Pioneering Turkish nutritionist Ayşe Baysal dies at 86

Baysal is known for her contributions to the nutritional and dietetic fields in Turkey and she was also known for her efforts on the development of academic dieticians. 

Baysal, who garnered the nickname “Lentil Ayşe” thanks to her promotion of eating lentils in the 1980s, was born in the Central Anatolian province of Karaman in 1930. She was sent to the U.S. by the Agriculture Ministry in 1960 with a scholarship from an American association and finished her doctorate on nutrition in 1965 in Wisconsin. 

She later returned to Turkey and became an associate professor in 1970 before becoming a professor in 1976. 

Baysal retired from her job at Hacettepe University in Ankara in 1997 but continued her efforts to raise awareness of the importance of nutrition in Turkey.