Oskar: Professional football already have doctors, physios, nutritionists, chefs and sports scientists around them all the time. Why do you believe there's still room for what you do and for functional medicine in that whole equation?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: That's really really good point. any kind of club definitely that's playing in a in a top five leagues or or even even below it, they have the whole medical system. But what We what we are trying to do right now is we are not trying to be any competition to the clubs, of course. We want to build on it. Because we need need we need those data hundred percent. We cannot work without it. But after that we have to have biological information how the body works for for one specific athlete. And what we are doing right now is we are working one on one with any kind of client who is football player and we want to adjust everything possible to him or to her, basically. Why? Because for example, if we are talking about genetics, if we are talking about the biochemistry if you are talking about biological systems inside so you you you don't know these data anywhere in the clubs usually because they don't have time to to go over 25 players or 30 players whatever they have on on in on their schedule, basically. So before the season they are trying to do these performance testing and everything. And when you have those data and you combine it with genetics, we when you combine it with biochemistry, biological data, then you can get from the player like activation 100% of the cell, basically, because you are trying to I mean you are you are adjusting everything to him or to her.

Oskar: Dr. Omar Nuitch, and I think I got that one right. Welcome to the business of longevity. It's a pleasure to have you on the podcast. You trained as a medical doctor and then moved relatively quickly into functional medicine. You built your own private practice and now you're applying that work to professional football, which is very interesting. But before we kind of get into all of the football space, which which I love, but then I want to understand a little bit about how you got to where you are right now. So please take me back to medical school. What did you originally think your career was going to look like?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: It's my pleasure as well. So I I was l really looking forward to to our podcast and everything and to meeting you like in person if I can say like that. So it's

Oskar: Right.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: really, really my pleasure. I hope we'll we'll meet in person as well. Yeah, we will. We will. I'm looking forward to it. Yeah,

Oskar: I I promise we will. It's my mission. It's my mission in life. To meet you in person, mate.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: my mate. Thank you, thank you for everything. So regarding that my my medical career or medical faculty, specifically medical school, I when I started studying medicine it was due to generally how how medical doctors were acting towards my my grandma. So she was really sick. She she died of cancer from cancer. So she had metastasis and everything and she was in coma and I I was really disappointed how they acted to her toward her. And then basically that was my s because I didn't plan to study medicine at all at the beginning. So I was playing basketball semi professionally at that time, in a high school and I really enjoyed doing that. So and then I injured my knee and everything, so I stopped playing, obviously. And then I s wanted to study mechanical engineering because I w my father is mechanical engineer and I want to do it. And then he said I mean that that happened with my grandma, so I decided to shift and I said one I remember that. I said like even though if I don't become any any good doctor, at least I'll act nicely. Toward the patient. So that was my primary stimulus to go into the medical school. And then during it, I was really interested into cardiology. or cardio surgery basically. So I want because all of these vessels were really interesting to me, how they work, how they how the blood is being pumped from the heart, communication of the body, like e even like immunological stuff, how they move. So all of this was really interesting to me. And then later on I shifted to at least in my mind, I shifted to orthopedic orthopedic stuff due to sports again. Because I find that more It was not more interesting, it was I I l I find that familiar to what I was doing before because of the sports of course, of the basketball. And then that stayed until my mother got sick. So when she got sick then they d prescribed her a lot of drugs and everything. So from that time I started thinking, okay, listen, this d doesn't make sense because I at that time I was I think fourth. fourth year of of medical school and we were learning about pharmacology. So one of the assistants at that time we were talking about thyroid gland and we were talking about beta blockers. So that was one of the drugs for obviously arrhythmias and and blood pressure. So my mother had one of the things that she had was thyroid gland issues. She had hypothyroidism, she had Hashimoto's she had various diagnosis but that was two two basically the ones that were interesting to me. And then she got arrhythmia and blood blood pressure at that time. So I was talking to the the doctors and they they prescribed her beta blockers and I was talking to a system because at that time we were learning about it, studying about it. So I w One thing is obviously at that time, so they they told me okay, whenever you have issues with thyroid gland, you shouldn't prescribe any kind of beta blockers because you have beta beta receptors on the thyroid gland. So which means that basically you will need to give more drug for the thyroid gland to support it, basically, and here you are trying to adjust these arrhythmus and everything. So it it it didn't make any sense for me. So I asked him, okay, how in the world? You're right now trying to to support that arrhythmia and you are even damaging more tired land. Doesn't make I mean it's not not logical at all. And he told me, okay, listen, that's how the things are working. And I told him, Okay, but would you prescribe this to your mother? And he said, No. So I tell him, How you can expect me to accept this advice? And then I started to do a research. And it took me at that time it took me I think over a year. I was trying to find the different ways, listening to different even lectures and everything, and tr I was even trying to attend a lot of conferences outside of of Europe. And obviously that time it was not popular at all. I think the term functional medicine was was not even a present. Or at least it was mentioning maybe somewhere in in small small amount. So I remember that the first guy that I came in the term of functional medicine was do was Doctor Axe, Josh Axe. And he was the first one that I came, with that world word or or or How can say name? And then later on from that time I came to the Dr. Mark Hyman, obviously. And then because at that time he started doing a podcast and everything, so I tried to listen to him. And then from there on I started I started studying functional medicine. And then I later on went to the regenerative medicine with A4M. And then I started to doing a PhD in sports medicine. So yeah, that this is my basically path. entering into functional medicine.

