The Dr. Gundry Podcast – Episode 379

“7 Blood Tests You Need to Catch Disease Early, According to Dr. Darshan Shah”
Date: November 25, 2025
Guest: Dr. Darshan Shah (CEO, Next Health)
Host: Dr. Steven Gundry
Duration of main content: ~40 minutes (ads skipped)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Dr. Steven Gundry sits down with Dr. Darshan Shah, a board-certified surgeon and longevity medicine expert, to discuss the critical role of regular, comprehensive blood testing in preventing disease and optimizing health. They explore why the current healthcare model often misses early markers of disease, what essential blood tests everyone should request, and how patients can become proactive “CEOs” of their own health. The episode also covers functional medicine, the importance of metrics and trends, how to interpret data meaningfully, the overlooked role of toxins, and actionable steps for detoxification.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why "CEO of Your Own Health" Matters ([03:11], [04:47])

• Most people only see a doctor when sick – by then, interventions are limited and expensive.
• Regular, proactive testing can reveal diseases “10, 20, 30 years before they actually become a problem” (Dr. Shah, [03:11]).
• Once you know your biomarkers, you can “spot disease decades before it happens...and you start changing your routines” ([03:11]).
• Dr. Shah’s ultimate goal: Empower patients to care most about their health:

  “No one’s going to care more about your health than you...I call that concept becoming the CEO of your own health.” – Dr. Darshan Shah ([03:11])

• Dr. Gundry’s analogy:

  “This is the only house that you're ever going to live in...If we spent as much effort on taking care of this house as we do in our domicile...imagine the effort you would actually put in.” ([04:47])

2. What Traditional Blood Work Misses ([07:00])

• Most standard labs miss key risk markers:
  • Hormones (e.g., testosterone, estrogen)
  • Inflammatory markers (e.g., HSCRP, only checked if there’s already a big problem)
  • Metabolic indicators: Typical tests (like hemoglobin A1C) don’t change until AFTER years of insulin resistance.
    • Dr. Shah prefers “fasting serum insulin” for early detection.
  • Homocysteine (important for heart and brain health)
  • Advanced cardiovascular markers: Lipoprotein(a), ApoB, cholesterol particle size
  • The gap in physician education:

    "Not one of them to this day...ever been told to measure a fasting insulin level...never heard of looking at insulin resistance." – Dr. Steven Gundry ([08:35])

  • The system is set up for treating disease, not preventing it ([10:32]).

3. The Next Health Model – From Prevention to Hyper-Wellness ([05:33], [11:45])

• Frequent, in-depth testing—Quarterly blood panels, not annual checkups
• Membership Model: Ongoing access to doctors, nutritionists, health coaches; quarterly check-ins.
• Therapies: From basics (nutrition, movement, sleep) to advanced (hyperbaric oxygen, IV, plasma exchange, stem cells)
• “Health is a habit” ([06:33]), not a once-a-year event.
• Four pillars:
  • Lifestyle Medicine (nutrition, sleep, exercise)
  • Functional Medicine (stress/emotion, hormones, gut health, toxins)
  • Hyper-Preventive Medicine (early detection for heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s)
  • Longevity Medicine (“cherry on top”: peptides, stem cells, advanced therapies)

4. The “Wellness Wheel” Approach ([13:50])

• Next Health assesses 12 aspects of health, grouped into four pillars.
• Foundation: Lifestyle habits—nutrition, movement, sleep/recovery.
• Then: Functional medicine—stress, hormones, gut, toxins.
• Risk-based screening: Early detection of major diseases before symptoms.
• Data-driven motivation:

  "Men love data. When you show them the data in their blood work and give them numbers to focus on...there's a shift." – Dr. Darshan Shah ([24:50])

5. The Myth of Quick Fixes: Peptides, IVs & GLP-1s ([16:16], [19:15])

• 80% of patients expect a one-shot solution (peptide, IV, etc.)
• Real change must begin at the foundational lifestyle level:
  • “If you start there, you’re going to be wasting not just your time, but also a lot of money...you're going to get no effect or minimize the effect.” – Dr. Shah ([16:25])
  • Example: GLP-1 drugs only make a difference when combined with lifestyle change.
• Supplements are just that—supplementary:

  “They supplement what you're doing with your lifestyle and diet.” – Dr. Gundry ([20:13])

6. Tracking, Trends, and Personalization ([21:57], [23:00])

• “If you measure, you spot a problem so much sooner.” – Dr. Gundry ([21:57])
• Quarterly tracking gives insight into how vacations, holidays, and daily habits affect health.
• Patients can be motivated by “scorecards”—e.g., Gundry’s “gold star” system ([23:43]).
• Regular testing highlights small slips before they snowball into disease.

