Dr. Ali Salcan

As a 72-year-old with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, I was overwhelmed and scared. Dr. Ali Salcan at Bodrum Medical Center didn't just give me a diet chart—he spent two hours mapping my entire culinary history, from my childhood in Izmir to my current habits. He created a 'transitional cuisine' plan that gradually introduced changes using familiar Turkish ingredients. What moved me most was when he called my daughter to explain how to modify our family's stuffed grape leaves recipe. Six months later, my A1C is normal, and I haven't felt deprived once. He treats nutrition like cultural preservation.

Our 8-year-old son developed severe food aversions after a choking incident, surviving on only white bread and yogurt for weeks. Pediatricians suggested therapy, but Dr. Salcan approached it differently. He transformed his consultation room into a 'food exploration lab' with textural stations—crunchy, smooth, creamy—using molecular gastronomy techniques. He turned hummus into edible 'paint' and vegetables into 'building blocks.' Within three visits, our boy was eating roasted carrots. Dr. Salcan didn't just address nutrition; he rebuilt our child's relationship with food through play and curiosity.

During a family vacation in Bodrum, my husband suffered acute diverticulitis flare-up at 3 AM. The ER stabilized him but said dietary management was crucial. Dr. Salcan came to the hospital specifically for our emergency case, analyzing my husband's travel eating patterns. Instead of generic 'clear liquids,' he collaborated with the hotel chef to create a 72-hour 'Bodrum Healing Protocol' using local bone broths, strained herb infusions, and specific mineral waters. He even provided a phased reintroduction plan for our flight home. This wasn't medical care; it was crisis nutrition engineering.

I'm a competitive freediver who needed to optimize my breath-hold capacity through diet. Most nutritionists gave standard athlete advice, but Dr. Salcan designed what he called 'apneic metabolism sequencing.' He analyzed my blood gases, created meals timed to my training sessions, and used traditional Aegean foods in unconventional ways—like seaweed-enriched hünkar beğendi. The most remarkable part was his 'oxygen-sparing menu' for competition days, featuring specific polyphenol timing. My static apnea time increased by 90 seconds. Dr. Salcan approaches dietary science like an architect builds structures—every element serves a precise function.