Oskar: Well, that's a really fascinating story. So I kind of want to just dig into that a little bit. So what was it that's when when you heard about functional medicine, what was it that made you kind of interested in that area? And how do you see the difference between being a a a a classic doctor and being a functional medicine doctor? What are those clear differences?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: At the beginning I I didn't see it as a competition at all. I I was seeing it's as something that's supporting basically the the things that you're already already doing. And whenever I started giving advice at that time when I was working in one of the hospitals, Whenever you give advice they look at you like, okay, what are you talking about right now? But this is ev everything is evidence based, obviously. So you you can go to PubMed, you can go to schooler, wherever you want, you you can check the the data. But obviously at that time when I started to even when I finished whole studying of functional medicine and everything and then you get get this name of functional medicine practitioner and then basically everyone is looking at you like, What are you talking about right now? What's that? So it was a bit weird, it was hard at the beginning, obviously, but then at at the beginning you have a lot of these even physicians that tr that tr they try to humiliate you at various points because they're trying to make some sort of comments on everything that you say or or on your report that you that you write down. But whenever you have ref references, no one can do anything. They can just talk. And no one can give you anything. And obviously that happens to everyone in in the world. Whenever they are start the whenever they try to change something, you always have that resistance group, obviously. And that that group that's commenting everything and everyone. And they're the smartest guy in the room, guys in the room. But

Oskar: Me.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: obviously that's not how it how the things are working. And I always try to keep myself out of the Commenting anyone. So try to be okay. This is what I do, and this is what I want to focus on. And I know that I'm clear in front of the God that whatever I do, I'm trying to give my best. So, and try to give to be up to date as much as possible. That's what we are showing right now through the sports medicine. That we are doing something that no one is doing right now. So, and this is our enormous advantage, of course, and I really want to grow that. That's what was what my PhD is based on, obviously, right now. I want to support the data. data and everything when we are working with athlete, okay, what's going on, what we are testing, what we can expect, what what's going on later. And the problem is that everyone is trying to ego is working enormously in in med medicine of obviously. So whenever you're talking with any any doctor and any, most of them, I cannot say many, but most of them, you you are having an issue because they don't want to hear anything besides what they learn in a medical school. And they're keeping themselves in in like these books from like th ten, fifteen, twenty years and not many of them are reading the researches or new studies. There are of course really, really, really good good good ones. I for example I have really good communication. One of the best his his surgeon for for spine and he's one in the he's he's I think in top ten surgeons in the world. So he's Bosnian as well. He's working in in Germany and he's their chief of the clinic. So he's the guy that understands everything and he's open to communication. He always wants to discuss. Even he's he's my patient as well as as we are working like toward the the treating the patients, he's he is as well one of the of my patients. So he understands what medicine is doing. And one of of the comments that he told me, he he said like I really I'm sad that I gave any kind of injection after surgery regarding the the steroids because I haven't seen any results. But at that time we we were just following the table that they gave us. And obviously you have to fight through it. So and then he decided okay, I'm not doing that any anymore. I I will do it when I have to during the surgery because I have to lower the inflammation, but later on I have my own protocol how I fix the patient. So you have thanks to God, you have these guys that are thinking outside of the box and we have it many, many, many more in the last few years and I'm I really get really looking forward what will happen in next few years. Because I really, really think that this new generation and the the es especially the podcast and everything, when you have many information outside, so you can decide, okay, this is good or this is not. I can read it, I can support is someone talking about stupid things or someone is really having the references of about what they talk right now.