7. Muscle Mass, Gut Health, and Aging ([26:54], [27:23])

• Sarcopenia (muscle loss) is pandemic and tied to leaky gut—not just insufficient protein.
  • “Muscle is where your metabolism lives. People have poor metabolic health because they're under-muscled.” – Dr. Gundry ([27:23])
• Repairing the gut expands protein absorption capability.
• Tools:
  • Scales to measure fat and skeletal muscle mass, not just weight.
  • (Optional) Grip strength—though “people hate it” ([27:00]).

8. Importance of Rest—for Brain AND Gut ([29:10])

• Fasting and early dinner timing enables gut repair, just as sleep enables brain repair.
• Eating late impairs deep sleep, measurable via wearable tech (OURA, Whoop).
  • “When patients are eating a late dinner, their sleep is horrible. The minute they go to a 6pm dinner...they just get their deep sleep into an hour plus range.” – Dr. Shah ([30:21])
• Data is most useful for trends, not obsessing over individual scores.

9. Toxins and Detoxification ([36:14])

• The “fourth pillar” of health is minimizing toxins.
• We’re exposed to thousands of chemicals now that didn’t exist decades ago.
• Toxin reduction: Focus on the “20% of actions that give you 80% of results”—clean air, water, food, and safe skin products.
  • “Most of us don’t realize it, but every day...we're lathering our body with toxins.” – Dr. Shah ([36:30])
• Apps like Yucca and Think Dirty scan products for safety.

Practical Tips:

• Purify air (bedroom, office)
• Filter water (reverse osmosis)
• Eat whole foods, avoid overly processed or packaged items
• Switch to clean personal care products

Golfers:

• Studies link living near golf courses to higher Parkinson’s rates—recommend moving or advocating for toxin-free landscaping ([39:00]).

Detox therapies:

• Avoidance is #1
• Sauna: “A sauna is going to become required installation, just like the shower is, in every home soon.” ([41:20])
• “Oil change” for the body: Plasma exchange removes toxin-laden plasma; must accompany lifestyle changes.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “You should know what the numbers, the key performance indicators of your health are...before you go into bankruptcy and disease.” – Dr. Shah ([03:11])
• “Health is a routine, a habit that occurs daily, monthly, quarterly.” – Dr. Shah ([06:33])
• “We have the tools now to find out what’s broken—at a microbiome level, a gut level, a vascular level.” – Dr. Gundry ([11:49])
• “If you come at it with an upside down mentality, you’re gonna fail with peptides and...advanced longevity therapeutics. But if you start from the bottom up, it can be extremely successful.” – Dr. Shah ([17:40])
• “Once you know, you can't unknow.” – Dr. Gundry ([23:43], paraphrased regarding how data changes patient behavior)
• “Minimizing toxic exposure is going to become more and more in the forefront of what we do...we need to live a detoxified lifestyle.” – Dr. Shah ([36:30])
• “Avoidance, avoidance, avoidance is the top three things you're going to do.” – Dr. Shah ([40:26])
• “It’s amazing how well the free stuff works first.” – Dr. Shah ([42:49])

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |---------------|------------------------------------------------| | 03:11 | CEO of your own health; proactive testing | | 07:00 | What traditional blood work misses | | 08:35 | Med school blind spots; critical missing labs | | 11:45 | Foundational approach: 4 pillars of Next Health| | 13:50 | “Wellness Wheel” — personalized interventions | | 16:16 | Peptides & GLP-1s: why foundation matters | | 19:15 | Supplements’ true role | | 21:57 | The power of measurement and tracking | | 23:43 | Scorecards, motivation, and trends | | 26:54 | Muscle mass, grip strength, aging | | 27:23 | Gut health and sarcopenia, protein absorption | | 29:10 | Rest for gut, as for brain—meal timing, sleep | | 30:21 | Sleep tracking, dinner timing, wearables | | 33:23 | Info overload: trends vs. obsession | | 36:14 | Toxins: why, what, and how to address them | | 38:55 | Actionable detox steps for daily life | | 39:00 | The golf course toxin dilemma | | 41:20 | Saunas & plasma exchange as detox options | | 42:49 | “Free stuff works first” — focus on basics | | 43:13 | Where to find Dr. Shah & Next Health info |

Resources & Further Information

• Dr. Darshan Shah’s Biomarker Guide: drshah.com/biomarkers
• Toxin Detox Guide: drshah.com/toxins
• Next Health: next-health.com

This episode delivers a comprehensive, actionable blueprint for anyone seeking to prevent disease, extend healthspan, and take control of their health future—starting with the right blood tests, meaningful metrics, and practical habits.