Muslim Diet
What are the dietary requirements for Muslim peoples?
Diet may be an issue for Muslim patients. During Ramadan, many patients resist taking medications or eating during the daytime. Many Muslim people eat only Halal meat and dairy products (meat or by products such as rennin from animals slaughtered according to Islamic tradition). Muslims do not eat pork. Because of shyness, fear of rejection, or lack of knowledge, many may not ask for different meals and it is best to ask if there are any special dietary requirements.
Ramadan
Ethnomed Pearls of Cross Cultural Care: Ramadan, 2000. Carey Jackson MD, Negusse Ochbamichael PA, and Ali Mohammed, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA in 1999. Edited by Ellen Howard in 2000.
Ramadan is the fast held in the 9th month of the Islamic lunar calendar. This is a very important time for Muslims and many will observe it, often unknown to their non-Moslem colleagues. The community is bound together by fasting and prayer during the day and special foods to be consumed after the sun goes down. The Moslems fast from all food and water from sunrise to sunset. Imams suggest that pregnant women and the sick should exempt themselves from the fast, but many of the devout choose to participate valuing the benefit from the fast above their immediate health concerns. There is the complete abstention from food and liquids during the day, with food consumption at night. The diurnal pattern of caloric intake is obviously reversed and diabetic schedules will have to be adjusted to accommodate this significant change. Since the winter in the north means that the day is short, BID dosing before sunrise and after sunset should be not problem with many medications. Focused discussion about daytime dosing or adjustment of schedules by clinicians will be needed to accommodate the daylight requirements.
