Bandar Seri Begawan - Hari Raya has reached its first week of celebrations, and it is commonplace for people of all races and religions in Brunei Darussalam to commemorate the joyous occasion by visiting their Muslim friends' and relatives' houses.,/p>

It is also common for most to throw their diet and health issues out the window to have a bit of every sumptuous dishes, cakes and biscuits prepared, usually due to the host's insistence.

Dr Thirunavukkarasu Ganesan, Director of Non-Invasive Cardiology and Consultant Cardiologist & Physician at the JPMC Gleneagles Cardiac Centre, said those with health problems should be more wary of what they eat during this festive season to prevent future complications.

"What happens during Hari Raya is that there are a lot of open houses that people have to visit as it is part of the culture, and they would spend the whole month celebrating. Our general advice is, particularly for those with heart problems and cardiac patients with high cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension, to mainly reduce their food intake, especially oily food, and meat products.

"It is very tempting when they see others taking the food, and they would like to take it as well, but at the same time, they don't want them to know about their health problems, as they'd like to keep it personal. What they can do is, instead of taking soft drinks, they can take water and fruit juice (those without added sugar), and noodles, food with high carbohydrates. The ideal thing would be to limit the amount of food you take during Hari Raya."

He also recommended exercise. "Since open houses are held during the afternoon and evening, exercise can be done in the morning, or, if the weather is not hot or rainy, they could park their cars at a distance from the house they want to visit and walk. They could also have an exercise programmed in the morning. If you take a little bit more on that day, the next day you can compensate by doing more exercise. This is one way of balancing, because you can't completely avoid going to people's houses."

Elderly people aged 70 years above are also particularly advised to watch what they eat, and are recommended to have someone, perhaps a family member, to supervise their food intake. As for healthy adults, they have to watch the amount of calories they take to prevent them from developing health problems in the future.

"In Brunei, what I've noticed is that a lot are aware of their calorie intake and most are educated on how to control their intake, and this is a good thing. It's just that the more houses they visit, the more they would eat, as most would think its offensive to say no. They should choose the healthy dishes, like vegetables, steamed food and salads, avoid the oily ones, and eat slowly."

On smokers: "During Ramadhan, some smokers may have stopped smoking. We would advise them to continue to stop smoking during Hari Raya and gradually stop altogether. "Hari Raya is an important part of the Bruneian culture and we want everybody to celebrate and enjoy," he said. "At the same time, people have to be watchful of the amount of food they take and the type of food they take. And at every house, there's always a healthy alternative."