VoltraThe Tayyibat diet: allowed and banned foods, and the Saudi health ministry's warning
The Tayyibat diet (nizam al-tayyibat, the "good food system") was devised by Egyptian doctor Diaa El Awady. It sorts food into "good" foods and harmful ones to cut out [4]. It bans or heavily restricts chicken, eggs, most milk and yoghurt, legumes, leafy greens and tomatoes, and allows red meat, rice, potatoes, cheese, butter, cream, sugar and honey [4][5]. We found no published study of it [9].
On 8 June 2026, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health warned against it by name, citing people who had stopped insulin or diabetes medicines on the advice of circulating diets, some of whom needed emergency or intensive care [1][2]. If you've stopped or cut a prescribed medicine, the ministry asks you to see your doctor without waiting for complications [1].
What the diet is
The diet was devised by Diaa El Awady, an Egyptian doctor trained in anaesthesia and intensive care who built a following online [4]. He argued that most chronic illnesses could be treated by healing the gut and cutting out supposedly toxic foods, with medicines playing a secondary role [4].
Besides its food lists, the system has a few rules, as Al Jazeera summarises them [5]:
- Eat when you feel real hunger, and eat until full, without counting calories or keeping set mealtimes.
- Drink water only when you're thirsty.
- Prefer cooked food and cooked vegetables to raw and leafy ones.
- Fast for periods, as in intermittent fasting.
Egypt's Medical Syndicate struck him off its register and barred him from practising medicine, and said the system isn't based on scientific evidence or approved clinical trials [5][6].
The founder drew on Quranic language about tayyib, or good, food [4]. This guide doesn't make or dispute religious claims; it looks only at the food lists and at what health authorities and the evidence say.
Allowed and banned foods
The founder's lists, as two news reports describe them [4][5]:
| Food | Allowed | Banned |
|---|---|---|
| Bread and starches | Rice, potatoes, whole-wheat bread | White-flour bread, oat bread, all pasta, pizza, couscous |
| Meat and fish | Lamb and other red meat, pigeon, rabbit, grilled or fried fish | Chicken, turkey, duck, goose, shrimp, fish roe |
| Eggs | None | Eggs |
| Dairy | Cheeses such as cheddar, gouda, mozzarella and processed cheese | Milk, yoghurt, laban, white cheese, cottage cheese |
| Fats | Olive oil, butter, ghee, cream, corn and sunflower oil | None listed |
| Legumes | None | Fava beans, lentils, chickpeas, all beans |
| Vegetables | Cooked ones such as potatoes, aubergine, taro and cauliflower | Most others, such as cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, spinach, molokhia |
| Fruit | Apples, mango, dates, figs, grapes, bananas and others, one kind at a time | Watermelon, cantaloupe, oranges, kiwi |
| Sweets and drinks | Sugar, honey, jam, chocolate, basbousa, fruit juice, Turkish coffee, green tea | Soft drinks, energy drinks, dark chocolate |
| Nuts | Most nuts | Hazelnuts, almonds, peanuts |
From press reports of the founder's lists, not from a published plan. The reports differ in places: Al Jazeera lists grilled or fried fish as allowed, while The National says many types of fish and seafood are banned or restricted, and Al Jazeera's lists don't mention eggs [4][5].
What Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health said
On 8 June 2026, the ministry warned against following any diet that isn't scientifically proven, or using one in place of prescribed treatment without specialist supervision, naming "what is referred to as the 'Tayyibat Diet'" [2]. The statement also says:
- Why it warned: it had seen cases of people who stopped insulin or diabetes medicines, or replaced or cut prescribed treatment, including for chronic diseases, on the advice of circulating diets and without consulting a doctor. Some needed emergency care and admission to intensive care because of very high blood sugar or diabetes complications [1][2]. It doesn't say how many cases there were.
- Food groups: labelling foods as absolutely "beneficial" or "harmful", or cutting out essential food groups without a medical reason, can lead to nutrient deficiencies [1][2].
