Articles › Food questions
Which cheese is allowed on the Tayyibat diet?
Aged cheese, yes. Fresh cheese, no. Roumy, aged akawi, kashkaval, parmesan, aged cheddar and aged gouda are his own rulings, all yes. Feta and qureshi are his own rulings, both no. The test is time: has the cheese been aged long enough for the milk sugar to be gone?
Why ageing changes everything
Most adults on earth stop producing lactase, the enzyme that digests milk sugar, after weaning. That is the human default, not a disease, and across the Arab world it is close to universal. Undigested milk sugar ferments in the colon: gas, cramping, loose stool.
Here is what the system understood: ageing solves it. Hard aged cheese contains almost no lactose, because the bacteria ate it during fermentation. Time did the digesting for you. That is exactly why aged cheese stays on the list and fresh milk does not.
The yes list
Roumy. Egypt's hard aged cheese. Aged akawi. A white cheese from the Levant, aged in salty brine; rinse it before you eat it. Kashkaval. An aged cheese from the Balkans, wonderful melted. Parmesan, aged cheddar, aged gouda. All his own rulings. Aged halloumi: yes, following from his rules.
The no list
Feta and qureshi: no, his own rulings. Fresh, and the milk sugar is still in them. Mozzarella, cottage cheese, cream cheese, processed cheese triangles: no, following from his rules. Same reason, or worse: the processed kind was made in a factory.
Milk, yoghurt, labneh, ayran: no, all his own rulings. Labneh is just strained yoghurt, the same hard-to-digest milk protein, only thicker. Why milk is off.
Butter and ghee: yes. Natural butter is one of the five foods the system is built on. Ghee is butter with the milk solids taken out, the fat for cooking on high heat.
How to use it
Aged cheese where you used fresh. Grapes and aged cheese is a snack in the book. Aged cheese with figs is another. On a rest day it is part of the base: rice, potatoes, dates, butter, olive oil, fruit, aged cheese, bread.
People also ask
Is roumy cheese allowed?
Yes, his own ruling. Egypt's hard aged cheese is exactly the kind the system keeps.
Is feta allowed on the Tayyibat diet?
No, his own ruling. Feta is fresh, and the milk sugar is still in it.
Is processed cheese (triangles, spread) allowed?
No, following from his rules: made in a factory, and fresh dairy besides.
Is halloumi allowed?
Aged halloumi, yes, following from his rules. He did not name it.
Is butter allowed if milk is not?
Yes. Natural butter is his own ruling and one of the five foods. Ghee is butter with the milk solids taken out.
This article shares what Dr. Al-Awadi taught and what people who followed him report. It is information, not medical advice. Keep taking any medicine your doctor prescribed. How we source