‘Miracle beans’ key to treatment, cure of diabetes: Egyptian professor

Dr. Osama Hamdi is the Medical Director of the Obesity Clinical Program at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Massachusetts. (Screengrab/YouTube)
Short Url
Updated 14 November 2022
Follow

‘Miracle beans’ key to treatment, cure of diabetes: Egyptian professor

  • Dr. Osama Hamdi: ‘Beans are a miracle for diabetics because they are high in protein and fibers that are useful for the body’
  • Dr. Hamdi: ‘If we go back to eating lentils, beans, fruits, vegetables, and cheese, and eating meat twice a week, it will be much better’

CAIRO: A leading Egyptian medical expert claims “miracle beans” could play a key role in the future treatment and cure of diabetes.

Dr. Osama Hamdi, professor of internal medicine and diabetes at Harvard University, told Arab News that a new diet and exercise program developed by scientists meant “a cure for diabetes has become possible.”

His comments coincided with World Diabetes Day on Monday which aims to raise awareness about the condition that globally affects more than 460 million people and claimed the lives of 2 million sufferers in 2019 alone.

Hamdi said: “The world is moving in many directions for the treatment of the disease. There are programs to treat patients in the first five years of being affected.”

He highlighted a treatment program centered around diet and muscle-strengthening workouts.

“The diet involves intermittent fasting, like in Ramadan — for 16 hours over a period of 90 days — and giving accurately calculated calories to the patient, with an exercise program that builds and strengthens muscles.

“Beans are a miracle for diabetics because they are high in protein and fibers that are useful for the body.

“If we go back to eating lentils, beans, fruits, vegetables, and cheese, and eating meat twice a week, it will be much better. Here lies the prevention.

“I advise diabetics to eat beans as a main meal for breakfast, with a little bread and a small amount of olive oil and lemon, provided that lunch is a piece of chicken or low-fat meat and a small amount of rice and vegetables,” he added.

Hamdi pointed out that dinner must be light and consist of yogurt or white cheese with a piece of bread and fruit such as watermelon.

He also noted the need to exercise for at least 10 minutes every day.

On the treatment of diabetes using stem cells, he said: “If someone asked me several years ago about the use of stem cells for the definitive treatment of type 1 (diabetes) disease, I would have said it is tens of years ahead, but now I am almost certain that it is within three to five years at the most.

“It is impossible for me to forget the importance of my country, Egypt, and I cannot forget that I am an Arab, so I promise all Egyptians and Arabs, that over the next two years, Cairo will be the largest and most important center for diabetes in the Middle East, to help around 40,000 patients annually suffering from this dreaded disease.

“But the emigration of doctors is a setback because they are a national security for the state, in order to maintain a healthy people.”

He described Egyptian doctors as “jewels,” adding that most young doctors left the country to work elsewhere due to the low rates of pay In Egypt.

Born in the Egyptian city of Mansoura in 1956, Hamdi graduated from the faculty of medicine in 1981. He is now medical director of an obesity program at the Joslin Diabetes Center, the largest and oldest diabetes research center in the US and the world.

A recipient of the American Academy of Sciences award, Hamdi is widely recognized as one of the top researchers in the world in diabetes technology particularly for his work on diets to treat the condition.


After Israel strikes Iran, airlines divert flights, airspace closed

Updated 6 sec ago
Follow

After Israel strikes Iran, airlines divert flights, airspace closed

  • Iranian airspace has been closed until further notice, state media reported
  • Six commercial aircraft have been shot down unintentionally and three nearly missed since 2001, according to aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions

SEOUL: Airlines cleared out of the airspace over Israel, Iran and Iraq early on Friday after Israel launched attacks on targets in Iran, Flightradar24 data showed, with carriers scrambling to divert and cancel flights to keep passengers and crew safe.

Proliferating conflict zones around the world are becoming an increasing burden on airline operations and profitability, and more of a safety concern.

Six commercial aircraft have been shot down unintentionally and three nearly missed since 2001, according to aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions.

Israel on Friday said it targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.

Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defense units stood at high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran.

Israeli flag carrier El Al Airlines said it had suspended flights to and from Israel.

Iranian airspace has been closed until further notice, state media reported.

As reports of strikes on Iran emerged, a number of commercial flights by airlines including Dubai’s Emirates, Lufthansa and Air India were flying over Iran.

Emirates, Lufthansa and Air India did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Iraq early on Friday closed its airspace and suspended all traffic at its airports, Iraqi state media reported.

Eastern Iraq near the border with Iran contains one of the world’s busiest air corridors, with dozens of flights crossing between Europe and the Gulf, many on routes from Asia to Europe, at any one moment.

Flights steadily diverted over Central Asia or Saudi Arabia, flight tracking data showed.

“The situation is still emerging — operators should use a high degree of caution in the region at this time,” according to Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information.

Several flights due to land in Dubai were diverted early on Friday. An Emirates flight from Manchester to Dubai was diverted to Istanbul and a flydubai flight from Belgrade diverted to Yerevan, Armenia.