- Sugar and fat: it warned against promoting large amounts of sugar or saturated fat as safe for everyone [1][2].
- A healthy diet: balance and variety, with plenty of vegetables, fruit in suitable amounts, whole grains and varied protein sources, and less added sugar, sweetened drinks, saturated fat and salt [1][3].
- Medicines: anyone who stopped or cut a prescribed treatment should see their doctor and not wait for complications, and anyone following a diet for a medical purpose should first consult a doctor and a certified dietitian [1][3].
For health questions, the ministry points people to its awareness platform عش بصحة ("live healthily") and its 937 call centre [1][2].
Don't stop your medicines
The ministry's warning centres on medicines [1][2]. Egyptian authorities said the founder's advice included telling some people with diabetes or high blood pressure that they could reduce or stop their medicines if they followed the diet [4], and the banned list Al Jazeera reports includes medicines such as aspirin and drugs for cholesterol, stomach acid and depression [5]. Egypt's Medical Syndicate's disciplinary panel said his claims about diabetes, kidney transplants and cancer contradict settled medical consensus on key points, and that spreading them could lead people to stop life-saving medicines, delay cancer treatment, lose a transplanted kidney or suffer acute blood-sugar crises [6].
Don't stop or change a prescribed medicine because of a diet. If you already have, Saudi Arabia's health ministry asks you to see your doctor without waiting for complications [1].
What the evidence says
We found no study of the diet on PubMed, the US National Library of Medicine's database of medical research [9]. The syndicate's disciplinary panel said that any general advice to ban basic food groups outright needs strong, repeated evidence and a defined group of patients, and that banning foods outright for the healthy and the sick alike departs from the accepted method of nutrition science [6]. On specific foods, it said [6]:
- Eggs are a source of high-quality protein, and nothing shows them to be harmful outright.
- Legumes are rich in fibre; the bloating some people get from them can be managed through how they're prepared and by adding them gradually.
- Calling milk or bread harmful without naming a medical condition isn't scientific, and dairy remains an important source of nutrients.
Nutritionists and endocrinologists quoted by The National warned that eating only the foods the system calls tayyibat would remove core sources of protein, calcium, iron and vitamins [4].
The diet next to WHO's advice
WHO says any healthy diet should rest on four principles: adequacy, balance, moderation and diversity, which it defines as a wide variety of nutritious foods within and across food groups [7].
| The diet | WHO's advice [7] |
|---|---|
| Bans legumes | Carbohydrates should come mainly from whole grains, vegetables, fruit and pulses, such as lentils, chickpeas and beans |
| Bans most vegetables, including leafy greens | At least 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day for everyone over 10; dark-green leafy vegetables help vitamin A |
| Bans oat bread and all pasta | Oats and wheat are among its examples of whole grains |
| Bans chicken, eggs, milk and yoghurt | Protein can come from a mix of animal and plant sources; reduced-fat dairy and lean meat help cut saturated fat |
| Allows sugar, honey, jam and juice | Free sugars under 10% of energy, about 50 g on 2,000 kcal; the sugars in honey and fruit juice count |
| Allows butter, ghee, cream and cheese | Saturated fat no more than 10% of energy; it names all four as sources |
Will you lose weight on it?
We found no study that measured weight loss on the diet [9]. It doesn't count calories: you eat until full [5]. NICE, which writes clinical guidelines for England, says any diet to help adults lose weight has to keep the energy they eat below the energy they use, a calorie deficit, whether by cutting fat, cutting carbohydrates or another way [8]. Our calories-per-day guide shows how to work out your target.
NICE also advises against restrictive diets that are nutritionally unbalanced, because they don't work in the long term and can be harmful, and recommends a nutritionally balanced diet for the long term [8]. Our guide to crash diets covers what it says about losing weight fast, and the protein guide covers how much you need, which matters on a diet that cuts chicken, eggs, milk, yoghurt and legumes.
