The book is divided into two parts. The first contains a study on the development of the theory of ‘Treatment by Nutrition’ starting with the ancient civilizations, Arab medical heritage, and down to modern time. The second part presents the authenticated text of the treatise entitled al-Mukhtār min al-Aghziya- ‘Selected Diet’ by Ibn al-Nafīs. The author prescribes certain food types to be used in different medical cases, for those who wish to lose or gain weight, and to increase or decrease a person’s sexual potency. The manuscript that underlies the critical review of the published text is the only surviving copy of the treatise currently preserved in the National Library in Berlin with the classification number 6400Pm.

Number of pages: 133.   

Daral-Masriyya al-Lubnaniyya, Cairo/ Beirut, 1992.
Second edition: Dar Nahdit Misr, Cairo, 2008.