Effects of Fasting on Every Monday and Thursday to Cholesterol Levels of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

— Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) who do not control their cholesterol levels properly can experience risks of various complications. To prevent the complications of the patients with type 2 DM caused by hypercholesterolemia, diet by fasting is important. Fasting on every Monday and Thursday following the Prophet Muhammad’s tradition has potential to reduce the cholesterol levels of the patients. This research used a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test control for a group. It was conducted in January to May 2016 in Kasihan, Bantul, Yogyakarta. Its Respondents consisted of 15 people in an experimental group who were given interventions to fast every Monday and Thursday for one month with a total sampling technique and 15 people in a control group with standard treatments. Next, the gained data were analyzed by using the Wilcoxon test and Independent T-Test with a significance of p> 0.05. The results shown that the average cholesterol levels after the intervention was 189.87 mg/dl in the experimental group and 223.33 mg/dl in the control group. There were significant differences of the cholesterol levels between the experimental group and the control group before and after fasting. Fasting on Mondays and Thursdays effectively can reduce the cholesterol levels of patients with type 2 DM. Therefore, nurses can advise patients with type 2 DM to fast on Monday and Thursday by certain guidance.