The importance of Electrolytes with Dr Rae Aboobakr

0:0016th, 16th, Central, African Time. Assalamu alaikum and welcome back to the show. It is well in this Wednesday on the Sephirakaga on air show live and radio. So I'm international this afternoon. I'm chatting to Dr. Issa Abu Bakr. And we're talking about a topic that I'm seeing every way. I'm seeing Reels, I'm seeing Instagram, Reels, I'm seeing TikToks about it. And it's the importance of hydration. During a month of Ramadan, people are sharing recipes for electrolytes. I've shared a few on the show as well. But we're gonna break it down and find out exactly why hydration is important. And Dr. Issa is joining me on the line Assalamu alaikum, Dr. Issa. Welcome back to the show. It's lovely to have you with us this afternoon. Welcome, Salam. And JazakAllah for having me on your show once again. You're most welcome. So it's an interesting topic because we now at the end of summer, Alhamdulillah, the days are quite long, longer than we used to for quite a few years. It's a little bit hot in now. Everybody seems to be having a conversation about the importance of electrolytes. So let's talk about it. How important are electrolytes for anybody out there that's fasting?

1:00I think that it's more about how hydrated can your body manage to be on its own with or without electrolytes. Most of us, and I would say most of the Muslim community who is fasting tends to forget about eating enough protein in Ramadan. And therefore they have low muscle mass or they tend to lose muscle mass in Ramadan. And muscle is where we hold our water. So we generally need to supplement with an electrolyte. It can be homemade, it can be a lab form or lab formula. But we really do need to make sure that our hydration levels are optimal. And the reason for this is not just so that we can function during the day, but those who come to the end of the day and develop a severe fatigue and have a lot of headaches and find that they're suffering with dizziness and brain fog and they can't concentrate and the energy is just low. These are signs of dehydration. So it's really important to keep yourself hydrated. Especially because our fasting means that we don't eat or drink during the day.

2:01So we are definitely using fluids in this warm weather, especially during summer. And especially if you're still exercising, you need to make sure that you are more hydrated than somebody who is more sedentary. Does everybody need an electrolyte? I would say it depends. So obviously it depends on your health conditions as well. You need to check with your doctor before taking any supplements. I would say try and go the natural route. So if you can do coconut water, that's safe for almost anybody. If you can make yourself a homemade electrolyte with which is basically just a glass of water, a pinch of salt, a squeeze of lemon and some pre-soaked chia seeds, then you can, that's such a natural way of keeping yourself hydrated. But if you don't know how to, you've never taken an electrolyte before or you've never made a homemade electrolyte drink before sea guidance before doing so. Because for example, we see many patients who say, they're making a homemade electrolyte, but now they constipate it. And when you dig deeper and you ask them

3:03as to how they're making it, they're putting in the wrong quantities of ingredients or they're not soaking those chia seeds beforehand. And chia seeds tend to absorb a lot of water. So you're not going to absorb that water anymore. The chia seeds are going to absorb it all and it's going to become a hot clump in your digestive system causing things like constipation, which can mimic the symptoms of dehydration. Speaking about chia seeds, I'm going to be mentioning a little bit later in the show, the health benefits of it. It's really becoming a super food, especially for the month of Ramadan. I'm seeing all the chia puddings, but how does chia seeds actually help with hydration, Dr. Ray? So when you pre-soaked chia seeds, then you must try to do it like I would tell my patients, keep the chia seeds in your fridge up to a whole week. So the day you put it in, the next day you go and check, look at it in the water. Don't soak it in almond milk. Try to soak it in water. Because then you can use it for multiple different uses. You can put it in your water, you can put it in, mix it with your yoghurt. And then watch every day as it gets thicker and thicker, you can add in more and more water.

