Dieticians recommend salad, yoghurt for suhour meal

AMMAN — Dieticians recommend eating foods that are rich in potassium and low in sodium for the pre-dawn suhour meal, to help fasters endure thirst for the rest of the day. 

The suhour meal is consumed early in the morning before the daylong fast begins during Ramadan.

High levels of potassium can be found in white beans, green leaves, bananas, mushroom, avocado, dried peach and dairy products, particularly yoghurt, according to dietician Ghada Barghouthi.

"An ideal meal for suhour would be a bowl of salad containing green leaves, mushrooms and avocados, along with a glass of unsalted yoghurt," she told The Jordan Times on Thursday.  

Meanwhile, she encouraged those who fast to avoid salty, canned and processed foods for the early meal, as they trigger thirst.

She added that protein-rich foods are highly recommended for suhour, suggesting fresh animal proteins like eggs, chicken and meat, as well as fibre-rich plant proteins like beans and legumes.

People often consume sweets during the suhour meal thinking they are a source of energy, but sweets and carbohydrate-rich foods actually increase thirst, the dietician said.

The best time to eat sweets is around 11pm, as this leaves over four hours to drink water before the fast resumes.

But dietician Mohammad Abu Rayyan said dates are a good source of energy, as they contain complex sugars that break down slowly. 

He suggested eating three dates with the suhour meal, but not more than seven.

"Other Arabic sweets increase thirst," Abu Rayyan said, adding that stimulants like coffee and tea also lead to dehydration.

In addition to dates, he said a good suhour meal would be yoghurt with cucumbers and lettuce for fibre.

The best way to eliminate thirst, according to Abu Rayyan, is to drink a glass of water every 1 to 1.5 hours during the night to remain hydrated.  

Barghouthi urged fasters to sustain healthy eating habits during Ramadan and not to focus on weight loss, noting that fasting does not encourage fat burning.