Diabetes patients need to manage risks while fasting during Ramzan: Experts

Ramzan, the month of fasting in Islam, will begin from Tuesday and health experts have warned those with diabetes to manage risks while fasting as it can complicate the condition.

Diabetes patients need to manage risks while fasting as it adds up to potential health hazards that include dehydration and acute metabolic complications among others, experts said.

Dr Satish Koul, senior consultant and director at Narayna Hospital, Gurgaon, said when diabetic patients decide to fast, the importance of practical diabetes and spiritual fasting guidance becomes evident.

Potential health hazards include hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemia, dehydration and acute metabolic complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis.

"During fasting our body's system goes through a lot and that depends on the length of the continuous fasting. When we fast our body initially uses stored sources of glucose and then later it breaks down body fat as the next source of energy," Dr Koul said.

The severity of diabetes can be gazed by the alarming statistics by IDF Diabetes Atlas, 2017, that states, "Diabetes kills one person every eight seconds, around the world. Worldwide, 451 million people are diabetic out of which 72.9 million are in India."