Effects of low fat and low calorie diet on plasma lipid levels in the fasting month of Ramadan

OBJECTIVE: In Ramadan, which is one month of the Hijra year, Muslims change their eating habits from 3 times to 2 times daily. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of fasting with low fat and low calorie diet on anthropometric parameters and plasma lipid profiles in hyperlipidemic men during the month of Ramadan.

METHODS: This study was carried out at the Madani Heart Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran during the year of 1997. Twenty-eight hyperlipidemic healthy men in a fasting group and 10 healthy men with top normal lipid levels in a non-fasting group were voluntarily enrolled for study. They were encouraged to use low fat and low calorie diet. The study started 20 days before and lasted one month after Ramadan. Laboratory tests including plasma total cholesterol, cholesterol-low density lipoprotein, cholesterol-high density lipoprotein and triglyceride were measured 4 times; 20 days before Ramadan, first day of Ramadan, on the last day of Ramadan and 30 days after Ramadan.

RESULTS: Data analysis in fasting group revealed a significant reduction in energy intake and nutrient materials during Ramadan month (P<0.05) and plasma total cholesterol, cholesterol-low density lipoprotein and triglyceride levels decreasing towards the end of Ramadan (P<0.01). In the non-fasting group, there were no significant changes in the above-mentioned parameters.

CONCLUSION: It seems that Islamic fasting in Ramadan with low fat and low calorie diet leads to plasma lipids reduction in hyperlipidemic men.