Meeting Health Challenges in a Stressful World

Embrace holistic, science-backed methods to tackle stress and achieve lasting wellness. Discover innovative approaches for a balanced, healthy lifestyle in a challenging world

By Ghazala Tikki Zaman and Tabassum Vally

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Published: Wed 14 Aug 2024, 11:44 AM

As the world bounced back from the pandemic years there is a renewed interest in health and preservation for a healthy lifestyle. People are more conscious and aware of what is needed to maintain a good balanced life which ensures healthy longevity.

Never before there has been so much talk about mental health, and how it impacts our body and physical health. Without a doubt, we are seeing an increase in the use of functional and holistic approaches backed by science in maintaining one’s health at any age.


Ahlaam Ali

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“Rather than a pill for every ill,” Ahlaam Ali believes that there is a cure for every disease when looking through the functional lens.

Ali after being an enthusiastic nutritionist for many years, has now acquired an impressive degree in Functional Medicine. It took her four years to complete the degree, in her newfound passion, to understand the connection between human anatomy and mind.

As the world struggles through many stressful times and health issues, functional medicine focuses on the root cause of what is known to be a state of Disease in the body.

“Functional Medicine is applicable to any Dis-Ease in your body. The reason we say Dis-Ease instead of Disease is because your body is simply in Dis-Ease due to our lifestyle, eating habits and chemical and Nutrient deficiencies in your body and cells”.

Ahlaam Ali has recently been appointed as a consultant on the scientific advisory board for Cellular Edge an innovation and AI-driven research and Solution Company.

Ali has a deep understanding of the human mind, is passionate about helping people, and believes that pain and suffering can be eliminated holistically by addressing its cause in its very roots.

Ali is an owner and, Functional medicine, practitioner at Harley Street wellbeing, and is a published author, and a nutritionist and weight loss consultant. Ali is also a hypnotherapist and Gut specialist practising in London, Dubai and internationally.

Ali works with her clients on a one-to-one basis and in her own words helps to “upgrade their biological software.” Ali believes that to every ailment there is a root cause and unless this is addressed, the disease will perpetuate itself both in one’s mind and body. Ali believes that we can turn back the chronological age of our bodies by integrating the latest research in science and medicine with a back-to-basics approach.

Functional medicine also works with Bio Hacking which helps patient upgrade their biological software. This enables people to increase their health span rather than living with immobility in later years.

Commenting on the health awareness amongst the people in UAE, Ali is seeing a big shift in people’s awareness towards preventive medicine. People in UAE, like in the rest of the world, are realizing it’s important to look after one’s sleep patterns, brain, gut microbiome and overall wellbeing.

“There is no substitute for being mindful of our daily habits and assessing regularly whether these habits contribute to wellbeing or sickness.”

Equipped with a degree that took four years to acquire Ali covers all aspects of the Root Cause approach to Disease. The root cause of all Disease is inflammation. So in effect by targeting inflammation in our bodies many diseases can be prevented and treated.

This philosophy lies at the heart of functional Medicine.

Ali works holistically with her patients to create a customised treatment and nutrition plan to empower them with physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Working as a part of a specialist team, Ali helps to design well-being programs based on her patient’s history, lifestyle, activity level, food preferences and food intolerances. In addition to working with individuals, Ali also works with corporates to deliver workshops and training sessions to empower individuals and teams to boost their performance at work.

Mariam Mohyeddin

Mariam Mohyeddin is a driven and highly professional physiotherapist with many happy clients. Her caring personality and innate enthusiasm to help people have put her amongst some of the most renowned and skilled physiotherapists in the UAE.

Mariam is a third-generation Pakistani national who was born, and raised, in Dubai. Recalling her early childhood and college days Mariam spoke fondly of Dubai and thought of herself fortunate to have grown up in a multi-cultural environment. Mariam enjoyed her early years in the UAE, which in those days, was less populated but equally charming as it stands today.

“Living in a multicultural city has taught me that human beings are more similar than different.”

Mariam with a degree in physiotherapy from the University of Brighton returned to Dubai and after a brief stint of work experience with her mentor joined the health services. Mariam has been a licensed practitioner for the past ten years, and she is a renowned physician in the field of physiotherapy. She has a special interest in musculoskeletal and sports injury.

Mariam believes that looking after one’s health is an important part of living and research is now proving that a healthy mind is the key instrument in keeping well.

“Our lives have become stressful and the pandemic has also affected many people with many psychological issues. To keep healthy it is important to have a positive attitude, eat healthy take preventive measures and give as little as four minutes a day to stay fit. The four minutes include walking after every meal, early morning sun and gentle exercise after meals. This not only helps the body to stay agile but also assists in digestion which is a key element in staying healthy. A healthy gut leads to a healthy mind and more research is being conducted to understand the impact of gut microbiome on the human mind.

As we age our body requires extra care especially for women as they lose skeletal muscle and this leads to a general weakness. Her mantra for healthy living when one approaches midlife especially for women is movement, exercise, regular checkups and a preventive functional holistic approach to health.

Mariam has a keen interest in sports and hence this inspired her to choose a profession that was very much related to her passion for sports and to help people.

In her own words she enjoys interacting with people and her job enables her to connect with people from all walks of life.

It is her dedication to her profession which recently led her to pursue a certification in digital health care from Harvard Medical School.

This has enabled her to integrate state-of-the-art technology into her treatments. Her holistic approach backed by science has made her one of the most sought-after physiotherapists in Dubai.


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