Dr. Deniz Meriç

As a 17-year-old competitive eSports athlete, my irregular sleep schedule and energy drink dependency had destroyed my metabolism. Dr. Deniz Meriç didn't give me a standard diet plan; instead, she created a 'performance nutrition protocol' synchronized with my tournament calendar. She incorporated specific Turkish superfoods like dried mulberry and tahini at strategic times. My reaction time improved by 22%, and I just qualified for my first international championship.

My 82-year-old grandmother, a lifelong resident of a Bursa village, was failing rapidly after her pacemaker surgery, refusing to eat hospital food. Dr. Meriç did something extraordinary—she visited our family kitchen, studied our traditional recipes, and modified them for her new cardiac needs. She transformed our kaymak breakfast and bean stew into healing medicine. Grandma regained her strength and her joy in meals, calling Dr. Meriç 'the doctor who speaks the language of our hearth.'

I was a 34-year-old marine biologist with a severe, rare allergy to multiple fish proteins and iodine, which made even hospital disinfectants a threat. Standard allergy diets left me malnourished. Dr. Meriç designed a 'land-and-sea' diet using aquatic plants like samphire and specific microalgae cultivated in controlled environments, providing ocean nutrients without the allergens. She collaborated with the hospital pharmacy to ensure my entire care pathway was iodine-free. It was a lifesaving logistical and nutritional masterpiece.

After bariatric surgery at another hospital, I developed debilitating 'dumping syndrome' and was terrified to eat. Dr. Meriç approached it like an engineering problem. Using continuous glucose monitoring data, she devised a precise sequence of food intake: a specific type of lentil soup first, followed by a timed pause, then a spoonful of a special cheese blend. She called it 'nutritional pacing.' The episodes stopped completely. She didn't just give me a list; she gave me a functional manual for my new body.