Healthy eating habits for Lent

What you need to know:

  • Lent ends on Holy Thursday, a day before Good Friday the day Jesus was hanged on the cross.

As Christians go through the lent season, they focus on fasting and prayer while giving up certain luxuries such as food. This is in commemoration of the 40 days Jesus Christ spent in the wilderness without eating.
Believers fast in different ways. Some such as Diana Barungi go without eating during the day and then break their fast in the evening hours. “I only eat one full meal at about 7pm, a few hours before going to bed,” Barungi says.

Regarding what particular meals to consider for breaking a fast, Jamiru Mpiima, a nutritionist at Victoria Hospital, Bukoto says it is always better to start with liquids, including water and juices when breaking the fast. “Fluids are recommendable because they are soft and are easily digested,” Mpiima says.
Afterwards, one can then have a meal of any solid food. “One can eat any affordable meal as long as what they are eating comprises a balanced diet,” he says. Mpiima says as much as one can eat anything they want, it is very important to eat moderate amounts and not “too much” food.
“Eating a lot of food at a go can cause one digestive complications including constipation and diarrhoea,” he says.

Drinking water
As much as food is excluded from a fast, there are Christians who opt to only drink water.
“I only take water during the day and eat at night,” Tiffany Tendo, a Catholic, says.
Tendo says the water helps to revive her system, a crucial aspect that enables her perform required tasks during the day. “For the previous years, I was not taking water and I would become so thirsty and dull. My lips would dry out as well and people would often wonder what was wrong with my health,” she says.
Dr Ismail Tamale, a nutritionist at Taimex Uganda, says in order for the different body systems to function well, it is important for one to drink water.
Tamale emphasises that Christians who are breaking their fast eat foods that are compatible to their body systems. “One can visit a nutrition centre where they will be assessed before being told what foods to consider for their blood group and genetic formation,” Tamale notes.

Important to note
It is important that one tries as much as possible to be mindful of their behaviour and hygiene during this time.
“Sometimes when people are fasting, they prefer solitude. By doing so, they limit their interaction with people which in the end may cause bad breath,” says Jackie Nankya, a life coach. “Be happy and talk to people. By doing so, your mouth will not emit a bad smell,” she says.
Lent ends on Holy Thursday, a day before Good Friday the day Jesus was hanged on the cross.