Khaberni - During daylight hours in Ramadan, you may feel cold, even if the weather is moderate or even leans towards high heat, which is explained by the laws of physics that govern the heat and energy in the human body.
The human body always tries to maintain a fairly constant temperature (36.1–37.2 degrees), because biological enzymes operate efficiently only within this narrow range, and this is done through the balance equation between heat generated by the body and another lost due to environmental factors.
The heat generated by the body comes from a primary source, which is the food we eat. During digestion, nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins turn into chemical energy, part of which is used to power the body's cells, and the other part turns into heat that maintains body warmth.
The lost heat is governed by several physical mechanisms, explained in a research article published by the National Institutes of Health in America. These are "radiation," meaning that the body emits electromagnetic waves that carry heat to the surrounding environment, "convection," meaning that heat transfers from the skin to the surrounding air when air or fluids move around the body, "conduction," meaning that heat transfers when the skin touches a colder surface such as the ground, a chair, or water, and finally "evaporation," when water evaporates from the skin or during breathing, it takes some heat with it.
What Happens During Fasting?
While balancing between internally generated heat and that lost via these four mechanisms happens automatically, what occurs during fasting is that the heat-generating sources decrease, while all methods of losing heat continue, leading to the fasting person feeling cold even in warm weather.
Many studies have documented this change causing the sensation of cold, including one published in the journal "Clinical Nutrition," which showed that carbohydrate consumption decreased and stabilized at a low level on the second day of fasting. It also revealed a decrease in the total amount of energy consumed over 24 hours when fasting compared to the usual dietary period.
Although this feeling of coldness may seem negative at first glance, the same study considers it a positive change that supports body health, since the body gradually shifts with the decrease in carbohydrate consumption to using fats as a primary energy source. These metabolic transformations enhance the body's metabolic flexibility, improve insulin sensitivity, and increase the efficiency of the body’s energy factories "mitochondria."
Thus, the cold felt by the fasting individual is a temporary symptom against extended health benefits, enhancing vital body functions in a way that supports health and longevity.
