The Dan Buettner Podcast The 8 Root Causes of Disease You’ve Never Been Taught with Dr. Darshan Shah
Mar 19, 2026
Dr. Darshan Shah, a former trauma surgeon turned longevity entrepreneur, explains why chronic disease is avoidable and often missed by modern care. He outlines the eight root causes of illness. The conversation covers sleep and circadian hacks, metabolic and dietary principles, key biomarkers to track, practical meal and family tips, and which biohacks and supplements are most promising.
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Doctor Turned Patient Who Rebuilt His Health
- Darshan Shah had a health crisis after his son was born that forced him to change course from surgery to longevity medicine.
- At 42 he had diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension, high cholesterol, and a disfiguring autoimmune condition called coup de sabre while on 10 prescription drugs and heavy immunosuppression.
Eight Root Causes Simplify Chronic Disease
- Functional medicine frames thousands of disease codes into eight root causes that explain most chronic illness.
- Addressing those root causes (e.g., inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, toxins) made Shah rapidly healthier when he systematically checked them off.
Lower Inflammation By Fixing Your Gut And Stress
- Reduce chronic inflammation by improving gut health and lowering stress, since 90% of immune activity lives in the gut.
- Test HSCRP to monitor systemic inflammation and aim for values close to zero.