Oskar: So I think I wanna just jump onto that comment and come with a a real life example from from myself. My cholesterol numbers are high. given that I'm twenty nine, my cholesterol's always been high. It's not the big surprise because it's clear in my genes that this is this is how my body functions. But obviously it's something we have to be aware of and it's not just we I don't just accept that I have a high cholesterol. I w it's important to keep an eye on it and make sure that I'm I'm still looking after my arteries and and and my body's functioning as it should do. But my doctor, general practitioner, doctor, is looks at the high LDL and goes, statins. And there's no further research, there's no interest in arteries, there's no interest in diet, there's no interest in anything else but what they've learnt in the books. And the books say high LDL high cholesterol, we give statins, we reduce it. And I'm not necessarily saying that what she is saying is right or wrong. I'm just saying it requires much more detail and much more testing to take a such confident decision to put a 29 year old on statins. So I think that's a really really interesting interesting point. So you felt like people The the the doctors around with you were trying to humiliate you to use your word. So at what point did you feel confident enough, Dr. Inwitch, to build your own private practice around what you believed in?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Hmm, good question. Good question. Before I go into it, just one quick comment regarding the statins and everything. The thing is, of course, everyone is trying to to at least that's my thinking, try to give the best to the patient. But th there is different understanding beside it. I don't agree with those things of course because you have to if if you want to evaluate LDL you have to check for particle number, you have to check for small density LDLs, you have to go into details, HDL, like then you have to follow for total cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoproteins, A, B1, so you have enormous data that you have to check before you go into statins. But obviously not that many guys are going into it. And that's that's the problem because if you put anyone to statins then you are blocking obviously coQ10, which is lowering your energy. So your mitochondrias are being exhausted. You can later on technically go into depression as well, especially like you're 20 29-year-old, so you're not like having 60 or 70, like you don't need that much coQ10 or something like that. But still, if you even if someone is going to statins, you have to give them support. So to nutrition nutritional-wise, so okay, we need cocu10, we need much more nutrients beside it. So we have to follow it and we have to check, okay, listen, are we going to make more damage than get benefits. So anyways, just a quick comment comment on that. So regarding the practice, I never I was never the guy that that's going that that's going to be sitting on side. I always even when I was playing the basketball I was trying to be the best as as much as as I can be. So even like in in medical school and after it, straight away I tried to open the the clinic after I finished medical school. So I think first day that I I I was checking the the law things and okay like can I do it today, can I do it tomorrow? How what requirements I need to do it. So at the beginning, I think even like three months after it, straight away we opened clinic. And then at that time I was with with three partners and then later on I moved away from them and I opened for myself. So I started working straight away. So with the clients, with patients, even b during the medical school I was doing a physiotherapy after for For example, when I was having studies from seven or eight until six PM. So after six I was booking my sessions for myself. For example, I was doing vet cupping, I was doing dry cupping, I was doing acupuncture. at at the time I was health manager in one of the hotels. So I was working beside I was studying. So I already had this communication with the patients, which was really, really good. All all straight away you have information about information about Boraya's diseases. They bring you the the reports and I was really really trying to read through each of them because sometimes they bring you like bunch of the paper paperwork or reports and then like you you need hours to read through it. But anyways I was trying to learn as much as I could. So it g gave me a a big boost in my back because when I was going to practice afterwards, so you see how much your colleagues d they don't know. things and then any kind of free time that I had during the weekends I was trying to go to any kind of conference or seminar, wherever webinar, whatever I heard about that could benefit my myself or knowledge and then the patients later on. So I was trying to to go to it. Even if I had to travel anyway, if I had the money I would book it, go go for it. If I couldn't I was I was trying to attend online. So from from the beginning I had that if I can say c courage to to go into the field And I was confident because I know when I was giving small advice to the people and when they changed it, for example, we started fixing blood sh blood pressure, blood sugar. The they started lowering the drugs that that they they they were using with with their own physician, f family physician. Then later on we s we were starting with my mother, for example, when I seen how we fixed the condition, I was confident that that I could do. anything with anyone because you just have to go into details, see the problem, adjust to it. and patient has to follow the the the rules and then you are getting results straight away. Even though okay sometimes you have this these up and ups and downs. But obviously whenever you have a down you communicate and we you just you adjust the therapy and everything and you go straight forward. So yeah.

