Moodi Dennaoui, better known as The Diet Doctor, has spent years helping some of Australia’s toughest athletes eat better. NRL players, boxers, musicians and actors preparing for film roles have all turned to him for advice.
He began his writing career with fashion magazines including GQ, Vogue and Cosmopolitan before moving into fitness. His nickname came from a Men’s Fitness article about his work with two-time world champion boxer Billy Dib, when editors struggled to sum up a background that spans a wide range of disciplines, some studied to PhD level. The name stuck, and he went on to write for Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Women’s Fitness and the Huffington Post, appearing on several magazine covers along the way.
His approach is refreshingly individual. Clients start with a comprehensive hormone blood test to uncover micronutrient deficiencies, which he then addresses through food, targeted supplements and exercise suited to the individual. With a background in research methodology, he is quick to question popular diet trends.
A devout Muslim, Br Moodi now lectures on the Quran and Hadith, drawing on the prophetic approach to food. In this column, he explains why looking after your gut begins with how you sit down to eat.
People often ask me which diet they should follow. My answer is always the same. There is no one-size-fits-all because there are no two human beings the same.
I’m not against any food ideology, and I choose that word carefully. I don’t want to disrespect anyone who has dedicated their life to a philosophy by calling it a fad. But when I’ve looked at the research on paleo, intermittent fasting and keto, a pattern emerges.
The most restrictive approach usually wins for the first eight to 12 weeks. After about 20 weeks, the person who simply ate sensibly and understood their food comes out ahead. Their body composition is better, their productivity is better and their gut health is better.
That last point matters most to me.
Your first brain
I call the stomach the first brain, and I mean that literally. When you get a gut feeling about something, it’s not just a figure of speech. The gut plays a huge role in how we feel and think, and yet it’s the part of our health we neglect the most.
Every day I make sure I have a good probiotic plus three fermented foods. The first is a fermented drink, which for me is apple cider vinegar. The second is a fermented vegetable such as pickles, sauerkraut or kimchi. The third is a fermented dairy product like kefir or goat’s milk yoghurt, which is naturally low in lactose because of the fermenting process.
Dairy is worth a mention. Paleo cuts it out, and people who followed it strictly ended up with very low calcium levels. That’s a problem for bone density, but calcium also plays a part in fat burning. In the research I’ve seen, the people who had the most success with weight loss had calcium or dairy in their diets.
I start my day with greens powder, apple cider vinegar and a little Manuka or Yemeni Sidr honey. I train before I eat, and my first meal afterwards has protein, carbs and fats.
I’m also wary of the trend to go dairy-free, lactose-free or gluten-free without a medical reason. If you have an allergy, I feel for you, because that’s out of your hands. But an intolerance, more often than not, is self-inflicted. Go gluten-free for three months, then travel somewhere and eat whatever is available, and you’ll be in a world of pain. You want your gut to produce the digestive acids and enzymes it needs, whatever you eat.
Eat the way the Prophet taught
Studying the Hadith in more detail has shaped how I think about food. The prophetic way is a minimalist approach, and I believe it’s the healthiest.
People used to eat in a state of gratitude and presence. Nobody was scrolling through their phone at the table or eating alone in separate corners of the house. Food was an event. Most dishes had only two or three ingredients, and it’s hard to hide bad food with so few.
Sitting down to eat is one of the most basic teachings, and there’s good reason for it. With every mouthful, your brain works out what you’ve eaten and how much, then tells your stomach to release the right acids and enzymes. That takes about seven seconds. When you stand or walk while eating, the food arrives too quickly for that message to keep up. That’s where the bloating and gastrointestinal distress come from. Grabbing a wrap and rushing through the city between meetings is exactly what we shouldn’t be doing.
Don’t drink with your food either. Drinks dilute the acids and enzymes trying to break it down. Have your water or warm tea before the meal, stop when the food arrives, then wait 10 to 15 minutes after eating before drinking again.
Temperature matters too. I always ask for room temperature water. Your body is around 37 degrees, and cold drinks straight from the fridge can make fats clumpier and harder for your body to use properly. It’s a simple habit and I think a safer one.
Get the order right
Eat according to how easily food digests. Fruit, salad and vegetables take seven to 15 minutes, while protein can take three to four hours. So have the lighter foods first. We serve fruit after a barbecue thinking we’re doing the right thing, but it’s completely backwards. Many cultures in Spain and the Middle East still serve fruit first, as we once did.
Protein and carbs digest at roughly the same rate, so you can eat them together. Start with your salad and vegetables and you prepare your stomach for what’s coming. You’ll absorb more nutrients, you probably won’t get bloated and you can still enjoy your meal.
At night, I finish with peppermint tea and a little dark chocolate. It helps clear any food left in the stomach, which matters because a full stomach keeps your heart rate up and stops you reaching deep sleep.
Don’t be scared of the barbecue
My goal is to help people become their own nutritionist, so they can handle a family barbecue, dinner with their spouse or a trip overseas without stress. I’ve seen people order chicken at a steakhouse because they were frightened of the fat. Enjoy the steak. Just skip the starchy sides with a fatty cut.
There’s a time and a place for everything. Any diet that tells you that you cannot eat a certain food or have a certain beverage for the rest of your life isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
Feature image: The Diet Doctor Moodi Dennaoui (right) with social media influencer Chris Primod.
