Following the Evidence

The work examines the nutritional framework taught by the late scientist Dr. Diaa Al-Awady and his Tayyibat Diet, while also subjecting its departures from conventional medical and nutritional recommendations to scientific scrutiny.

Conventional medicine is treated as the starting position. Dr. Diaa is the challenger. Therefore, his ideas carry the burden of proof.

This is not simply a diet book. It is a journey through physiology, metabolism, nutrition, digestion, fasting, glucose, fats, proteins, fiber, meal timing, food preparation, and the many processes that determine what food actually becomes after we eat it.

The goal is not to ask the reader to accept Dr. Diaa’s conclusions because of his reputation — nor to reject them simply because they challenge accepted recommendations.

The goal is simpler:

And only then ask:
What should we eat — and what might be better left uneaten?

About the Author

I want to say this as clearly as possible.

In many ways, I write like a student speaking to himself.

Writing — especially handwriting — has always been part of how I learn.

I return to the principle, ask questions, follow the reasoning, and then try to explain it to myself in language I can understand.

This book developed in the same way.

In its physiology and health sections, Dr. Diaa is the teacher whose reasoning I am studying.

My role is to follow those questions into the evidence and determine what survives examination.

The Spiritual Parts of the Book

The spiritual parts of this book are my own.

I am a Melkite Antiochian Catholic Christian within the traditional Christian faith.

By traditional Christians, I mean the ancient Apostolic Churches that understand their ecclesial authority as continuing in succession from the Apostles.

In these discussions, I use the term to include the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, as well as the Maronite, Armenian, Greek, Russian, Coptic, and Syriac traditions.

Some of the later reflections in this book arise from the framework preserved within these understandings and practices.

A conclusion viewed only from outside its underlying framework can appear strange, complicated, or incomprehensible because the reasoning that gives it meaning has not yet been presented.

A conclusion can also survive on the surface while its foundation disappears.

For that reason, the spiritual reflections are developed from within the framework through which I understand them.

These theological reflections are my own.

Dr. Diaa’s Islamic faith, which he publicly shared with fervor and love, inspired further reflection in me.

But the theological interpretations, analogies, connections, and conclusions presented in this book remain entirely my own.

A Personal Note

I have spared no reasonable effort — nor expense I could bear — in researching, writing, translating, preparing, and presenting this work.

I can only hope that, had Dr. Diaa been able to read it, he might have recognized that I sincerely tried to understand his reasoning fairly, examine it seriously, and present it as strongly and carefully as I could.

I have done my best.

The book is being made available in many languages and in multiple audio and video formats so people from different countries and backgrounds can examine the work for themselves.

English Video Library