In Voltra
Whatever you eat, you can log it in the Eat tab with a photo scan, Describe, Search or Barcode, and see its calories, protein, carbs and fat. Voltra sets a daily calorie target and a protein target for you, and in the You tab, the Eat section has a card with your daily averages for fibre, sugar and saturated fat. The Coach answers questions using what you've logged, but it doesn't replace your doctor: change a medicine only with them.
Frequently asked
What is the Tayyibat diet?
An eating system devised by Egyptian doctor Diaa El Awady that sorts food into "good" foods and harmful ones to cut out. We found no published study of it, and Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health warned against it by name in June 2026.
What is allowed on the Tayyibat diet?
According to press reports of the founder's lists: red meat such as lamb, some fish, rice, potatoes, whole-wheat bread, cheeses such as cheddar and mozzarella, butter, ghee, cream, most fruit eaten one kind at a time, sugar, honey and most nuts.
What is banned on the Tayyibat diet?
According to press reports: chicken and other poultry, eggs, milk, yoghurt and laban, legumes such as lentils and chickpeas, most vegetables including leafy greens and tomatoes, white-flour bread, all pasta and soft drinks.
Is the Tayyibat diet healthy?
No published study has tested it. It cuts whole food groups that WHO counts as part of a healthy diet, and Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health warns that cutting out essential food groups without a medical reason can lead to nutrient deficiencies.
Did the Saudi Ministry of Health ban the Tayyibat diet?
It warned against it by name on 8 June 2026, citing people who stopped insulin or diabetes medicines on the advice of circulating diets, some of whom needed intensive care. The statement is a warning; it doesn't announce a ban.
Can I stop my diabetes medicine on the Tayyibat diet?
No. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health warns against replacing or cutting prescribed treatment because of a diet, and asks anyone who has done so to see their doctor without waiting for complications.
Sources
- وكالة الأنباء السعودية (واس) (٢٠٢٦). وزارة الصحة تحذّر من إيقاف الأدوية واتباع أنظمة غذائية غير مثبتة علميًا. In Arabic. A Saudi Ministry of Health statement, 8 June 2026.
- Saudi Press Agency (2026). Health Ministry Warns Against Stopping Medications, Following Scientifically Unproven Diets. SPA's English version of [1], 8 June 2026. It leaves out the paragraph on a healthy diet and on seeing your doctor.
- وزارة الصحة، المملكة العربية السعودية (٢٠٢٦). وزارة الصحة تحذّر من إيقاف الأدوية والأنظمة الغذائية غير المثبتة. In Arabic. The ministry's own copy of the statement.
- Tabikha K (2026). 'Good food' and 'forbidden fruit': How Egyptian doctor's diet system went from viral trend to official ban. The National. 5 June 2026.
- محمد صلاح (٢٠٢٦). وفاة صاحبه تعيد الجدل.. ماذا يقول العلم عن نظام "الطيبات" الغذائي؟ الجزيرة نت. In Arabic. 28 April 2026. The allowed and banned lists, as the founder gave them.
- بوابة الشروق (٢٠٢٦). نظام الطيبات.. ماذا قالت عنه الهيئة التأديبية لنقابة الأطباء في حيثيات شطبها لـ ضياء العوضي؟ In Arabic. 5 May 2026. Publishes the reasoning of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate's disciplinary panel.
- World Health Organization (2026). Healthy diet (fact sheet). 26 January 2026. Carbohydrates; fats; protein; vitamins and minerals.
- NICE (2025). Overweight and obesity management (NG246): physical activity and diet, recommendations 1.16.3, 1.16.6 and 1.16.7. Recommendations 1.16.3, 1.16.6 and 1.16.7.
- US National Library of Medicine (2026). PubMed search: tayyibat OR tayebat OR tayibat OR tayyebat. Searched on 6 October 2026; no results.
Sources checked on 6 October 2026.
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