4 Simple lifestyle changing longevity Doctor made to lose 50 pounds

At 42, Dr. Darshan Shah used to be stressed. As a successful surgeon based in Los Angeles, he spent 20 years working regularly 12 hours, from 6 a.m.

But when his wife fell pregnant with their first child in 2016, he realized that he had to make a change to be healthier.

“I found myself in a state of poor health. I had developed an autoimmune disease, I had 50 overweight pounds, I had high blood pressure that could not be controlled by medication, I had high cholesterol and many risk factors for early death,” Shah, 52, to Business Insider. “But my son had a long life ahead of him, and I wanted to be there for that.”

Shah took a year of leave after being a surgeon and began to seek science behind long -term health.

“I was able to completely change my health and completely remove 10 different prescription drugs in a year. I lost 50 pounds and my autoimmune disease completely disappeared,” he said.

His goal has also improved at work, and he found that he was no longer tired. Instead, he “wanted to wake up every morning and jump from the bed to attack the day”.

Shah’s transformation made him realize that it was the type of medication he wanted to practice – helping people get and staying healthy rather than solving medical problems as they arise. In 2016, he founded Next Health, a clinic for optimization and health longevity with locations in the United States and Dubai.

Now Shah is doing experimental longevity treatments in his clinics, but he always thinks that good, like him, is essential for a long and healthy life. He told Bi the lifestyle changes he brought.

Cut ultra-transformed foods

“My nutrition was horrible. I ate a lot of ultra-transformed food, especially very processed carbohydrates,” said Shah, so he eliminated them from his diet.

The evidence suggests that UPFs are associated with a range of health problems. In a metareview in 2024 of 45 studies involving more than 9.8 million people published in the journal The BMJ, the UPFS was linked to cardiovascular disease, depression and type 2 diabetes.

Researchers do not agree that all UPFs are also harmful, so nutritionists advise to eat less without stress to stop them.

Sleep 7 hours a night

Before the birth of his son, Shah said that he “was just sleeping four hours a night”.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise that adults aged 18 to 60 take seven hours or more sleep per night.

Do not sleep sufficiently can be harmful. A study in 2022 carried out on more than 10,000 British public service workers revealed that participants who said they had less than five hours of sleep per night at the age of 50 had a higher risk of developing chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, and the death of long -term health problems.

Sleeping enough is also associated with eating fewer calories.

Now Shah sleeps seven hours a night and says he feels incredible.

Move more

Shah considers exercise as an essential element of a “good health routine”, and making a mixture of strength and cardio training has been linked to life longer. He goes to the gymnasium every two days to do a routine which is 70% strength training using free weights, and 30% cardio, for which he runs on a treadmill – plus a few stretches to warm up.

Shah also tries to get up and move every 45 minutes when it is at work to break the seating periods.

“They say that sitting is new smoking, and I think it’s true,” said Shah. “As a surgeon, you spend a lot of time standing or sitting in a single position, and this sedentary non-movement leads to a high risk of illness.”

While research shows that sitting for more than 10 hours a day is associated with a higher risk of dying early, a study in 2023 of approximately 12,000 people over 50, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, suggests a solution. He found that 22 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day – such as doing household work, a fast walk or a bicycle – seemed to compensate for the negative effects of the sedentary all day.

Bring your testosterone levels to a normal fork

“I did not know that my hormones were in the toilet. But when I measured my level of testosterone, it was very low for a 42 -year -old man,” said Shah.

Low testosterone can cause symptoms such as reduced libido, erectile dysfunction, low moods and an increase in body fat, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Shah used hormone replacement hormone therapy and increased its testosterone levels to a beach considered normal.

The lifestyle changes he has brought can also have helped. According to the Cleveland Clinic, eating a healthy diet, exercising, maintaining healthy weight and avoiding excessive alcohol and drug consumption can help maintain normal testosterone levels.

As BI previously reported, once considered a taboo, an increasing number of men carry out testosterone replacement therapy without official diagnosis of “low testosterone”, to help them develop muscles, get erections and have more energy. However, it is not clear if it is beneficial for young people and healthy side effects and side effects may include acne, hair loss and infertility.