can fasting actually make your condition worse?

Fasting actually helps cure flu and cough symptoms

Colds and coughs are usually caused by viruses. This virus can weaken your body's defenses and increase your chances of developing an infection. So, at this time you need more defense by eating a variety of nutritious foods.

However, what if you are fasting, where maybe your food intake will be limited?

Eits, don't get me wrong. In fact, there is one study that suggests that a lack of appetite during the first few days of illness is the body's natural adaptation to fighting infection.

This means that lack of food intake during the first few days of illness can actually increase your body's immunity to fight infection.

There are several reasons why this could happen. First, the lack of hunger during fasting can help the body conserve energy, thus making the body more focused on fighting infections.

Second, restriction of dietary intake can limit the availability of iron and zinc reserves, both of which are necessary for the growth and spread of infection. So, limiting food intake may prevent the virus from growing more.

Third, lack of appetite when you are sick can help encourage your body to excrete infected cells (known as cell apoptosis).

There is another opinion that says that fasting during the flu can help remove toxins from your body, so you can recover faster.

So, you don't need to worry that if you are fasting then your illness will get worse, fasting can actually help you recover quickly.

How do you fast when you have a cold and cough?

Some things you may have to pay attention to when you are fasting and have a cold and cough.

1. Pay attention to your diet when breaking the fast and dawn. Eat foods that can help you recover faster from colds and coughs, such as fruits and vegetables that contain lots of vitamins and minerals. During colds and coughs, your body really needs vitamin C intake (as in oranges, mangoes, and papayas) to help boost immunity. High intake of protein and calories is also needed to help the body fight infection.
2. Drink lots of water at breaking the fast and dawn. This can help keep your body hydrated so you don't run out of fluids. Apart from drinking lots of drinking, you can also add a little salt to your food or drink to help replace the electrolytes your body loses through sweating.
3. Take medicine at breaking and dawn. Yes, to speed up your healing, you can take cough and cold medicines when breaking the fast or sahur. By taking the right medication, you can prevent your pain from getting worse.
4. Enough rest. If you have done all of the above, one more thing that is important for you to do to support the healing of your pain is sleep. Getting enough sleep or rest can help the body collect energy to fight infection. Your body functions at its lowest point during sleep so your immune system can work at its peak level while you are asleep.