Drawing attention to the significance of balanced nutrition and avoiding food waste during Ramadan, ALKU Faculty of Health Sciences, Head of Nutrition and Dietetics Department Prof. Dr. Meltem Soylu emphasized: ‘Eating more than necessary can cause blood sugar to rise and fall rapidly and increase the rate of fat in the blood.
Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University (ALKU) Faculty of Health Sciences, Head of Nutrition and Dietetics Department Prof. Dr. Meltem Soylu drew attention to the issues of balanced nutrition and waste during Ramadan and warned. Reminding the health benefits of fasting, Prof. Dr. Meltem Soylu underlined that this benefit can only be achieved through sufficient and balanced nutrition. Stating that the digestive system should not be overloaded during fasting, Prof. Dr. Meltem Soylu said, ‘We should be careful not to consume too much while consuming the abundant and varied meals we prepare during fasting, iftar and sahur meals. Otherwise, it may be possible to experience unwanted metabolic processes such as a rapid rise in blood sugar after the meal and then a rapid fall and an increase in the rate of fat in the blood after the meal, which we call postprandial lipidaemia. For this reason, it is recommended to start iftar meals with one of the soups containing dried legumes, vegetables or yoghurt, or with a thin slice of cheese, a few olives or dried apricots, dates and a whole walnut, take a break for a few minutes after eating them and then have the main meal containing dried legumes, chicken and fish; It will reduce our desire to consume too much food at a time and to overeat.’
‘9 THOUSAND TONNES OF FOOD IS WASTED IN OUR COUNTRY EVERY YEAR’
Emphasising that food waste increases during Ramadan, Prof. Dr. Soylu said, ‘Approximately 9 thousand tonnes of food is wasted annually in our country. In order to prevent this waste, meals should be prepared in a planned manner, leftover food should be frozen or utilised with different recipes.’ Stating that according to researches, daily bread waste reaches 4.9 million, Soylu emphasised that excess bread and pitas can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, and stale bread can be reused in different dishes. Underlining that food waste has no place in Turkish and Islamic tradition, Soylu said, ‘According to the United Nations Food Waste Index 2024 Report, a total of nearly 9 thousand tonnes of food was wasted in our country and 102 kg of food per person was thrown away. While these foods are thrown away, the natural resources of our country are wasted and the efforts of our farmers are wasted. Actually, it is possible to avoid food waste with a little care and attention.’
‘AVOID FAST FOOD, EAT FRUIT AND VEGETABLES’
Prof. Dr. Meltem Soylu pointed out the things to be considered for a healthy diet and said, ‘Food should be purchased from local producers and local markets in accordance with the season. Vegetables such as spinach, carrot, chard, leek, asparagus, celery, beetroot, red radish, broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin and fruits such as apple, orange, banana, banana, pear, grapefruit, quince, pomegranate, grapefruit are foods that are abundant and should be preferred during Ramadan. In addition, contrary to the fast-food trend, we should try to protect our traditional nutrition culture; products with geographical sign registrations should be preferred. In our Alanya district, Güllüklü soup, banana, avocado, carob, loquat, loquat, pistachio lemonade are foods that have received geographical indications of origin.’ Prof. Dr. Meltem Soylu wished Ramadan to bring peace, health and prosperity and said that conscious consumption and balanced nutrition are of great importance for public health.
