Dr. Mehmet Oz, Heart Surgeon with a Big Heart
Operates on 400 heart patients a year
Erin. M. Rada Interviewed on January 9, 2003 - ATA-DC News - Dr. Mehmet Oz is perhaps the most accomplished and respected cardiothoracic surgeon in the United States. Born in the US to Turkish parents, he works at Columbia University New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. A graduate of University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he also holds an MBA from Wharton School of Business at Penn. This remarkable doctor operates on some 400 patients a year, is a Professor of Cardiac Surgery at Columbia University, director of Cardiovascular Institute at Columbia Presbyterian, directs the Heart Assist Device Program and is the founder of the Complimentary Medicine Program.

He has published more than 350 articles and contributes regularly to magazines like Newsweek, Time and Oprah's 'O', among many others. He has appeared numerous times on network news programs and has frequently been featured in lead stories in magazines and newspapers from around the world including the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, Stern, and Self. He writes award winning books, and serves as one of the Global Leaders of Tomorrow, elected by World Economic Forum. In December, Esquire magazine identified him as the best heart surgeon in New York and highlighted Dr. Oz' pioneering efforts to combine Western medicine with alternative therapies. Dr. Oz is married to Lisa Oz and is a doting father to their four children.

One of the more extraordinary things about this Turkish American doctor is his age: he is only 42! By any standard, Dr. Oz leads a very busy and productive life. Recently, he generously agreed to give us some time to talk to him in his New York office. My first question was based on an observation: Dr. Oz seems very proud of his Turkish heritage and promotes his roots whenever he can. Asked if his background has influenced him as a surgeon, he replied that being Turkish has affected his perspective on how to approach many challenges and his approach to life in general. This dual perspective influences his geopolitical views, attitudes towards training and interaction with others.

His familiarity with both cultures has made him more tolerant of others and open-minded about alternative views.

Global medicine
It is perhaps because Dr. Oz is the product of two cultures that he has taken such leading role in exploring and practicing alternative ways of healing to supplement Western medicine. He prefers to use the term "global medicine" and believes that traditional medicine and non-traditional methods of healing do not have to be mutually exclusive. He gives an example in which a heart transplant has been successfully completed but the patient does not feel "healed" or "whole" afterwards. In accordance with the idea of treating a person and not a disease, supplemental methods of healing may be used in this situation. He also believes that heart trouble may be the result of other problems like anger, anxiety, stresses of various kinds…and these issues must also be addressed. To this end, he has been successfully combining breathing techniques, acupuncture, hypnosis, acupressure, and massage therapy with mainstream methods to treat his patients during and after an operation.

The Turkish diet
We wondered what Dr. Oz thought about the traditional Turkish diet. He says that Turks are genetically predisposed to having high levels of bad cholesterol. This is because historically, the Turkish diet has been primarily comprised of vegetables, grains and small amounts of meat.

As the Turkish diet has changed in the last two decades to include more meat, fatty, and processed foods, and fewer vegetables and grains, our bodies are having to go through the evolutionary process of adapting to these changes. In the meantime however, this new diet means higher levels of cholesterol and the associated risks that come with it.

Preventive care is the most important thing to focus on says Dr. Oz and gives us three important pieces of advice:

1-30 minutes of exercise everyday. Walk, use the stairs, any kind of movement is good.

2-No whites and No fried foods! No white bread, no white sugar, and no white flour. Eat whole wheat pasta and bread. Fried foods contain oxidized fats that may be bad for your health.

3-Ask yourself "why am I here"? Think about your motivations and objectives in life, and your spiritual link to your community. Being a heart surgeon, Dr. Oz knows all too well what he's talking about because he has met many people who asked these questions and tried to evaluate their lives after a heart attack. He advises us that self reflection is beneficial and may just prevent an attack!

Responsibilities to the new generation
Dr. Oz feels that it is very important for Turks who have achieved success in their fields to mentor the next generation. He admits to being challenged in this regard because of lack of time but adds that he always has several young Turkish students or academics working for him in his lab and doing clinical work.

What's next for Mehmet Oz?
At the moment it is difficult to count how many hats Dr. Oz wears in his daily life: He is a tremendously busy man with a young family. He is also an ideal candidate for a public office which he finds "appealing" but he adds "I would be more interested in an appointed position where I could play a role in reworking our health care system for a defined period of time, I love heart surgery too much to ever leave it."