\n\tMAKKAH: The Ministry of Health has warned against using unscientific diets as a substitute for prescribed and supervised medical treatment.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe warning comes in response to documented cases in which individuals suffered adverse health effects after discontinuing insulin or other diabetes medications based on recommendations linked to popular diets,\u201d the ministry stated recently.<\/p>\n
\n\tAccording to the ministry, some individuals used these diets as alternatives to prescribed medications or reduced the dosage of treatments for chronic diseases without medical consultation.<\/p>\n
\n\tSeveral people subsequently required emergency intervention and intensive care admission due to severe hyperglycemia and diabetes-related complications.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe ministry warned that categorizing foods as \u201cbeneficial\u201d or \u201charmful,\u201d or excluding essential food groups without medical justification, can lead to deficiencies in essential nutrients. It warned against promoting excessive consumption of sugars or saturated fats as a safe option for everyone.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe ministry said a healthy diet should be balanced and varied, incorporating ample vegetables, moderate amounts of fruit, whole grains, and a range of protein sources, while limiting added sugars, sugar-sweetened beverages, saturated fats, and salt.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt urged anyone who has stopped taking or reduced the dosage of prescribed medication to consult their doctor immediately rather than wait for complications to develop.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt also said individuals should consult physicians and licensed nutritionists before adopting any diet intended for therapeutic purposes in order to protect their health and ensure appropriate medical supervision.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe ministry urged the public to obtain health information from official and reliable sources, such as the \u201cLive Healthy\u201d platform, the Ministry of Health\u2019s official health awareness portal, or by seeking medical advice through its 937 call center.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt warned against being misled by misinformation or unsubstantiated health claims, stressing the importance of relying on credible sources to protect public health and safeguard the well-being of society.<\/p>\n
\n\tDr. Vivian Mohamad Wehbe, a clinical nutritionist, told Arab News that social media platforms have recently seen the emergence of a growing trend known as the \u201cgood foods diet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tShe said the diet encourages patients to stop taking their medications and instead rely on foods high in sugars and saturated fats while completely avoiding fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis is a clear violation of scientific principles and poses a direct threat to patients\u2019 health,\u201d Wehbe warned.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAccording to the Ministry of Health, stopping medication without medical supervision can lead to serious complications, particularly for patients with chronic diseases,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\tWehbe added that the Saudi Food and Drug Authority has highlighted \u201cthe importance of balanced diets and reducing saturated fats and sugars, citing their link to higher levels of harmful cholesterol, increased inflammation, and insulin resistance.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cPromoting such foods as a treatment, goes against established health recommendations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tShe said that restricting fruits and vegetables, key sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants, can result in nutritional deficiencies, digestive problems, and weakened immunity.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThere is no scientific evidence supporting such diets or the exclusion of entire food groups,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\tWehbe said the prevalence of these diets reflects patients\u2019 search for quick fixes. However, these practices are essentially commercial exploitation of patients.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNutritional therapy is an important part of treatment, but it cannot replace medication,\u201d she stressed. \u201cPatient health should never be subject to experimentation or unsubstantiated claims.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt is important to raise awareness of the risks associated with these diets and to promote adherence to scientifically approved dietary plans under the supervision of qualified professionals to protect patients\u2019 health and well-being,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MAKKAH: The Ministry of Health has warned against using unscientific diets as a substitute for prescribed and supervised…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":693741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[97,243],"class_list":["post-693740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-health","tag-medication"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=693740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}