On October 27, India will celebrate Karva Chauth a beautifully colourful Indian festival that has a lot of traditional significance. On this Hindu festival, married women fast for their husbands, seeking longevity, prosperity and well-being of their spouses. Normally popular amongst married Hindu women in the western and northern parts of India, primarily in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana, Karwa Chauth, is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm and love. The married women do not drink water or eat anything till they see the moon at night through a sieve. After which, their husbands feed them the first morsel of food and offer them a sip of water, and that is how they end their fast. Many husbands observe this fast for their wives too.  When to Keep Karva Chauth Vrat? Moon Rise Timing and Shubh Muhurat to Break the Fast. 

While this sounds fun and exciting, not everyone's health is suited to observing a fast. Fasting is known to be a healthy detox system for the body. You might want to know about Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss: 4 types of diet that can help burn fat. There are a lot of fasting diets that have become popular these days. However, it is not for everyone.

Dietitian Priya Maisa says, "Usually, the importance of fasting is to cleanse both the body and as well as the mind, moreover fasting for one or two days is rarely a problem if you are healthy. However, fasting can be dangerous if you do not have a healthy diet or if you have some health issues." She adds, "Fasting may worsen several medical conditions like diabetes, hypotension, liver and kidney conditions."

Here is a list of people who are advised to not fast on Karvachauth-

  1. Diabetics: Diabetics are recommended not to observe a fast. Especially if you are not eating while taking insulin or other diabetes medications, it will increase the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose.) Dietician Priya says, "Fasting when diabetes poses significant risks. The medical recommendation will be to not undertake fasting if you have diabetes."

  2. Hypotension: Not eating for an extended period may cause a drop in your blood pressure levels. Especially if you are medication, you are advised not to observe a fast.

  3. Liver and kidney conditions: Depriving your body of water and food all day can affect your liver and kidney, especially if you are on medications. Also, if you are prone to excessive acidity, you might want to avoid fasting.

  4. Menstruating women:  Menstruating women are required to have a good diet and not fast. Dietitian Priya says, "It's not at all recommended fasting during menstruating as it requires a proper intake of food to meet the daily nutritional requirement infact the need increases during menstruation."

  5. People down with fever: Similarly for people down with fever, the immunity has gone down and therefore not eating well will do more harm than good. If you are suffering from fever, you might want to drop the idea of fasting.

Remember, nothing is more important than your health. If you suffer from any other severe health condition, you must always consult your doctor before observing a fast.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 24, 2018 04:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).