Merve Gizem Bahçıvan Ayla, Dietitian

Merve Gizem Bahçıvan Ayla is a dietitian in the Nutrition & Diet unit, practising at Acibadem Bahçeşehir Outpatient Clinic and Acibadem International Hospital in İstanbul. Her work centers on medical nutrition therapy, in which dietary plans are adapted to a patient’s diagnosis, laboratory findings, life stage and daily routine, and are reviewed over time as the clinical picture changes.

She studied at Haliç University School of Health Sciences between 2010 and 2014. Since 2014 she has worked within Acıbadem Healthcare Services. She is a member of the Türkiye Diyetisyenler Association. Her clinical practice combines nutrition counseling for specific medical conditions with guidance for healthy individuals whose nutritional needs change with age, physical activity or reproductive stage.

Clinical focus

A significant part of Merve Gizem Bahçıvan Ayla’s practice involves nutrition for diagnosed medical conditions. She provides dietary guidance for patients with celiac disease, where a carefully planned gluten-free diet is the basis of management, and for patients with gout, where food choices may influence uric acid levels alongside medical treatment. She also offers nutrition planning for cardiovascular disease and for iron deficiency anemia, in which dietary iron intake and absorption are considered together with the treatment prescribed by the referring physician. Diet therapy for psychiatric disorders and functional nutrition are further areas of her work, generally carried out in coordination with the treating medical team.

Her practice also covers nutrition across different life stages. This includes pregnancy nutrition, menstrual health nutrition and menopause nutrition, as well as weight management in children and adolescents, where growth and development are taken into account when setting realistic dietary goals. She additionally provides sports nutrition guidance for individuals seeking to match their intake to training demands and recovery.

How Merve Gizem Bahçıvan Ayla works with international patients

Merve Gizem Bahçıvan Ayla consults in Turkish and English, and interpreters can be arranged for patients who speak other languages. Before a visit, the hospital’s international patient team coordinates the collection of prior reports and imaging, such as laboratory and pathology results, MRI, CT, X-ray or ultrasound reports, operative notes and discharge summaries, and arranges appointments and the hospital visit. A first consultation typically covers the patient’s history and symptoms, a review of existing records and previous treatments, a clinical assessment and a discussion of the dietary options that may be suitable. Video consultation is available for international patients, which can be helpful for an initial discussion of a case or for follow-up of an established nutrition plan. Any dietary recommendations are intended to complement, not replace, the medical care provided by the patient’s treating physicians.