Oskar: So this is where I I like to provoke sometimes the doctors because they are very philosophy driven and they also often think about always the people that I meet at least, they think about the patient and how to how to do the best for them so that they are reducing their symptoms, give giving them better energy, whatever they come in from. But I'd like to ask you the question a little bit different.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Yep.

Oskar: So how it what is your business model here? So you You how do you bring in a customer? What do you do with a customer? And what is the value that they get out of that customer journey? So I'm actually asking it with the business lens, because I'm really

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Yeah, I understand.

Oskar: curious to see how you kind of think that through. And I'm sure, and please just put words into where you're saying, Well, I'm always thinking about the patient, because I know you are, but there's a business model in there and and and what is the that that approach?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Yeah. Okay. So basically from the beginning when we started working, my goal was to educate people. We were we were not focusing on just getting the customers at all. So one of of my he's he's right now HR in in a in a clinic since like I started five years ago. So we were in communication. He was at that time he was the guy who who was T V host basically. we made communication, I helped him with his own health and then he started to give me advice regarding okay you should open one of the YouTube channels channels or or like go into Instagram or Facebook and just give education to the people. And this this is what we really started to do from the beginning on. And that opened a lot of space. Well I mean right now I'm looking from this point. At that time I was not obviously looking like that because money was never d driving me. Never even from the beginning of of medical school I I mean to to study the medical school I I I sold my apartment. So so I can get into medical school. So I was I was not connected to to the money at any time. And when we started doing education, a lot of people came to me and they said told me, Okay, listen, when I was following your your advices, I felt much, much, much better. Even though I never I never saw those guys. Never, never. They they just meet me on the street and they told me those those things. And even today I I meet these people. So for example, I was in in Austria a few days ago, in Switzerland as well, and I was on airport and the guy is approaching me and he tell t tell me like listen, I mean I was listening last year what you told me about fasting and everything and I was feeling awesome. I never felt like this before. So this is the thing that's driving me even more. I I'm getting goosebumps b bumps right now. So

Oskar: Yeah.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: and like when when you do when you are doing these things, then God God just opens you a lot of space. And w when we we are thinking that someone is closing you one door, God opens you opens you thousand others. So for example, at that time this educational stuff basically got us customers, of course. And and then we I think we were booked a lot even though I didn't expect that. So at that time I had one employee in in a clinic. so I mean in in yeah we can call it a small clinic, basically. So we started doing it and then we started booking more and more and more. So then we had I think three month waiting list at that time. It was really quickly, like in six months I think from from that point. So after that we started to to give lectures over the the not just bosnia but outside of it so that people were calling in Austria to give lectures in Switzerland in in Sweden Denmark as well so I was going there and giving lectures and that opened as well additional clients and customers so this is how basically things were working but we never even invested a penny into ads a penny I was I was just talking like I think last week to to the HR and I was thinking, okay listen man how the things are going. We never invested anything into marketing. And this but when you have true confidence and true belief that you can help someone and you are really doing it because of that and you're not doing it with the money. God gives you even the money and they gives you everything later on because will die some someday. So I will not bring the money with myself, obviously.

Oskar: Brian Johnson will disagree, but I agree with you.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Yeah, anyways, I will left leave this stuff to him. So he can

Oskar: Yeah.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: die however he wants, but even if

Oskar: Well.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: he doesn't die, that's upon him. But he he'll have to come into the grave. So just matter of time. Anyways, I'm c I'm joking. So yeah, I mean regarding the clients and and and the business why b business thing, late later on when we start to do to have a work or or start doing work with football players, it's a bit different. Obviously. at the beginning All of them came just by by recommendation, referral. So not none of them came by marketing or anything like that. And even though their their family members were following what we are saying about general health and they saw saw okay opportunity that we can potentially help them, their their football players player. So we start doing with them, they saw saw results straight away, like after a month or so. So for example, one of the guys, he got eight kilov of the of muscle in in three months. during the seas full season. So it's not off season during the full season. And he was playing every third day.

