Fasting - when done right - purifies the soul, enhances mental clarity, and cleanses and detoxifies the body. One of the objectives of the fast in Ramadan is to eat less. This means that our days and nights should not revolve around food and setting out lavish meals for iftar each evening. During Ramadan we should acclimatize our bodies to get by on little food; the significance of food in our lives should diminish. During Ramadan, reducing food consumption in general is advisable. In particular, cutting back on meat during Ramadan will help our souls feel lighter - less weighed down and bogged down - and will help improve our health in more ways than one. Most animal foods are high in fat, especially the type of fat that is bad for your heart and bad for your health. Red meat, such as beef and lamb, is higher in saturated fat than most other types of meat. Plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, and legumes are lower in fat, cholesterol and overall calories than animal foods. Plant foods are higher in fiber, water, and some vitamins, such as vitamin C and the B vitamins. A study published in 2012 in Archives of Internal Medicine found that red meat is associated with higher mortality from heart disease. Too much saturated fat in the diet can increase blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and triglycerides in the blood. Fatty deposits play a role in the narrowing of the arteries, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Saturated fat is is even a culprit in the development of cancer. Studies of vegetarian populations show that vegetarians have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels, lower body weights, and a lower incidence of heart disease, gout, cancer, and diabetes than the meat-eating population. A report by Brown University stated that switching to a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of ovarian, breast, and colorectal cancer. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that meat is contaminated with higher levels of pesticides than any plant food. This build up of toxins in animal meats occurs because most chemical pesticides are fat soluble and they accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals that feed on crops sprayed with pesticides. These chemicals are directly passed on to the human consumer. For better health, try going meatless this Ramadan. Beef, lamb, poultry, and all seafood are permissible in Islam, but meat was never the center of Prophet Muhammad's diet. Some scholars, such as Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, have said that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a semi-vegetarian, because he did not eat a lot of meat. According to the narrations we have about the lifestyle and diet of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), we learn that meat was eaten infrequently, and only on rare occasions. Aisha, the wife of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said to her nephew, “O my nephew, we would sight three new moons in two months without lighting a fire (to cook a meal) in the Prophet's houses. Her nephew asked, “O Aunt, what sustained you?” Aisha said, “The two black things; dates and water, but the Prophet (peace be upon him) had some Ansar neighbors who had milk-giving she-camels, and they used to send the Prophet (peace be upon him) some of its milk.” The close companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Abu Hurairah, reported, “The family of Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not eat their fill for three successive days, until he died.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) encouraged drinking the milk of cows, while he warned against eating too much beef. Imam Suyuti in his al-J?mi'as-Sagh?r narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “The milk of the bovine (cow) contains healing and its meat is a cause for sickness.” The Prophet's companions followed in his footsteps; meat was considered a luxury enjoyed only on rare occasions and was never a staple of their diet. This is a far cry from our eating habits today; in some households meat is eaten every day, or even more than once a day. The consumption of meats is not prohibited in Islam, but it isn't encouraged either. The second Caliph of the Muslims, Umar ibn Al-Khattab, did not allow Muslims to eat meat every day. Umar ibn Al-Khattab said, “Beware of meat; it has an addictiveness like the addictiveness of wine.” If you look at the diet of the average, modern person, meat is consumed every day; as if it were an absolute necessity or an addiction. Some Muslim scholars, when they were to take on new students in their learning circles often stipulated as one of the conditions to agree to have the new students study under them, was that they were only allowed to eat meat once a week. Unlike the early Muslims, the modern Muslims have a near obsession with the consumption of meat: burgers, steak, steak sandwiches, kabobs, or shawerma. To prevent diseases, improve our health, and also to strive to emulate the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the simple, non-ostentations life that he led, we can make this month of Ramadan, a meatless month. The plant world is abundant in delicious foods that we can rely on. Although the Prophet (peace be upon him) only rarely ate meat, he did eat lamb on certain occasions, and he did not forbid the Muslims from eating meats. Whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) was invited by any of his companions for a meal and was served cooked lamb, he always chose a piece of meat from the shoulder. A mainstay in the Prophet's diet was bread with vinegar, and bread with olive oil. The Prophet (peace be upon him) favored eating barley soup, dates, honey, cucumbers, figs, pomegranate, melons, and pumpkin. He regularly drank milk; and he recommended his companions to drink milk.
