A true success story with its knowledge, stance and professional reputation.
“My daughter Derin is my reason for living, my patients are my source of motivation.”
This sentence we heard during our pleasant conversation at his clinic in Yalikavak summarizes the secret behind the success of the young doctor… Uz. Dr. Nergiz van den Berk’s passion and enthusiasm for his profession is extremely impressive!
He is one of the most popular answers to the question of what do you want to be when you grow up. In fact, she steps into the world of medicine by injecting her dolls in her tiny dreams… 6 years of medical education, then a specialty and a never-ending student life… As she never gives up on her dream, she crowns her career with successes and firsts…
Who is Nergiz Van Den Berk? Can you tell us about your career life?
I graduated from Ege University Faculty of Medicine. When I graduated, I had a number of question marks in my mind. Medicine is divided into specialties. Such as dermatology, skin diseases, orthopedics, muscle and joint disease, infection or chest diseases. The human body is an organism and a whole. When you divide it into parts, when you are only busy with that part, you miss the system, that is, some diseases. At a time when I had to decide on my specialty, it was a great coincidence that the American Dr. John Fowler established Emergency Medicine Specialization at Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine. I became the first Emergency Medicine Specialist to receive American training on behalf of Turkey’s Ministry of Health.
A symptom or complaint can be caused by many different reasons. For example, the cause of acne on your face may be an intestinal disorder. I learned a more systematic approach to this issue with Emergency Medicine Specialization. The patient presents with abdominal pain, may have a heart attack, or chest pain may be a sign of depression. Diagnosing it in a short time and finding the reason behind it requires a systematic approach. For this reason, emergency medicine was my first choice.
As a result of the training I received, I began to question the existing system after I mastered the human body and adapted from symptom to diagnosis. A Motomot algorithm is taught to you and when the patient comes, a diagnosis is made accordingly. MRIs, CT scans… After the diagnosis, medicine is prescribed and the event ends. Most of the time, that drug does not cure the disease, it improves the quality of life for a short time and may cause a different discomfort in this process. The main thing is to find the cause of the disease and of course to solve it. While trying to treat it, I think that we should not make the human body sicker or make it old. For this reason, I focused on preventive medicine and anti-aging. I worked in this field for about 7 years at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. “How do we protect the spinal cord?” I performed on a rabbit in 2010. My work called 1. chosen. The year I received the offer of the head of the department from the university, I decided to return to my homeland when the longing for my hometown became heavy. I was appointed to İzmir Atatürk Training and Research Hospital by the Ministry of Health.
I became the first Turkish doctor to receive a diploma on the use of USG in skin, soft tissue and muscles from the Royal Academy of London.
I have been providing health services in Bodrum for 3 years under the roof of Ng clinic.
Could you tell us about your treatment, studies and trainings on anti-aging?
Today, anti-aging studies such as anti-aging are very advanced. We can say that we will not grow old anymore or we will age too late. In this process, of course, it is important to approach the patient individually. Each individual has a unique body, body. From the way you eat in your mother’s womb, your birth, the foods you eat, the milk you suck, how your intestinal flora develops, whether you have experienced a lot of stress in your life, it is of great importance to make all mental and physical analyzes and choose the most appropriate treatment approach.
Worldwide studies have yielded very interesting results. Breast milk is extremely beneficial for the baby and meets how much calcium and protein it needs. At the same time, the sugar molecule called oligosaccharide is quite high in breast milk, and research shows that this molecule feeds a bacterium, a microorganism, in the baby’s intestine. The intestinal flora is so important that it develops the baby’s healthy life and defense mechanism.
In anti-aging, human cells are actually encoded for up to 150 years. However, factors such as living conditions, insomnia and stress affect the integrity of the soul and body. There is a study called telomeres, this is a chromosome protein. By looking at the length of this protein, we can see how much life you have left. There are also studies on how long we can extend it.
Mental health is also very effective in anti-aging. Positive thoughts, a stress-free life, being happy are the most important details that lengthen telomeres. I always tell my patients, don’t look for food, look for food. Today, the most important issue we have to fight against anti-aging is nutrition. I especially focus on food intolerance tests in my work. Most of my patients have a fruit intolerance, I see that they have a problem of indigestion. Because we tire the gallbladder and liver from consuming fructose-laden fruits. For this reason, the most important factor in anti-aging is natural nutrition, physical activity, and a good mental structure. There are very good analyzes now. Micronutrients, microbiota… That means something. Let’s say your body needs 375 mg of calcium. But when you look at the market, all calcium is 500 mg. We provide vitamin, mineral and hormone support according to the cellular needs of our body, not according to our minds.
What kind of health services are offered in your clinic? Can you tell us about your working system with your patients during the treatment process?
The first meeting is very important. It is really important to understand the patient, to perceive the patient’s past, future and mental state. Filling out the necessary forms in your file opened for you. You are going on a tour in our clinic. After seeing what’s going on one-on-one, the doctor-patient relationship begins. First, skin analysis and necessary blood tests are performed. Of course, what the patient wants is also important. For example, some of our overweight patients come and say that I have sagging on my face, let’s collect it. But first, we need to reduce our fat rate, lose weight, and switch to treatment. Patients generally heed these warnings.
In our clinic, we provide genetic testing, food intolerance, intestinal flora, candida, heavy metal, vitamin and mineral typesetting services, as well as anti-aging and emergency intervention.
Of course, we are also working on stem cells. In stem cells, a piece of your ear and your blood are taken and sent to a laboratory where we work at Istanbul Technical University. Your cells, which rejuvenate you completely for 3-4 weeks, are produced with your blood. When it reaches around 20 million, we use it in your treatment by injecting it into areas such as rejuvenation, scars, surgery scars, acne scars, for purely therapeutic purposes. This is a laboratory approved by the Ministry of Health. The sample is kept for 4 years and when we want to do stem cell studies again after 4 years, these young cells are used.
Could you briefly talk about the content of your book titled “The Legal Aspect of Health Services”?
When I was in medical school, when you got on the elevator, if you had a white coat, you were given priority, there was great respect. When I returned from the Netherlands, I realized that the situation had changed a lot. With the patient rights enacted in 1997, patients have the power to say and do everything over physicians. They had no physician rights. Emergency rooms are where this happens the most. I thought that I should master the health law because it was a constant incident. I did my PhD in Health Law at Izmir University to explain my rights, duties and responsibilities as well as the responsibilities of patients. My thesis titled “Legal problems of emergency health services” has been a serious resource in the process of preparing my book. This publication is a book to be consulted in an acute situation for the patient and the physician, in line with the regulations and legislations.