Ramadan has always been a huge contradiction of fasting and piety and a disgusting example of rampant consumerism gone mad.

However I was in carrefour yesterday and was staggered by the displays of food and sweets that companies have deals on.

2x 5kg bags of sugar as a deal with a free 2kg bag thrown in. The largest jar of nutella i've ever seen on sale, the list could go on for ages.

Maybe i just need a holiday but it seems like things are utterly out of control this year, carrfour was mobbed yesterday at bloody lunchtime, its not like the place closes for ramadan!

The sheer volume of advertising for wanton gluttony was actually quite offensive, no bloody wonder there is a huge diabetes problem here.

is it just me or has the entire place entirely missed the point of ramadan?

I told the lad who works for me (Indian Muslim) that it was a complete farce. Told him I'd cruise fasting if I got to sleep all afternoon and eat all night.

He was genuinely flabbergasted

It's not genuinely fasting, it's simply delaying your food until later in the day. Scientists reckon that actually fasting, for 3 days or more (this doesn't include abstaining from fluids) can be beneficial. But ramadan type 'fasting' is just denying yourself for a few hours.

There is that bollocks diet favoured by Phillip Schofield where you eat 5 days and dont eat 2 days. Seeing as he now looks like death I don't see it being that clever but it does seem to work.

To the original post, I don't even talk about Ramadan anymore it just winds me up. 3 weeks this year sat in Spain drinking and eating all day everyday for me - bliss.

Also take a trip to a branch of Union Co-Op for unbelievable food bargains and piled high trolleys. I make a point of visiting every Ramadan for the entertainment factor.

I have yet to work out why anyone needs to buy 16 boxes of creme caramel mix (a taped together offer) or why if you buy two bottles of Vimto you get a free litre of oil. How do they go together? In fact they have shelves and shelves of flipping Vimto in there. Extraordinary how that has become the go-to Ramadan drink.

Just had a Ramadan thing for lunch at work. Vimto was the drink :-) Also a little booklet was dished out and in the FAQs it seems that Wet Dreams are OK during Ramadan

Fasting if done properly, the way it is meant to be done, is highly beneficial for the body and also helps you feel what the poor person on the road feels, all year long.
Gluttony is not the proper way I am afraid.
as far as the deals on carrefour etc go, I think a lot of stuff being sold is either subsidized or nearing its end of life, hence the odd pairing of men's extra large polka dotted boxers with lemon grass scented hair removing cream (I think Scamp would be interested in that deal)
and by the by, I really wouldnt be too surprised if most of the shoppers picking up those large quantity deals are non-muslims, either for their small stores to sell after Ramzan when prices go back up again or even for their own pantry. And yes I was waggling my head when I wrote these last 3 sentences

there is nothing beneficial about not taking on fluids for that amount of time.

nor diabetes medicine

I dont know, I always feel non-bloated if I dont drink water for a long period of time, I feel thirsty yes ofcourse, but somehow I think, in my head, I feel more prone to loosing calories. Ofcourse there is no medical proof for what I feel. I did read somewhere that the 8-9 hour fast helps reduce cholestrol.
Ofcourse I sit in one spot the whole day and not sweat at all, for anyone who is out there in the heat and proper sweating, dehydration is a very serious possibility. Yet people still do it. What can I say. You cant stop them.

My mother has type 2 diabetes and for the past 5 years I literally have had to fight with her every Ramzan not to fast yet she still does it. Sometimes she will let a day slip by if it gets too hard and I just froth and fume inside while watching her but should I question her faith? Who am I to question anyones faith? be it Muslim, Hindu, Jew or Christian. My best friend's grandmother (christian) is 90 if not more and she still fasts.

I guess I should have phrased my earlier statement in a different manner, 'Fasting if done properly, MIGHT be beneficial to some but there is that thing called faith for which there is no logical answer'

8-9 hours is called a nights sleep and provides exactly zero cholesterol benefit.

proper fasting can be beneficial, look up intermitant fasting but depriving the body of fluids is not beneficial, ever unless its of alcohol
if you want the best benefits from fasting you need to start at about 2 days and go on for as many as 10.

Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system -- ScienceDaily

my old Egyptian boss saw Diabetes as an excuse not to give up anything during Ramadan.

apparently Diabetes meant he didnt have to give up Cuban cigars and Turkish coffee.

my other egyptian colleagues managed about a week until they started smoking and 2 weeks until they hit the coffee pot!

There is a whole heap of gluttony as the people being taken to hospital for overeating every year demonstrate.

what annoys me the most (or rather saddens me) are the breastfeeding and pregnant mums who fast

well some dont
they are allowed to make it up later and they know it
mine didnt fast both times either
but having said that I hate to admit that yes you are right, most do fast during this time and that is just so wrong for the kid in the long run