Surging emergency cases. Death. People abandoning their life-saving medicines. That’s what the so-called ‘tayyibat’ diet, popularized by late Egyptian Dr. Diaa al-Awadi, led to, resulting in health problems across the Arab world.
The doctor advised people to avoid poultry, fresh milk, leafy green vegetables and legumes. Instead, he said, they should eat high-sugar foods and abandon supplements and other medications, including insulin.
Here & Now‘s Indira Lakshmanan sits down with reporter Heba Farouk Mahfouz to discuss how the fad diet gained traction and the controversies behind it.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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