Oskar: So just I I don't wanna disturb your your your chain of thought there, but that's where I get curious. How what did you do with this? Very briefly, what did you do with this player?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Yeah, no problem. So for example at the beginning, whenever one of the player c comes to to the clinic, first of all we w make decision, okay, what What do you want basically for myself, firstly? And what's your goal? What problems you have? So those are the three questions that we ask. Later on, after that, we decide what tests we have to perform and what data you already have from the cops. So you share all of the data with me, and then I decide tests, what what tests should you do? For example, in this guy, we were doing approximately 650 pages of raw data. So to test test him. So and then I sat for two weeks and just analyzed the date and then we made the book. I have one one b and another b behind myself. So it's a hundred pages long, just report of these six hundred and fifty pages. So explanation of everything. And this is what we do right now. We gave we give it to the club. So these are the data that's for your player. we want and for example, for one of the players I sat with the club. He's playing in one of the biggest club in Europe. And we sat with with the club medical stuff and I explained them, okay, listen the This is the thing what we are doing. We want to put him on a different level, obviously, and he wants it as well. So we even publish one of the I mean publish, we how can I say posted one of the reels where we explained in a three minute basis what we are working usually with h how it looks like with athlete. So we are trying to cover everything. When we got the data, like just shortly, so regarding genetics, microbiome health, hormonal health and everything. So we then prescribe the therapy obviously according to the Vada, so World Anti Doping Agency. So we because we cannot do anything beside it, because we'll damage the player and and of course our practice as well. So we have to follow the strict system. So We are trying to adjust everything according to it and thanks to God he followed everything like a soldier and we got the results in in a three month. So and a microbiome was pfft changed a lot in these three months. I was even surprised how fast he got results because he was

Oskar: So

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: really following everything.

Oskar: this is always curious. So this is something that my listeners actually don't know, nor do many people that that follow me on on social media. I have my UEFA A license badge and I had it I took my my license when I was very young and and and worked in in Denmark. So my understanding of football is is relatively high. I know what goes on in the clubs. And one of the things that I'm always really interested in is I've seen they look there are some great chefs out there for football and they the way they think about what they eat and nutrition and carbohydrate intake etc the day before two days before the game they start building up and then that amount must damage the gut. The the gut must be impacted by the way that the sports scientists think nutrition should look like. So I'm really curious as in what you c of obviously you can only say what you can say here, but is it is there a tendency for football players to have gut issues?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: All of them.

Oskar: Yeah.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Enormous problems with the gut health. This is not like even they have more problems than general patients that comes to through the door. So I I was really surprised at when I met the first professional football player. And he he I remember that that was I think three years ago. he told me, Okay, listen man, after every single game I'm throwing up. I'm fighting through it. Even sometimes at halftime I I I have to throw up to to continue to play. And I was like, man, what are you doing to yourself? How can you even play for ninety minutes at all? Like how how you're running?

Oskar: I need you.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Yeah, but I mean obviously you're losing electrolytes, you're still and you're you're playing like I mean you whenever you lose the electrolytes just thinking no. I say mind open mind openly. So your brain cannot connect. Your decision is is lowering straight away. Like we mean in if we are talking about the milliseconds, that's 100%. But if you are even sometimes we are talking about the seconds, because your your body is not absorbing absorbing anything. You can drink energy gelts as much as you want, but you're not getting anything. And this is the the mistake that we are trying really to fix in in a foo football specifically, because Whenever we I was talking to any kind of football player, usually they were drinking table stuff from supplement-wise. So that's creatine, that's amino acids, that's protein whey protein, and sometimes they take magnesium, energy gels, and that's that's it. But obviously we have much more things to do beneath. So one of the things that I've s I've seen in in many players, I I have to do statistics statistics, but my right now approximately number what I could analyze is I think around eighty percentage or something of them, they have reaction on whey protein. So one of the guys they they he tell me like, listen, whenever I drink whey protein, I either have nausea, I either have bloating or gases, obviously, or I have some sort of skin itching. And when I asked my nutritionist, he told me, okay, this that's normal. And then I asked many more colleagues that's that are playing with me, and most of them tell told me the same thing. they they feel and they they they say like okay it will it will pass after a day or two. They it will pass. But if you are to continue to drink the whey protein, you are damaging your recovery. You're pr pr you are making yourself more more susceptible to injury. So there like

