The Nidam al-Tayyibat table consists of five frequency zones: Green daily without limit, Yellow daily with a point of vigilance, Orange every two days to once a week, Purple very rarely, Red never. This page gives the table, its logic, and the link to the entry for each food.
It is the question asked most often about this system: not “what is it”, but “where is the written list”. Here it is, as the site’s food database publishes it, with the actual counts by zone.
The table of the five zones
Each food in the system carries a zone, and the zone is a frequency, not a nutritional judgement. According to the system, it is the rhythm that matters, not the quantity.
| Zone | What the system allows | Foods classified |
|---|---|---|
| Green | daily, without frequency limit | 69 |
| Yellow | daily, with a point of vigilance | 17 |
| Orange | every two days to once a week | 26 |
| Purple | very rarely | 4 |
| Red | never | 81 |
That makes 197 published entries. The surprising figure is the last one: the system excludes more foods than it admits daily. This is what makes it a whitelist rather than an exclusion diet — a point developed in our page on the word khabith.
The Green zone, the basis of every day
It is the most useful zone to know by heart, because it requires no calculation.
- Rice (Green), bulgur (Green) and potato (Green) for starches.
- Natural butter (Green) and smen (Green) for cooking.
- Dates (Green), banana (Green) and apricot (Green) for sweetness.
- Salt (Green), cumin (Green) and black pepper (Green) for seasoning.
The system considers these foods to be the daily foundation and sets no frequency limit on them. The full list of permitted spices is detailed in our page on spices.
The Yellow zone, and the point of vigilance
Yellow remains daily. What changes is that a condition accompanies the entry.
Courgette (Yellow), almonds (Yellow), cinnamon (Yellow): the system admits them every day, while signalling a point to watch that is specific to each one. The entry states it; the table alone is not enough.
Orange and Purple: frequency becomes the rule
These two zones are the ones that summaries most often distort, because they are translated as “allowed” or “forbidden” when they are saying something else.
Orange — lamb (Orange), beef (Orange), aubergine (Orange), carrot (Orange) — runs from one day in two to once a week depending on the entry. Purple is much narrower: only four foods, including green beans (Purple), at very rare frequency.
According to the system, an Orange food eaten every day falls outside the framework just as surely as a Red food.
The Red zone, and why there is no small amount
81 entries, or more than 40% of the database. The system attaches no frequency and no dose to it.
Garlic (Red) and onion (Red) are the most disconcerting cases, because they form the basis of almost every slow-cooked dish. Pulses (Red) are also there, including lentils and chickpeas, as are oats (Red) and avocado (Red).
The system does not provide for “a little now and then” in this zone: the entry gives Red, and Red has no frequency.
How to read an entry, and why the table is not enough
A table gives a colour. The entry gives the condition, and it is often the condition that decides.
- The zone answers “at what frequency”.
- The condition answers “in what state”: cooked, raw, homemade, industrial.
- Preparation changes the entry. Fresh lemon (Red) and preserved lemon (Orange) are two distinct entries, not a tolerance on the same one.
- Nothing is deduced by resemblance. Two similar foods can carry two zones.
The system requires each entry to be read for itself, and this is the purpose of the food database: it gives the 197 searchable entries, with their condition.
Reading the table across a day
A frequency table is hard to read column by column. It reads well over a day, because that is the rhythm the system reasons in.
In the morning, Green is enough: bran toast (Green) with butter (Green) and a few dates (Green). At lunchtime, Green carries the dish and Orange provides the day’s protein, for example lamb (Orange) with rice (Green). In the evening, Green takes over alone.
The rule that the table does not show but the system requires: two hours between two meals, and no meal without real hunger. It is the rhythm that creates the framework, not the colour alone.
Seen this way, a day can be composed without memorising the 197 entries: Green decides the structure, Orange is placed once, Red is never placed. These suggestions are from the team; the system publishes a list, not menus.
The table as a PDF, and what it contains
Many people look for this written table, to print or to keep on their phone. That is what the site guide contains.
The complete guide brings together the five zones, the entries by family and the frequency benchmarks in a single document. The first two days of the programme can be consulted free of charge, without payment and without an account, to judge the content before buying. The weekly programme is described in our page on the PDF programme.
Nothing sold adds any food to the system: the guide formats what the database already publishes free of charge.
What this table does not say
Three limitations, better read before starting than after.
- No quantity. The system publishes neither grammes nor calories. A frequency table is not a quantified eating plan.
- No measured result. The system has published no clinical data, and we do not claim any.
- No medical adaptation. Diabetes, pregnancy, ongoing treatment: these situations are a matter for a health professional, not a table.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find the full written Nidam al-Tayyibat table?
In the food database, which publishes the 197 entries with their zone and their condition, and in printable form in the guide.
How many foods does the system admit daily?
86 entries are in the Green or Yellow zone, therefore daily according to the system — 69 Green without limit and 17 Yellow with a point of vigilance.
Is the table the same for everyone?
The system publishes a single list, with no variant by age, weight or pathology. This is a limitation to be aware of: any individual adaptation goes beyond what it describes.
What does the Purple zone mean?
Very rarely. It contains only four foods, including green beans (Purple) and mloukhia (Purple).
Can a Red food be replaced by an equivalent?
The system reasons by membership of the list, not by nutritional equivalence. A substitute is only accepted if it has its own entry in a zone that permits it.
Do you have to memorise everything to start?
No. The Green zone is enough to compose a whole day, and the entries can be consulted at the time of shopping.
Further reading
- The food database — the 197 entries, their zone and their condition.
- What is the Tayebat diet?
- Permitted spices: the complete list
- The weekly food programme in PDF
The zones and counts cited come from the site’s food database, built from the published lists of the system described by Doctor Diaa Al-Awadi. The conditions are those carried by each entry.
Disclaimer
This article does not replace medical advice. It describes a frequency table published by a food system, without demonstrating its effects. If you are pregnant, diabetic, under treatment, a minor, elderly or being followed for an eating disorder, speak to a health professional before changing your diet.