At a quiet café in Nairobi’s Kilimani, 27-year-old communication strategist Suleiman Ahmed orders a morning latte.

However, he opts for camel milk instead of the usual dairy.

“It’s not a gimmick,” he says with a smile.

“It’s what my grandfather and my people used to drink, and it makes me feel better than anything in a carton.”

Suleiman is part of a growing number of young Kenyans embracing traditional pastoral diets in search of health, identity and sustainability.

From fermented camel milk in the north to millet porridge in the west and moringa leaf soups along the coast, the revival is both a cultural and nutritional movement.

Nutritionists say the shift is more than nostalgia. “These foods are nutrient-dense, rich in probiotics, and adapted to our climate,” explains Dr Hussein Kamau, an Eastleigh-based dietitian.

“For example, fermented camel milk has natural antibacterial properties and can aid digestion, while millet is high in fibre and resistant starch.”

The move comes amid rising rates of lifestyle-related illnesses.

A Ministry of Health survey last year found that cases of diabetes and hypertension have climbed sharply in urban areas across the country.

Most diets in towns are increasingly dominated by processed imports and sugar-laden snacks.

For some, the return to ancestral eating is also an act of resistance against globalised food systems.

“Why should I buy imported breakfast cereal when my own community’s porridge kept generations strong?” asks Mohamed Abdi, a 31-year-old software developer who sources his meals from a farmer’s co-operative in Garissa.

Small, medium and macro businesses alike are tapping into the trend, with cafés offering camel-milk cappuccinos, food bloggers sharing sorghum pancake recipes, and supermarkets stocking wild honey and sun-dried meat.

At the same time, nutrition experts warn that not all traditional foods are automatically healthy.

Some pastoral meat dishes, for example, can be high in saturated fat if consumed without balance.

Still, for Suleiman, born along the Kenya-Ethiopia border, the return to his ancestral diet is more than a health choice.

“It connects me to my roots,” he says, sipping his latte.

“It feels like coming home and being part of city civilization one cup at a time.”