Oskar: Inflammation levels are increased immediately.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Obviously you you have food reaction, man, you're having immunological reaction straight away. So your body i if it takes like for example usually twenty-four hours to recover, you're you are taking your body for seventy-two hours to recover. And you are straight away having training sessions tomorrow and the day after and day after. So your body is all the way inflamed. So you you don't you don't that it doesn't have a a space to to regenerate at all. at all and then we are like seeing many more injuries right now in a football it's not because schedule is more condensed it's because system is not adjusted fully to the new new schedule because if you are playing like in seven every seven days okay you can follow that rhythm even though you have inflammation because your body has time to recover but if you are playing every third day I mean man after ten weeks you are done you are done And many more, many more players they told okay, listen, man, at the beginning of the season I have still energy. But after the tenth game or tenth week, basically I'm feeling like someone ran over me. So this is the thing that really I I've seen at one from business wise or b business perspective, I I've seen that up there is a huge opportunity. And from the health wise, I've seen many more things that are really, really lacking in football. Because you have to wanna I I would really love to have a player that that could play like every single game at the highest level possible without any injury. And we for example, one of the guys he last season he played 4,000 minutes and as a fullback. Which is r and he was he's usually playing like i in in in in offense and defense, same same rhythm. So you

Oskar: Mm.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: he's not just playing defensively and he's sitting right there. So he's running I think from ten to to twelve kilometers per game. Approximately one to two kilometers is sprint, which is huge effort to the body.

Oskar: How how awesome would it be to sit with Cristiano Ronaldo and listen and qu and question? 'Cause he must be doing all this. He must be. It's the only way he's looking after his body in that way. Right?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Hundred percent. Hundred percent. I compare it to the to my clients all the time. So for example, when we are comparing the the football players, you have Ronaldo and then you have Eden Hazard. Yeah. So basically when you have Eden Hazard, who is I think he he retired at thirty t thirty-two, if I remember correctly. And then you have Cristiano Ronaldo who retired at forty somet he didn't retire still, but he's playing at forty

Oskar: Yeah.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: something. So and of course, unfortunately many of the players are are trying to make correlation with for example Messi or or Zlatan Ibrahimovich or someone. But this is really rare that someone has good genetics, at least from the test point when we did testing. This is 0.001 percentage of all of the players in in in a football. And when you have that player, he can eat whatever he wants and probably he will not that have that much inflammation. But then you have these 99.9999% of the players that whenever they eat something they will have damage to their body. And that they think that's normal. when they have inflammation, when they have injury, when they have for example, one of the guys he he tell told me like after the game I have to drink some milk, I have to even eat pizza or something because I I crave it. I I know after that I will have a problem. But still I cannot fight for it. And this is huge. Many I I really believe that many of the players they know that they're making mistakes, but they're afraid to make a move forward because they don't know Can they really be disciplined? And I think they are not really sure. can can they put themselves on a different level? And this is like self-confidence. And this is one of the things that we really are working as well with the with the clients, with the with the football players. We want to have that mental set as well beside this testing, because I want to put them on a different level, mentally and physically.