4:05So chia seeds, when they are pre-soaked, they allow your body to stay hydrated. They allow you to absorb water through the seed that is now plumped up. Whereas if you just took chia seeds and you put them in your glass now and you drink them, then you're not going to get as much benefit because you're not going to get as much fluid as the chia seed is going to still need to absorb moisture in your digestive system. The chia seeds in general are very nutrient dense. They are high being fiber as well. So they help with constipation. They're full of omega-3 fatty acids, they're good for your thyroid gland, they're full of antioxidants. They even have minerals like calcium and magnesium for those of us who are vitamin D deficient and worry about our bone health and where we're going to get calcium from. It's a good source of minerals as well. And then it also supports not only your digestive health but your heart health and your bone strength. Because of their ability to form the soft gel, it actually is really good for keeping your feeling full as well, those people who are trying to lose weight.

5:06You know, we try to make the most out of Ramadan and include in our weight loss journey. So for a person who's trying to lose weight and they find themselves very hungry during the day, pre-soaking those chia seeds can keep your insulin levels down. It can help you to slow down your gastric emptying like a natural GRP one. And it maximizes hydration because they've been pre-soaked and they are now full of those little water molecules. So you must try to have about, you know, about 10 grams of fiber from the chia seeds is what we are getting. So have about a tablespoon that's pre-soaked. That tablespoon is now going to grow into like four or five tablespoons. Because they're so nutrient dense, they also have protein. It's a complete protein source. A lot of females struggle to eat protein. And we need protein as we get older because we, as females, we tend to lose muscle mass. And remember, we said if we lose muscle mass, we also become dehydrated because the muscle holds water.

6:07And then interesting facts, if you are, you'll notice that people who have very low muscle mass or low muscle tone, when they drink water, it literally goes through them. So they'll have a glass of water and they'll need to run to the glue like about 20 minutes later. And I'm sure that those who have low muscle mass are now realizing when I say this, that, you know, this is the reason that their body doesn't hold onto water. But it's also a reason why that patient doesn't feel thirsty. It's because they don't have enough muscle to hold onto the water. So eating more of the chia seeds will help you to develop more muscle or in any case, any type of protein, whether it's an animal protein, a plant-based protein, is going to help you to build muscle. And the interesting thing is, in terms of building muscle, in Ramadan, not many of us are going to the gym, we tend to put that on a back seat. But building muscle starts in what you're putting in your diet. So if you just start by eating more protein, you'll automatically build more muscle and you'll automatically be able to be more hydrated this Ramadan.

7:09Speaking of GRP ones, is anybody who's on a GRP one medication this Ramadan, should they also up the electrolytes? Oh, definitely. Everybody should up the electrolytes because of the severe heat that we are going through at the moment. This is not normal. The last Ramadan that we experienced wasn't as intense. Also, the fasts are longer. I mean, we have some of our fasts have been 14 hours or longer. So it's important that you, you see, if somebody who's on a GRP one, if you don't hydrate well enough, you risk yourself going into changes in your blood sugar levels. So your blood sugar could drop too low. And one of the things we do with a fasting patient is if their blood sugar is too high or too low, we just simply ask them to break their fast with water and their blood sugar tends to regulate. So imagine a simple thing like that, just keeping yourself hydrated can promote healthier blood glucose levels.

8:11When is the best time to take your electrolytes? Do you take it when you're breaking your fast, when you're opening your fast, do you take it at so hard time? Okay. So there's a difference of opinion. I believe that it's better to take your electrolytes closer to the time of dehydration. So I tend to split my electrolytes. I have most of them in the evening when I open my fast. And then I will have a top up in the morning like a quarter teaspoon of an electrolyte just to keep me energy-fold and also because I like to exercise in the morning. So you have to see for you as an individual what to expect. So if you find yourself having more energy by having a full dose of electrolytes in the morning, then you should do that. But ideally the research says that start your electrolytes when you are becoming more dehydrated. So that would be at the end of the day fast because we haven't eaten or had anything to drink during the day. So you're going to open your fast. It's better to open your fast with electrolytes. It's better to open your fast with electrolytes, yes.

