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Jay Shetty Podcast

The Holistic Doctor's 3-STEP HACK For Optimal Physical & Mental Health!

Today, I am honored to welcome Dr. Darshan Shah, a distinguished health and wellness specialist, board-certified surgeon, and the visionary founder of Next Health—the world's first and largest health optimization and longevity clinic.

Dr. Darshan ShahguestJay Shettyhost

Dec 4, 20231h 27mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Intro and Dr. Shah's Background
Jay Shetty introduces Dr. Darshan Shah, a surgeon and founder of Next Health, and they cover how they met and where Next Health operates. The opening teaser highlights how sitting and reactive Western medicine are harming health.
- •Dr. Shah is a board-certified surgeon with over 15,000 procedures and founder of Next Health
- •Next Health has locations in LA, New York and Maui and is franchising to Dubai, Canada and Australia
- •Jay and Dr. Shah were introduced through Jay's health coach Mona Sharma
- •The episode promises a proactive, not reactive, approach to health
Why Dr. Shah Left Traditional Medicine for Next Health
Jay asks about the career shift, and Dr. Shah describes becoming unhealthy while running surgery centers. A concierge doctor only added medications, so he educated himself in functional medicine, turned his health around and started Next Health.
- •He was 40 pounds overweight with high blood pressure, pre-diabetes and joint pain
- •His medications grew from eight to 12 without any questions about gym, sleep or stress
- •Medical school gave nutrition and sleep very little time
- •Functional medicine helped him turn his health around within eight months
- •He wants to serve the other 90% who aren't sick yet
The Wellness Wheel and the Three-Step Framework
Dr. Shah explains the 12-point wellness wheel and how he applies the Pareto principle to each area. Each category follows three steps: not dying from it, improving health span, then advanced longevity science.
- •Focus on the 20% of information that gives 80% of results
- •The wheel starts with nutrition, sleep and exercise, then gut, immune, hormone, heart and brain health
- •Step one is making sure you're not dying from it, step two is improving health span, step three is advanced longevity science
- •People shouldn't jump to NAD IV or hyperbaric oxygen before fixing ultra-processed food
What Went Wrong With Our Food
Jay starts the nutrition discussion by asking what has changed about food. Dr. Shah traces the rise of ultra-processed food over the last 50 to 60 years to mass production, corporate profit motives and hyper-palatable products.
- •Obesity, heart attack and diabetes rates have risen sharply in 50 years
- •Mass production led to over-farmed soil, packaging, and chemicals and dyes
- •Scientists make processed food hyper-palatable so the body can't sense how bad it is
- •Only the outer edge of a supermarket holds fresh food
Four Ways to Eat Right: Whole Foods, Glucose, Protein, Vegetables
Dr. Shah gives a stepwise nutrition plan, starting with eliminating ultra-processed food. He then covers managing the glucose curve with a continuous glucose monitor, getting adequate protein with the InBody scale, and eating enough vegetables.
- •Switching to fresh, organic whole foods delivers most of the benefit and lowers hunger and snacking
- •Wearing a continuous glucose monitor for six weeks shows personal food responses; eat vegetables first, then protein and fats, then carbs
- •Aim for about one gram of protein per pound of body weight, in three to four doses, to preserve muscle
- •Pea protein powder can help plant-based eaters, who may need more protein
- •About 800 grams of vegetables a day, roughly two full salads, covers fiber and micronutrients
Supplements Worth Considering
Asked how to decide on supplements, Dr. Shah says vegetables come first and he is not a supplement pusher. He lists the ones he commonly recommends and the ones he uses himself.
- •Vitamin D3 K2, dialed in by blood test with a target of about 50 to 80
- •Fish oil, magnesium and creatine are common recommendations
- •He uses AG1, a multivitamin and protein powders based on what he ate the day before
- •Ashwagandha and glycine can help with sleep or stress, and he is selective about them
- •ewg.org lists the most and least toxic vegetables
Becoming the CEO of Your Own Health
Prompted by Jay's story of a vitamin D level of 10, Dr. Shah argues that people should track about 10 key numbers rather than rely on how they feel. He uses his own rising hemoglobin A1C to show how early warning signs go unaddressed.
- •Most people manage health by symptoms, while a CEO watches numbers like skeletal muscle mass, body fat and vitamin D
- •Low vitamin D over 20 to 30 years raises risk of Alzheimer's, heart attack and hormone problems
- •Blood work only flags results red once out of the disease range, so know the optimal range
- •His A1C rose from 4.7 to 5.4 over years with nobody saying anything before he was prescribed medication
- •Jay notes physical problems are often mistaken for mental ones
Exercise: Social Movement and Breaking Sedentary Behavior
Jay and Dr. Shah discuss making exercise social, such as pickleball and hikes with friends. Dr. Shah then says the first priority is to avoid sitting for long periods, with movement breaks every 45 minutes and shorter meetings.
- •Friendships built around active outings make exercise less of a chore
- •Every 10% more time spent sitting raises all-cause mortality by 10%