Oskar: So Dr. Newich, one of the issues that many functional medicine practitioners have with football in general is kind of this barrier that is between you and the nutritional team or the the medical team at the clubs. And it's it's one of these where it's as if you've got to knock down ten brick walls to get through to them on what functional medicine testing and what can actually be done. So how do you work alongside a club's existing medical and performance team without making them feel undermined in any way?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: That's that's awesome question. So at the beginning, I was fighting with myself, I have to be honest. because I've I was trying to find a way how to approach them at all. Because listen, if if you are realistically if you are working in a club that's I mean, worth billions of euros, so then you all obviously have some sort of ego. Because you're you're there. And of course they have a knowledge. I don't go into the those that's why they are there, obviously. But this is regarding the performance, acute injury, and then if if they have injury, how they are are basically recovering a player after the injury and everything. So they have a schedule which is obviously good, and I don't have problems with that. But what what I tried to explain them, and I did with with a few of the clubs when I was sitting with them, with full medical team, physiotherapists, physicians, and leading physician, everyone, I was explaining them, okay, what We are doing right now. We are not trying to be competition to them, we are trying to support them and to give the best to the player. Why? Because later on, if you are talking business and business business perspective, they will earn on this player if when they sell him, obviously. So the second thing is if if he's playing many more, they will win something. many more games and playing much better and the highest level possible. So I was trying to approach them from that point. And then what I did, for example, that's why I wrote the book. From every player that comes, I write write a book about them regarding the reports that we have, and then I put references, references, references references at the end of the book. If they wanna read, they can go through it. From where I got the data, how I analyze the things and what exactly is problem with that specific player. If they have issues with the cortisol, what does it mean regarding the performance? If they have issues with testosterone, what does it mean regarding the performance? if if they have issues with toxicity, okay, what does it mean regarding the gut health? regarding absorption of something? What does it mean regarding prone to injury? So all of this I'm I tried really to explain them and I did. And at the beginning they was they were looking at me like I'm talking about some alien stuff. But then later on they really understood everything and then they accepted and they cooperated. And then we got the results. So I was really really glad because these guys are amazing that I sat sat with them. They had this open mindedness. They were not closed. So and I I mean I was really, really positively surprised. But I tried to approach them like I'm not competition. I really am not, because I'm not working in a club. I'm working addition

Oskar: Yeah.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: for that player. So I was surprised and then that's why we got the results.

Oskar: Fantastic. So as we're kind of moving towards the the end of this in this this episode, I I kinda wanted to touch upon something that I see on with a lot of practitioners out there that have built their own business and they rely on on word of mouth. They they might not have all the funds for marketing. And feedback sometimes you can have a hundred happy patients. And you can have one that can destroy your image. And when I was doing some research on on yourself, I noticed some pretty harsh reviews on on Reddit. And I know the pain it must be for a practitioner and listening to you today. I've only been I can only feel all of your passion and your your knowledge and your wish to make people feel better. But it must be difficult to read some of these reviews and have to deal with it and especially when it's both personal but also attacking your business. So how how do you deal with this? What's what's your perspective on it?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: That's that's a really good question. what what basically is is a thing which I'm trying to all the time analyze and and and basically journal about it is any guy or any person in the world that try to change something or or do something, always you come to these guys that that want to disgrace you or discourage you to do to do that. For example, if we are talking about the the Tesla or I don't know Einstein or any anyone, they were Pronounced crazy basically at that time. And then later on right now we have Tesla. Company, obviously. no, I I'm not comparing myself to that. I'm just comparing any kind of physician or someone who is trying or in any any kind of field who is trying to change something, then you are going to to get to get into it. We had I mean personally we had different at the beginning, especially that's why I I told you regarding the humiliation and everything. So they tried to do a lot of things and to write and to to send a different instrument. inspections and stuff. So we and thanks to God we fought through it because I I was all all the time focusing just on on improving the service, improving the knowledge, improving everything basically increasing the knowledge. So try to give to the patient who comes through the door the best possible way. And thanks to God we have an a lot of testimonials recorded and right now we are doing doing that I mean editing the videos and stuff just to so we can publish it. So anyone who comes through the door first thing that I I tell them listen we have to be on the same frequency to work. And I I have to know you if you're open to me, I then I can help you. If you're not open to me I can never I it's not possible for me to help you because I don't know what you want

Oskar: Mm-hmm.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: specifically. So regarding it I I'm I'm really satisfied how the things are working and I have to fight with myself firstly because whenever you have any comment that's not going like how could how we say basically is is like down the hair. So then you have to analyze okay is there this is it first firstly is this true or not? If it's true, okay listen how we can fix it. If it's not true, okay listen how why the the people are doing that. And because you have to analyze it. You are not that guy that's trying to humiliate any anyone. And then you are you can it's really hard to understand why someone is trying to do it. Because What is the point other than disgracing someone to doing that? Because okay, listen, man, you have your own things, you have your own job all the way all the time, you can discuss it. I mean, anyone that had any issues, we even even sometimes I mean I didn't say this in at any interview or an anywhere. We have this, but I I'll say right now, we have this

