Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD

What if the reason you're still sick isn't because there's no answer—but because no one has looked deeply enough for the root cause?
My guest, Dr. Mark Hyman, is one of the world's leading voices in functional medicine, a bestselling author, physician, and founder of The UltraWellness Center. After navigating serious health challenges himself, he built his career around a different approach to chronic illness: stop simply naming the disease and start asking why it happened in the first place.
We break down what functional medicine actually is—and why people struggling with mold illness, Lyme disease, MCAS, autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, brain fog, and unexplained inflammation can spend years moving from specialist to specialist without getting to the underlying problem.
We also discuss the new partnership between The UltraWellness Center and Next Health. The UltraWellness Center specializes in deep functional-medicine evaluation for complex chronic conditions, while Next Health provides physician-led longevity care, advanced diagnostics and access to therapies that may be recommended as part of a personalized treatment plan. Together, we are joining forces with a goal to bridge the gap between identifying the root cause and accessing the therapies needed to address it.
In this episode, you'll learn:
• Why getting a diagnosis is often only the beginning of understanding chronic illness
• How functional medicine searches for root causes instead of treating symptoms in isolation
• What mold, Lyme disease, MCAS, toxins, gut dysfunction, and inflammation can have in common
• How advanced testing can uncover toxins, infections, nutritional deficiencies, microbiome dysfunction, and other factors standard labs may miss
• How therapies including hyperbaric oxygen, ozone, phosphatidylcholine protocols, IV therapies, and plasma exchange are being used in complex cases
• Why understanding what's happening "under the hood" can help us take a more proactive approach to our health
One of my biggest takeaways from this conversation is that a diagnosis shouldn't be the end of the investigation—it should be the beginning.
The future of medicine isn't just about treating disease once it appears. It's about better diagnostics, deeper personalization, understanding the interconnected systems of the body, and giving people the tools to address dysfunction at its source.
Learn more about Dr. Shah:
Website: drshah.com
Clinic: next-health.com
Instagram: @darshanshahmd and @extend_podcast
Learn more about Dr. Mark Hyman: 
Website: drhyman.com
Clinic: ultrawellnesscenter.com
Instagram: @drmarkhyman and @ultrawellnesscenter
Thank You to Our Sponsors: 
Function Health: Learn more and join at functionhealth.com/drshah! Use my code DRSHAH25 at checkout for $25 credit towards your membership!

What if ADHD isn't just an attention problem—but also a problem of emotional regulation?
My guest, Dr. Sasha Hamdani, is a board-certified psychiatrist, ADHD specialist, author, and someone who has lived with ADHD herself. She brings a unique perspective to a part of ADHD that often gets overlooked: emotional sensitivity.
We explore why some people feel emotions faster, more deeply, and for longer—and what's actually happening in the brain when a small trigger sends you into an emotional spiral. Dr. Hamdani explains the relationship between the amygdala, frontal lobe, dopamine, executive function, and emotional regulation, and why ADHD can sometimes be confused with anxiety, depression, trauma, or other conditions.
But this conversation goes far beyond diagnosis. We get into practical tools for managing emotional overwhelm in real time—from delaying your response to a triggering text to moving your body when your nervous system is activated—and why practicing these skills can actually help rewire the brain over time.
In this episode, you'll learn:
• The overlooked connection between ADHD and emotional sensitivity
• Why ADHD can be mistaken for anxiety, depression, or other conditions
• What happens in your brain during an emotional spiral—and how to interrupt it
• How to strengthen emotional regulation, executive function, and resilience
• Why sleep, movement, screen time, and your physical health affect how your brain functions
• How neuroplasticity allows you to build healthier emotional patterns over time
We also discuss the impact of short-form content and highly stimulating screens on attention and anxiety, especially in children, and why understanding your own emotional patterns may be one of the most powerful places to start.
My biggest takeaway is that the goal isn't to stop being sensitive or eliminate difficult emotions. It's to understand how your brain responds to them so you have more control over what happens next.
Learn more about Dr. Shah:
Website: www.drshah.com
Clinic: next-health.com
Instagram: @extend_podcast and @darshanshahmd
Learn more about Dr. Sasha Hamdani: 
Website: drhamdanimd.com
Instagram: @thepsychdoctormd
What if sensitivity isn't something to suppress, but something to understand? Dr. Hamdani's new book "Too Sensitive" is available now! Get your copy today at: drhamdanimd.com/toosensitive
Thank You to Our Sponsors: 
Next Health Longevity Summit: Head to next-health.com/summit to secure your spot at the first ever Next Health Longevity Summit on September 12th in Nashville! Speakers include: Dr. Shah, Dr. Jeremy London, Dr. Vonda Wright, Dr. Louisa Nicola, LeAnn Rimes, Dr. Will Cole and more! This one day will give you the opportunity to try the latest in longevity! 
Momentous: Head to livemomentous.com/drshah and use code DRSHAH at checkout for up to 35% off your first order!

