At 42, Dr. Darshan Shah was used to being stressed. As a successful surgeon based in Los Angeles, he had spent 20 years regularly working 12-hour days, starting at 6 a.m.
But when his wife got pregnant with their first child in 2016, he realized he needed to make a change to be healthier.
“I found myself in a state of poor health. I had developed an autoimmune disease, I was 50 pounds overweight, I had high blood pressure that could not be controlled with medication, I had high cholesterol, and lots of risk factors for an early death,” Shah, 52, told Business Insider. “But my son had a long life ahead of him, and I wanted to be around for it.”
Shah took a year off from being a surgeon and began researching the science behind long-term health.
Darshan Shah
“I was able to completely turn my health around and completely come off 10 different prescription medications within a year. I lost 50 pounds, and my autoimmune disease completely disappeared,” he said.
His focus improved at work, too, and he found that he was no longer tired. Instead, he “wanted to wake up every morning and jump out of bed to attack the day.”
Shah’s transformation made him realize this was the type of medicine he wanted to practice — helping people get and stay healthy rather than just addressing medical issues as they arise. In 2016, he founded Next Health, a health optimization and longevity clinic with locations across the US and in Dubai.
Now, Shah does experimental longevity treatments at his clinics, but he still thinks that getting the basics right, as he did, is key for a long, healthy life. He told BI the lifestyle changes he made.
Cutting out ultra-processed foods
“My nutrition was horrible. I was eating a lot of ultra-processed food, especially highly processed carbohydrates,” Shah said, so he eliminated them from his diet.
Darshan Shah
Evidence suggests that UPFs are associated with a range of health problems. In a 2024 metareview of 45 studies involving over 9.8 million people published in the journal The BMJ, UPFs were linked to cardiovascular disease, depression, and type 2 diabetes.
Related stories
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Researchers don’t agree on whether all UPFs are equally harmful, so nutritionists advise eating fewer without stressing about quitting them.
Getting 7 hours of sleep a night
Before his son was born, Shah said he “barely slept four hours a night.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that adults between the ages of 18 and 60 get seven or more hours of sleep a night.
Not getting enough sleep can be harmful. A 2022 study conducted on over 10,000 British civil service workers found that participants who reported getting less than five hours of sleep a night at the age of 50 had a higher risk of developing chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, and dying from long-term health conditions.
Getting enough sleep is also associated with eating fewer calories.
Now, Shah sleeps for seven hours a night and says he feels amazing.
Darshan Shah
Moving more
Shah sees exercise as an essential part of a “good health routine,” and doing a mixture of strength training and cardio has been linked to living longer. He goes to the gym every other day to do a routine that is 70% strength training using free weights, and 30% cardio, for which he runs on a treadmill — plus some stretching to warm up.
Shah also tries to get up and move every 45 minutes when he’s at work to break up periods of sitting.
“They say that sitting is the new smoking, and I think that’s true,” Shah said. “As a surgeon, you spend a lot of time either standing or sitting in one position, and that sedentary non-movement leads to a high risk of disease.”
While research shows that sitting for longer than 10 hours a day is associated with a higher risk of dying early, a 2023 study of about 12,000 people over the age of 50, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, suggests a solution. It found that 22 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a day — such as doing housework, brisk walking, or cycling — appeared to offset the negative effects of being sedentary all day.
Darshan Shah
Bringing his testosterone levels to a normal range
“I had no idea that my hormones were in the toilet. But when I measured my testosterone level, it was very low for a 42-year-old male,” Shah said.
Low testosterone can cause symptoms such as a reduced sex drive, erectile dysfunction, low moods, and increased body fat, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Shah used hormone replacement therapy and increased his testosterone levels to a range considered normal.
The lifestyle changes he made may also have helped. According to Cleveland Clinic, eating a healthy diet, exercising, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding excessive alcohol and drug use can help to keep testosterone levels normal.
As BI previously reported, once considered taboo, growing numbers of men are doing testosterone replacement therapy without an official diagnosis of “low testosterone,” to help them build muscle, get erections, and have more energy. However, it’s unclear whether it is beneficial for young, healthy men, and side effects can include acne, hair loss, and infertility.
