5 Reasons Why Don't Drink Sweet Tea Immediately When Breaking Your Fast

Illustration of drinking sweet tea during iftar (Unsplash/Reyhaneh Mehrnejad)

YOGYAKARTA – After holding back from eating and drinking all day, breaking the fast is the most refreshing time. The pleasure of sweet tea and three dates is often the opening session for breaking the fast. But it turns out, the content of tea can affect your digestion and metabolism. Especially when taken on an empty stomach, such as right after the Maghrib call to prayer during Ramadan or during the opening of the day. Here's why you shouldn't drink sweet tea right away when you break your fast.

1. Disrupts metabolic activity

Drinking tea on an empty stomach, can interfere with metabolism because the acid and alkaline substances in the stomach are not balanced. So, do not immediately drink sweet tea when breaking the fast. Open it with mineral water and give yourself a break of 15-20 minutes to drink tea, advises Rujuta Diwekar, nutritionist reported by NDTV, Thursday, April 21. During breaks, you can fill your stomach with fruit or dates before drinking tea.

Illustration of drinking sweet tea during iftar (Unsplash/Oriento)

2. Feeling thirsty all the time

Tea is a diuretic, which removes water from the body. When fasting, you have lost fluids because you haven't drank and eaten for more than 8 hours. Then the body will experience excessive fluid deficiency if it is immediately opened by drinking this drink.

3. Makes you nauseous and dizzy

Just like coffee, only they have different levels of caffeine. Tea can make you feel nauseous and dizzy when you drink it directly when you break your fast. Well, on an empty stomach, it is best to fill it with a neutral drink such as mineral water.

4. Decreased iron absorption

Citing Boldsky, green tea can actually reduce the effectiveness of iron absorption. So for those of you who tend to experience anemia, you should not drink tea on an empty stomach because iron from other food sources cannot be absorbed optimally by the body.

5. Causes constipation

Tea contains a chemical compound called theophylline. The effects of these compounds in addition to making body fluids decrease, also cause constipation. That is, first fill the stomach with drinks other than tea. Only after filling, you can enjoy sweet tea with a fragrant aroma.