Budget carrier flydubai said it had suspended flights to Amman, Beirut, Damascus, Iran and Israel and a number of other flights had been canceled, rerouted or returned to their departure airports.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East since October 2023 led to commercial aviation sharing the skies with short-notice barrages of drones and missiles across major flight paths – some of which were reportedly close enough to be seen by pilots and passengers.

Last year, planes were shot down by weaponry in Kazakhstan and in Sudan. These incidents followed the high-profile downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 and of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 en route from Tehran in 2020.


Iran’s Khamenei warns Israel faces ‘bitter and painful fate’

Updated 13 June 2025
Follow

Iran’s Khamenei warns Israel faces ‘bitter and painful fate’

TEHRAN: Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel would suffer severe consequences after launching deadly attacks on the Islamic republic on Friday, including Tehran and nuclear sites.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it,” Khamenei said in a statement.


UN nuclear watchdog says ‘closely monitoring’ situation after Israel strikes Iran

Updated 13 June 2025
Follow

UN nuclear watchdog says ‘closely monitoring’ situation after Israel strikes Iran

VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed Friday that Israeli strikes were targeting an Iranian uranium enrichment site, saying it was “closely monitoring the deeply concerning situation.”
“The IAEA is closely monitoring the deeply concerning situation in Iran. Agency can confirm Natanz site among targets,” International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said in a post on the agency’s X feed, as the IAEA’s board of governors meets this week in Vienna.
“The agency is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels. We are also in contact with our inspectors in the country,” he added.


IRGC commander, 2 nuclear scientists killed in Israeli strikes: Iran state TV

Updated 13 June 2025
Follow

IRGC commander, 2 nuclear scientists killed in Israeli strikes: Iran state TV

  • Khamenei, Revolutionary Guards warn Israel of “harsh punishment” for its attacks
  • Dead scientists identified as Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi

RIYADH: Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei confirmed on Friday that several military commanders and scientists were “martyred” in Israeli strikes on Tehran.

In a statement carried on state television, Khamenei warned that Israel will not go unpunished for its attacks.

State television earlier said that Hossein Salami, the chief of the Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was among those killed, along with another top Guard official and two nuclear scientists.

An anchor read a statement saying: “The news of assassination and martyrdom of Gen. Hossein Salami was confirmed.” The anchor did not elaborate.

“The martyrdom of... Major General Gholam Ali Rashid is confirmed,” state television said.

A major power center within Iran’s theocracy, with vast business interests and oversees the nation’s ballistic missile arsenal, the IRGC had been accused by Iran's neighbors of maintaining proxy militias such as the Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Al-Hashd al-Shaabi of Iraq.

Iran’s Nournews also reported that Ali Shamkhani, a rear admiral who serves as adviser to Khamenei, was “critically injured.”

State television and local media also reported the death of two scientists working on Iran's nuclear program. They were identified as Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi.

Several children were also reportedly killed in a strike on a residential area in the capital.

Iranian media and witnesses reported explosions including at the country’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, while Israel declared a state of emergency in anticipation of retaliatory missile and drone strikes.

In a recorded video message, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel targeted Iranian scientists working on a nuclear bomb, its ballistic missile program and its Natanz uranium enrichment facility, in an operation that he said would continue "for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”

“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Netanyahu said, adding that the targeted military operation was meant to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.

An Israeli military official said Israel was striking “dozens” of nuclear and military targets including the facility at Natanz in central Iran. The official said Iran had enough material to make 15 nuclear bombs within days.

Alongside extensive air strikes, Israel’s Mossad spy agency led a series of covert sabotage operations inside Iran, Axios reported, citing a senior Israeli official. These operations were aimed at damaging Iran’s strategic missile sites and its air defense capabilities.

Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defense units stood at high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran.

“Following the pre-emptive strike by the State of Israel against Iran, a missile and UAV (drone) attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate time frame,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

(With Agencies)


Netanyahu says Israel operation against Iran to ‘continue as many days as it takes’

Updated 13 June 2025
Follow

Netanyahu says Israel operation against Iran to ‘continue as many days as it takes’

  • “We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Netanyahu said in a video message
  • Says Israel also targetting scientists working on Iran nuclear weapons
  • Iran state TV reported that at least two nuclear scientists were killed in the Israeli strike

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s attack on Iran would “continue for as many days as it takes” after Israel announced it had carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites.
“This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, adding that Israel launched a ‘targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.’

Calling the offensive “Rising Lion,” he said Israel was also targeting Iranian commanders and missile factories, and declared a state of emergency in anticipation of retaliatory missile and drone strikes by Tehran.
“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in the recorded video message.

“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility at Natanz... We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program,” he said, adding that Israel had also hit Iranian nuclear scientists “working on the Iranian bomb.”

Iran state TV later reported that nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were killed in the Israeli strike.

A witness in Nantanz city said multiple explosions were heard near the facility, and a senior Iranian official told Reuters that the country’s leadership was holding a top security meeting.