Interview with Swiss football star Timm Klose
Timm, as a former professional athlete – how has your view of nutrition changed over the course of your football career?
Timm:
As a young player, I honestly didn't pay much attention to it. Nutrition was something the club took care of – you simply ate what was served to you.
That changed over time, especially during my years in the Bundesliga and even more so in the Premier League. The higher the level, the more important what I put into my body became – not just food, but also supplements.
I began to question ingredients, to look into scientifically sound solutions, and to become interested in innovations beyond the mainstream.
This curiosity ultimately led me to co-found NooQ Nutrition – and our first product line centered around dietary nucleotides / food nucleotides was created.
Dr. Köppel, what exactly are food nucleotides – and why have most people never heard of them?
Dr. Köppel:
Nucleotides are best known as the building blocks of DNA and RNA, but they play many other essential roles in the body. They are involved in energy production (ATP), the immune system, gut regeneration, and cellular communication. While nucleotides are found in certain foods, our modern diet contains very little of them – especially because we hardly consume nutrient-rich foods like organ meats or fermented products anymore. Furthermore, under stress, illness, or during recovery, the body cannot produce enough nucleotides itself. In these cases, they become "conditionally essential" – meaning that additional intake through diet or supplements is necessary.
Timm, what role did nucleotides play in your own health journey?
Timm:
Towards the end of my career, I realized that our modern diet no longer provides everything the body truly needs. It's not just about vitamins and minerals—there are other key molecules like nucleotides that are crucial for cell function. When I started supplementing with nucleotides, I noticed I felt more balanced—as if my internal battery, my cellular "power bank system," was finally properly charged. It wasn't about short-term energy, but about deeper regeneration and long-term resilience. That's precisely what I want to share with NooQ. And we're already working on further innovative ingredients that go far beyond what's currently available on the market.
Why do today's diets contain so few nucleotides?
Dr. Köppel:
This is primarily due to modern food processing, the avoidance of traditional, nutrient-rich foods like liver or fermented fish – and our generally highly processed, convenience-oriented diet. Even "clean eating" often provides too little variety in nucleotide sources. At the same time, the body's need for nucleotides increases under stress, but intake does not.
Which foods are particularly rich in dietary nucleotides?
Dr. Köppel:
This includes organ meats such as liver and spleen, seafood, yeast products, and fermented foods. Incidentally, one of the richest sources is breast milk – demonstrating how important nucleotides are for development, immunity, and regeneration. In contrast, adult diets, especially those consisting of plant-based or highly processed foods, often contain very low levels of nucleotides.
What scientifically proven benefits does nucleotide supplementation offer?
Dr. Köppel:
There is growing evidence that dietary nucleotides:
- strengthen the immune response and accelerate recovery,
- promote gut health and reduce inflammation,
- lower cortisol levels during physical or mental stress,
- to support ATP production and thus stable energy,
- slow down telomere shortening and positively influence biological age markers.
These are rare molecules that simultaneously support performance, resilience and longevity – because they act directly at the cellular level.
Timm, how do you explain NooQ to someone who has never heard of nucleotides?
Timm:
Let me put it simply: "Imagine not supplying your body with sugar or caffeine, but with what your cells truly need to regenerate and function."
That's exactly what we mean by "Power your cells."
It's about making the body stronger from the inside out.
Dr. Köppel, are nucleotide supplements safe and well-tolerated?
Dr. Köppel:
Absolutely. Nucleotides have been used safely for decades in infant formula, clinical nutrition, and veterinary medicine. The nucleotides in NooQ are derived from yeast, highly purified, and produced according to the highest quality standards.
Our nucleotide matrix is unique – a precisely balanced combination of pyrimidine and purine nucleotides that reflects the body's physiological needs during stress and regeneration. Safe, effective, and highly tolerable for daily use.
What distinguishes NooQ from conventional dietary supplements?
Timm:
Traditional supplements focus on vitamins and minerals – these are important, but they don't address cellular deficiencies. NooQ provides the body with the building blocks it needs to generate energy, repair itself, and regenerate.
We don't sell trends – we deliver scientifically sound solutions for real needs.
What's next in nucleotide research – and for NooQ?
Dr. Köppel:
We actively support research on topics such as sleep regulation, bone healing and longevity – areas where cellular health has often been overlooked, but nucleotides show enormous potential.
Timm:
And we are already working on a new generation of formulas that combine nucleotides with other innovative bioactive substances. We are thinking beyond the usual wellness trends – we are building the future of nutrition based on what the body truly needs at the cellular level.
