Doctors in Taiz report a surge in diabetes emergencies after patients stopped prescribed medicines to follow the restrictive el‑tayebat diet, popularised online by ex‑physician Diaa el‑Awadi. The regimen bans many nutritious foods and has led some people to abandon insulin or glucose‑lowering drugs, triggering severe illness and hospitalisation. Nutritionists warn there is no scientific basis for labelling entire food groups ‘bad’ and emphasise personalised medical and dietary care.
Dangerous Diet Trend in Yemen: Diabetics Stop Medicines to Follow 'El‑Tayebat', Hospitals Warn
Medical professionals emphasise that diabetes patients in Yemen are risking their lives by not taking their prescribed medications [Nasser al-Sakkaf/Al Jazeera]
Taiz, Yemen — Over recent months, Taiz’s Republican Hospital has seen a sharp rise in admissions of people with severe diabetes complications after they stopped taking prescribed medicines to follow a restrictive regimen known as el‑tayebat.
What Is El‑Tayebat?
The movement, whose name means “those that are good” in Arabic, was popularised online by Diaa el‑Awadi, a former Egyptian physician who was struck off and had two clinics closed earlier this year. After his media appearances were banned in Egypt and he died of a reported heart attack in the United Arab Emirates, conspiracy theories about his death spread and his followers increased across Yemen and the wider Arab world.
Patients And Consequences
Hospital staff say many followers abandon prescribed insulin or glucose‑lowering pills because el‑tayebat claims these medicines are unnecessary or harmful. Instead, followers adopt a highly restrictive eating plan that bans foods such as leafy salad greens, citrus fruits, eggs, legumes and most dairy.
Eggs are among the foods restricted by Diaa el-Awadi’s diet recommendations, leading to a drop in the price of eggs in Taiz [Nasser al-Sakkaf/Al Jazeera]
“We stabilise them in the emergency room and immediately refer them to specialised doctors within the hospital to provide the necessary care,”
— Dr Hamza al‑Qusais, Head of the Republican Hospital Emergency Department
One patient, 67‑year‑old Murad al‑Adimi, stopped taking his diabetes medication after watching el‑tayebat videos. After missing several doses he fainted and was rushed to the hospital. He is now recovering and warns others not to stop medicines without consulting their doctors.
Medical Risks
Medical professionals stress that insulin and other glucose‑lowering drugs are lifesaving for many people with diabetes. Abandoning treatment can lead to dangerously high blood sugar and complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a life‑threatening condition in which the body produces acidic ketones as it breaks down fat for energy.
El‑Awadi’s assertion that insulin is "poison" is unsupported by science. Insulin is a natural hormone that regulates blood glucose; people with diabetes either cannot produce enough or cannot use it properly and therefore often require medication to avoid severe complications and death.
Rafat Abdu Yassin, 39, is a follower of el-tayebat and said it helped him recover from heartburn. But doctors and nutritionists warn that the diet avoids foods that are beneficial to the body [Nasser al-Sakkaf/Al Jazeera]
Dietary Claims And Market Effects
From a nutritional standpoint, the el‑tayebat exclusions are not immediately toxic but they remove many valuable food sources of vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre. Nutritionists warn that blanket bans on whole food groups create risks of deficiencies and are unsustainable, especially for people with chronic conditions.
The diet’s popularity has also altered local food markets: egg prices in Taiz have reportedly fallen substantially and poultry sales have dropped, reflecting reduced demand for foods labelled “bad.”
Expert Advice
Doctors and nutritionists urge patients to seek personalised medical care. Some people who report short‑term improvements on el‑tayebat are likely benefiting from removing specific triggers (for example, highly processed flour or hydrogenated oils) rather than from the wholesale deprivation of nutritious foods.
Key recommendations from clinicians:
- Do not stop prescribed diabetes medicine without explicit approval from a treating physician.
- Consult a qualified nutritionist before making major dietary changes, especially if you have chronic illness.
- Report any dizziness, fainting, persistent thirst, frequent urination, or severe nausea to a doctor immediately.
Taiz’s hospitals continue to treat preventable emergencies tied to this trend. Medical staff call for better public health education and support to counter misinformation spreading on social media.
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