- •Take a 10-minute exercise snack every 45 minutes, using something like an egg timer
- •Jay suggests 25- or 55-minute meetings; Dr. Shah mentions Google Calendar settings and a treadmill desk
Strength, Cardio, Balance and Letting Go of Perfectionism
Dr. Shah covers the next exercise steps: strength training, HIIT and zone 2 cardio, then stability work as we age. They also discuss escaping perfectionism through positive habit building and taking one step at a time.
- •Strength training matters most, especially after 40, because muscle breakdown drives frailty
- •Include anaerobic work such as HIIT and zone 2 aerobic exercise
- •Small routines like short apps or barbells in the bedroom beat all-or-nothing gym thinking
- •Reward good habits and don't punish slips; Jay cites "day one, not one day"
- •Balance work such as standing on one foot helps prevent falls and broken hips; he gives patients one thing at a time
Sleep Tracking and Sleep Apnea
Jay shares how a year and a half of bad sleep affected him, then they discuss tracking sleep. Dr. Shah explains the benefits and limits of wearables and why sleep apnea must be screened for and treated.
- •Tracking can cause anxiety, so use it for a defined period while changing habits
- •Devices like Oura, Whoop and Eight Sleep show sleep patterns, deep sleep and heart rate variability
- •Sleep apnea affects the brain, heart and other organs, and symptoms include gasping, tiredness and loud snoring
- •The STOP Bang questionnaire and a finger device at home can help screening
- •Treatments include dental appliances, CPAP and surgery
Building a Better Sleep Routine
The conversation turns to a pre-sleep routine and environment. Dr. Shah and Jay share habits such as an evening wind-down alarm, dim orange lighting, cool rooms, darkness and earlier dinners.
- •Start the routine in the morning and use an evening wind-down alarm two hours before bed
- •Dim lights, use soft orange bulbs and avoid electronic devices
- •Jay sleeps at about 65 degrees in cave-like darkness and eats dinner around 6:00 to 6:30 PM
- •Food sets the circadian clock almost as much as light does
- •Change one thing at a time; it might take a year but benefits the next 50
Gut Health, Inflammation and Oral Health
Jay asks how people can tell if they have gut issues. Dr. Shah points to the hs-CRP inflammation marker, explains why the gut barrier matters, and says oral health and food sensitivities can also drive inflammation.
- •hs-CRP is a simple inflammation test; you want it close to zero
- •The gut has four to five times the surface area of skin and a disrupted barrier lets toxins into the blood
- •Poor oral health is associated with dementia and heart attacks
- •A functional medicine doctor can look at leaky gut and gluten or dairy sensitivities
- •They discuss embarrassment about gut symptoms and the taboo around important topics
Heart Health: ApoB and Lp(a)
Dr. Shah explains why waiting until age 40 for cholesterol checks is too late and why ApoB should be measured from young adulthood. He also recommends Lp(a) testing and cardiac CT scans, and describes different attitudes toward getting tested.
- •Standard care often waits until a statin becomes an emergency, after blockages have formed
- •ApoB lumps together the dangerous forms of cholesterol and is best baselined in the 20s
- •Heart CT scans can reveal blockages decades before a heart attack
- •Lp(a) is a genetic cholesterol form that diet, exercise and traditional medication can't treat
- •He describes people who push, leave it to their doctors, or avoid knowing
Cancer Screening and Reducing Toxin Exposure
Jay raises cancer and the problem of late diagnosis. Dr. Shah describes full-body MRI and the Galleri liquid biopsy as new screening tools alongside standard screenings, then explains cancer-proofing through lifestyle and removing toxins from air, water, food and skin products.
- •Full-body MRI is radiation-free but can produce incidentalomas that need follow-up
- •The Galleri blood test looks for tumor DNA fragments from 50 hard-to-diagnose cancers but is expensive and not covered by insurance
- •Colonoscopy, PSA, mammograms and OB-GYN exams remain important
- •Cancer-proofing means sleep, whole foods, exercise and avoiding sedentary behavior
- •Detoxify air, water, food and skin products with air purifiers, reverse osmosis, ewg.org and the Think Dirty app
Closing Thoughts and Where to Find Dr. Shah
Jay recaps the stepwise approach and encourages listeners to share the episode and try one thing. Dr. Shah says he is putting his full course on Instagram at @darshanshahmd.
- •Be open-minded when friends or family recommend health changes
- •Pick one thing, research it and start
- •Dr. Shah's course is posted sequentially on Instagram at @darshanshahmd
- •TikTok content is hoped for
Final Five Rapid-Fire Questions
Dr. Shah answers Jay's standard closing questions on health advice, toxins, intermittent fasting and a law for everyone. He explains why he stopped intermittent fasting after losing skeletal muscle mass.
- •Best advice: get up and start moving; worst: let your doctor watch your blood markers
- •He once doubted the importance of removing toxins but now thinks it matters greatly
- •He stopped intermittent fasting after his skeletal muscle mass dropped, and cautions athletes and pregnant or breastfeeding people
- •Jay says he eats three meals within a roughly 9 AM to 6:30 PM window
- •His one law: surround yourself with friends who share where you want your life to go

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