Oskar: First time.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: yeah first time. I I haven't in a clinic I have made this fund. To anyone who does who cannot pay, it's free for them. So if anyone is having problem with the money or stuff and they want cure, we all all the time have o of course we have a limit of the patient that we can support like that. But still, so my goal is I told you from the beginning, it it's and to everyone, it's it's not about the money at all, it's about helping the people. So anyone who who understands that, they will come. Who wants to put any kind of words out there, they can do it all the time, they can put any comment outside but we know what's what's happening, we have any kind of evidence and everything through the system, what's going on and and whoever wants help, we can help them. I I don't know what to say anymore because I mean obviously if you are having these comments you will never work with the players that are like worth millions. So if if you are it if these things are are are true. So I mean, I don't know to say anything anything e about it, but I but you have to fight with yourself firstly because it's really hard on your mind when you read it firstly. When someone asks you about it and everything and then you okay, what's going on? And you have to analyze it, okay, really? Why? And then you you have to take a day or two off just to reset yourself and then get back to the track.

Oskar: Perfect answer really. I think we the listeners got to to hear the the the sensitive Dr. Newich as well, the one that reflects on something like that, and I think your your answer is is spot on. So we're wrapping up now, but fast forward ten years from here, what would need to change within sport for functional medicine to have a real seat at the table?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: I hope we will change that. That's my goal. I was talking last week or on one of the interviews for for doing the one of the researches that we have we have a lot of data and thanks to God we're pl planning to publish and everything. So this is my aim in next few years to to open this new space. and to go into it and go for the clubs and open definitely the the whole different story how players will be analyzed, how we'll adjust the things and how we are going to work with every single player. Because if we want to have this game competitive in next years, we are not We we we cannot be in that position, okay. We'll just follow follow the flow. We have to put the effort in. Especially there's a lot of a lot more competitions than before. A lot of cups, a lot of leagues, conference league, Europe League, then you have qualifications, playoffs, world cup, Europe European cup, I mean European league and everything. So basically we have to give our best. To explain firstly to the players and then to the medical stuff what's happening in the body of the player. And when you explain them, they'll see, for example, this is what what the the stuff in medical medical stuff in in in one of the clubs they saw they saw, basically how these players increased. He had only two small injuries during the whole season. He was absent for 10 days, two times. So and I told you he played 4,000 minutes. I if we do right now research, there's no many players that did that. during the full season. And he was playing in Le Champions League, he was playing in a in a well like general league and a a few of the cups. And then he played in World Cup. So this is an orb s he I think he played fifty something games. So

Oskar: Fantastic. Incredible.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: whenever someone sees it, we can fix anything they they want.

Oskar: So we just gotta keep going on. We have to keep proving the value.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Exactly. Push, push, push.

Oskar: So my last three rapid fire questions is what's your number one recommendation for someone building in this longevity space?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Okay, first quickly, so one thing is be open to yourself and have a clear goal, but money should not be driving you. The purpose should. Because if if you know your purpose, what you you are going to help or give to that client, money will come. So business will just grow. So you don't have a problem. So of course you'll have some challenges, but later on everything everything will settle down because you'll you will analyze, you will try to improve, you'll try to increase the knowledge, whatever you are lacking with, your team will is going to follow you. So but you have to define what is your purpose and what's your goal in the world.

Oskar: And what is one personal health habit that you never miss?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Training. Never.

Oskar: Good.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: I always see it organic and training is no non negotiable.

Oskar: So w the next episode we're gonna have is all about organic.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: awesome. Awesome. I have to watch it.

Oskar: Yeah. No no you and I have to have one. And Yes, let me watch

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: okay, okay, okay. We'll record it and then we'll watch it.

Oskar: you together. Make sure we're doing a good job. And finally, where can people find you and learn more about your work?

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Yeah, so we have Instagram page, it's Omar Nuhic MD. we have Facebook as well page, it's same same same name. We have webpage, Dura Nuhic Method dot com. so th those are those are the the like general pages, how they can read about it, how they can look at look at the services and what we are doing right now. So yeah, we are trying we are in next few few weeks or months we are going to do a different things as well. But anyways, we we'll publish that at the time. For now, those are the three pages.

Oskar: That's awesome. And I'll make sure to link that at the bottom of the episode. Doctor Nuitch, thank you so much for joining me on the business of longevity. It's been a pleasure to chat.

Omar Nuhic MD, IFMCP, ABAARM: Thank you, Oscar. I was really look looking forward to it and and yeah, my pleasure. And see you soon in person.

Oskar: Si