Effect of ramadan fasting on blood chemistry in healthy volunteers

ABSTRACT

Previous reports on the effect of Ramadan fasting are limited to the analysis of blood and urine constituents in different groups of subjects and they are not sufficient to relate the alterations in blood chemistry with the physiological responses of the whole body. This study presents a detailed analysis of the effect of Ramadan fasting on a wide range of blood constituents including metabolites, enzymes and isoenzymes which are frequently used by clinicians as diagnostic tools. The analyses were performed on blood taken from healthy adult male Muslims [20-45 years of age] of the United Arab Emirates before and after Ramadan. The key metabolites glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol and lipoproteins, were measured. Serum proteins, albumin-globulin ratio, bilirubin, SGOT, SGPT and GGT, were measured to assess liver function. BUN, creatinine, electrolytes, calcium, and phosphorus were measured to assess kidney functions. In addition LDH and CPK isoenzymes were measured. A significant increase in the concentration of cholesterol, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol were observed in individuals after Ramadan fasting. However, no clinically significant changes in blood chemistry related to liver, kidney or cardiac functions were observed. It is concluded that normal healthy individuals adapt well to the change in eating-fasting schedule during Ramadan and there appears to be no adverse effect on the physiology of the body