9:13And then do you opt for homemade, the coconut water, or do you opt for going and purchasing the little seashells? I know they have heavily marketing it right now. Yes. Say I heavily market it. I took the bait. I went to buy the revive ones. They're quite interesting. But what would your suggestion be? So I believe you can do both. So what I do is when I open my fast in the evening, I have an electrolyte that is natural, like coconut water. And I'll have that with my thumbs-um and my regular water. And it's not a lot. I'm not drinking like two glasses of coconut water. It's about 150 moles. It instantly hydrates you. You actually feel it when you have a cold glass of coconut water. You actually feel yourself tend to wake up. And then in the morning at 3D time, because I know I want to exercise in the morning part of the day, then I take our electrolyte, which is called drive, which has vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and electrolytes in it. And I will change the dosage depending

10:14on what's my day going to be like, or what my kids are going to be doing. So if I know today's a hectic day for my son, he's got after school sports, then I'm going to give him a little bit of a higher dose of an electrolyte. And you obviously need to read the packaging of the electrolyte that you are purchasing or speak to the healthcare provider, providing it, so that you know how to adjust the dose for each of your family members. But there is no harm in taking home made electrolytes. The difference is that when you buy one that is provided for you by a healthcare provider or from a pharmacy, they may be added ingredients like vitamins and minerals or amino acids. And the difference is that the mineral salts are just from a different source. So one may be lab made, and the other may just be a naturally occurring magnesium salts. For example, Epsom salts is a form of magnesium salts, and then you get magnesium salts that are lab made that are a different formulation. But just as both are beneficial, they may have different benefits on the body.

11:16So one might be better for your muscles, one might be better for hydration, one might be better for concentration or for your skin. So I definitely believe, and for me as an individual, I am not somebody who likes to take protein powder and things like that's not me. I'd rather go and make my own smoothie made out of protein-rich ingredients like chia seeds. So I got a question from a listener and she says, why do you feel so exhausted after breaking the fast that I have no energy to even contemplate making terawi? I just want to crush, I feel so tired. So should I be taking electrolytes? So we just have this conversation with the patient. She said to me today, you know, I'm absolutely fine when I'm fasting during the day. Like I have so much of energy I can do so many things, but when I break my fast and I have thought and then it's time for terawi my energy levels drop, I just crash. And the reason for that is what are we breaking our fast with? So if we're gonna be having dates and we're gonna be having some usas and we're gonna have pies and savory buns

12:18and then we're gonna have like a curry and rice and halim and all of that, most of these things are very high carb. So you tend to have an insulin spike that causes you to crash and that is when you feel absolutely exhausted. All of your blood is now sitting in your stomach trying to digest these starches and your blood sugar is starting to climb and your body just needs to rest in that moment. So the better thing for you to do is when you open your fast be wary of how many dates you're having so that you don't have any and what type of dates you're having also so you don't have any blood sugar spikes and prepare an iftar that is high in protein. I was having a conversation with an elderly woman the other day and she said, you know, I'm trying to eat more halim at iftar time so that I can lose weight but halim is high in carbs. So if it's not going to help you to lose weight you need to have a protein, a soup that is protein rich or you need to adjust your halim recipe so that there is more protein in there by adding some lentils or maybe even adding some bone broth or collagen powder to that.

13:20I'm putting bone broth in everything. This is Ramadan and it's really helping with the energy and another question is, is electrolyte safe to give out kids? They have a very long day with fasting in school in sports in extramurals. Should you be giving them a sachet of store-bought electrolytes? Yeah, so for kids I wouldn't do a whole sachet. I would probably do half a sachet depending on their weight. They have a refrigerator of a human being. You know, it's interesting if you go into an elevator and you see how many people it allows. You know, it says like 11 persons or so and it'll tell you the total number of weight the elevator can take and you divide that you'll see the average human being. 16th, 30th, Central, African Dime. I to think we just lost our connection with Dr. Issa. We're going to try and get her back in Shalah. If you've just tuned into the program, we're talking about the importance of electrolytes and especially during the month of Ramadan. If you have any questions on the topic, please drop it to the WhatsApp line. 0727861548

14:20alternatively you can DM me of questions on Etsufiraka and aim. And we've got about five minutes. So we will take all of your questions. Dr. Ray, are you with us? Hello, I'm not here. Are you with us? I'm with you. I can't. Sorry, we just have got to be saying that for the child, maybe if they weigh less than 40 kilos, then you should consider doing half a sachet instead of a full sachet of electrolytes. Because remember, electrolytes also contain sugar. And especially the store board ones, they contain sugar. And you don't want your kid now going on a sugar high and then crashing at school. So it's better to do half a sachet for the child. You're also saying the average weight of an individual, what would it be? I'm just curious about that. The average weight is different for each individual. But I was saying, if you look at the general public, if somebody is of average height, which you say for the female, about 1.6155 to 1.6, then their height should be between 40 and 60 kgs.

15:22But that's not going to be the same for everybody because somebody might have more mast or mass or have water retention and they are going to weigh more. So you can add another 10 kilos to that. But I was saying in an elevator, if you, it's just for interest sake, if you go into an elevator and you look at what it says, that it takes maybe 20 persons or 11 persons and the total weight that the elevator can take, they are averaging that the average human being, male or female, should be about 70 to 80 kgs. If you do the math in the elevator, it's very interesting to see that. I always check when I'm in the elevator, what it says, because it just interests me so much on how, how it actually quite true and quite apt that the average human being is about 70 to 80 kgs. And as we go more into eating more take-out food and more processed food and things that come in boxes, the way to average weight of an individual is sending to raise. So from 40 to 60 kilos now, the average person that height is about 70 to 80 kgs.

16:25Absolutely. We've got another question. Is it safe to take electrolytes if you have high blood pressure? So you'd need to check with your doctor because remember electrolytes do contain salt and that can raise your blood pressure. I would say then you'd rather go for a natural electrolyte like coconut water because it's not high salt containing. It's just electrolyte based on the amount of natural sugar that's in there. So I say if you wanted to do a homemade electrolyte would be not to use regular salt, but maybe you use Celtic salt or Himalayan salt so that your blood pressure doesn't spike. But you would definitely need to review that with your healthcare provider. Wonderful. Any final words on the topic of staying hydrated, especially with electrolytes during this Ramadan? I think we need to be aware, especially with our kids of dehydration. Even our young kids who are not fasting, I know with my little one he's going to school

17:26and coming back with his lunchbox school because everybody is saying that they're fasting because they want to play. So keep an eye out on yourself and your little ones for any changes in your color of urine. Look for dry lips. If you're somebody who's suffering with a newly onset of constipation that is a sign of dehydration, think about how much water does your body need? So simple calculation, whatever you weigh, times 35 moles. So for every kg of your body weight, times that by 35 moles, that'll give you the total number of liters of water or merely liters of water that you need. So for somebody who weighs about 55 kgs, you need about 1.9 to 2.1 liters of water. And if you exercise, you need to add in another 200 moles. It's a very hot day you need to add in another 200 moles. And it's not so difficult. It's not so much thing that you need to spend so much money on an electrolyte. You can also get your water and your electrolytes through natural sources,

18:27adding a little bit of a squeeze of lemon to your herbal tea. Because the herbal teas don't have caffeine. So you can, that's the water source for us. Adding a pinch of salt to your smoothie is when it enhanced the flavor, but also is adding electrolyte. And then remember, what dehydrates you is actually the sugary drinks like the selber that you're opening up afterwards. And also caffeinated drinks, tea and coffee, coke, cold drinks are all caffeinated. So those are the things that you should try and stay away from. In Chalawati, small tips, you can make a massive change with Ramadan. The easiest way to build up your hydration levels is to make sure you eat enough protein. So there's somewhere for your body to hold the water that you are drinking. And electrolytes is a bonus way of making sure that your body keeps hydrated during these long days. Last quick question. What's a good store board electrolyte to take? There's so many different ones out there. Look for those that are sugar free, or that are made with coconut sugar,

19:28or sugar cane, juice, that's also a natural electrolyte. We have our own electrolyte that is mixed with vitamins and minerals and amino acids. There's the one you mentioned, revive as well. There's the normal electrolytes that you would take if you were sick and dehydrated and you went to the doctor. But I would opt for the ones that are naturally sugar free and have natural, or have natural sugars, like the ones with coconut sugar. Because then, you know, it's a natural source. It's not a refined form of sugar, which is bad for health and causes diabetes. Absolutely. Thank you so much for joining us in the program. We'll chat again soon until they meet again in a salamu alaikum. Thank you. I'll be having you, Aikun Salam.