What if your risk of Alzheimer's isn't predetermined by your genes—but influenced by the metabolic health of your brain?
My guest, Dr. David Perlmutter, is a board-certified neurologist, six-time New York Times bestselling author, and one of the world's leading voices on brain health and neurodegenerative disease. His latest work reveals a fascinating shift in how we understand Alzheimer's and Parkinson's: the role of the brain's own immune cells.
At the center of our conversation are microglia—specialized immune cells that can either protect your neurons or contribute to inflammation and neurodegeneration. Dr. Perlmutter explains why their function is closely connected to metabolic health, and how insulin resistance, obesity, poor sleep, gut dysfunction, chronic inflammation, and environmental toxins may influence the way your brain ages.
We also challenge the idea that carrying APOE4 means Alzheimer's is inevitable and examine research showing how lifestyle interventions can influence cognitive function—even later in life.
In this episode, you'll learn:
• How microglia can shift from "brain defenders" to drivers of neuroinflammation
• Why metabolic health and insulin resistance are connected to Alzheimer's risk
• How the gut microbiome, leaky gut, antibiotics, and inflammation can affect the brain
• What emerging research says about GLP-1 drugs for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
• Why current amyloid-targeting Alzheimer's drugs may not address the underlying problem
• How sleep, exercise, nutrition, and environmental exposures can influence cognitive aging
We also explore emerging approaches to brain health, including 40 Hz light and sound therapy, TREM2, mitochondrial health, and metabolic monitoring.
The biggest takeaway for me is that protecting your brain starts long before memory loss appears. Your genetics matter—but so do your metabolism, sleep, exercise, environment, and the choices you make every day.
You have more influence over how your brain ages than you may think.
Learn more about Dr. Shah:
Website: drshah.com
Clinic: next-health.com
Instagram: @extend_podcast and @darshanshahmd
Learn more about Dr. David Perlmutter: 
Website: drperlmutter.com
Dr. Perlmutter's groundbreaking new book, Brain Defenders, is now available. Discover how to protect your brain and future health - order today at braindefenders.com
Thank You to Our Sponsors: 
Next Health Longevity Summit: Head to next-health.com/summit to secure your spot at the first ever Next Health Longevity Summit in Nashville on September 12th!
Timeline: Timeline powered by Mitopure just dropped the price. Check it out using link shop.timeline.com/DRDARSHANSHAH for up to 20% off when you subscribe and save.
IM8: Try IM8 today with a 30-day money back guarantee. Get 10% off your first order with code DRSHAH at im8health.com/drshah

What if the biggest mistake we're making with gut health is treating the microbiome like a list of bacteria instead of a living ecosystem?
Your gut is home to trillions of microorganisms that influence inflammation, metabolism, immune function, hormones, brain health, and longevity. But modern life—from ultra-processed foods and antibiotics to pesticides, chronic stress, and inadequate fiber—may be systematically stripping away the microbial diversity we need to stay healthy.
My guest, Kiran Krishnan, is a research microbiologist and microbiome expert who has spent nearly two decades studying these complex microbial ecosystems. He co-founded Microbiome Labs and has helped develop microbiome testing and clinically studied probiotics.
Kiran introduced me to the concept of the holobiome: the idea that we aren't simply human cells and human DNA, but walking ecosystems containing millions of microbial genes that perform essential functions throughout the body.
We explore what's actually damaging that ecosystem, how poor gut health can contribute to leaky gut, endotoxemia, systemic inflammation, and metabolic dysfunction, and most importantly, what we can do to rebuild it.
Kiran breaks down how much fiber we should actually be eating, the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber, why resistant starch and polyphenols matter, what fermented foods really do, and how to think about probiotics and microbiome testing. We also discuss how fasting, sleep, resistance training, outdoor exposure, and even social connection can influence microbial diversity.
In this episode, you'll learn:
• Why microbial diversity may be one of the most important markers of gut health
• How antibiotics, ultra-processed foods, pesticides, and stress can disrupt the gut microbiome
• How leaky gut, endotoxemia, chronic inflammation, and metabolic health are connected
• How fiber, resistant starch, fermented foods, polyphenols, and probiotics support the gut
• Why sleep, fasting, exercise, outdoor exposure, and social connection can help build a more resilient microbiome
We also explore the future of gut health, including the limitations of current microbiome testing and how Kiran is using AI and machine learning to develop targeted probiotic combinations around specific biological pathways.
My biggest takeaway is that gut health isn't something we fix with one supplement. We are guardians of an incredibly complex ecosystem—and the choices we make every day can either support it or slowly dismantle it.
If we want to improve longevity, metabolic health, inflammation, and chronic disease prevention, taking care of our microbiome may be one of the most powerful places to start.
Learn more about Dr. Shah:
Website: www.drshah.com
Clinic: next-health.com
Instagram: @extend_podcast and @darshanshahmd
Learn more about Kiran Krishnan: 
Website: biomelc.com
Instagram: @kiranbiome
Special offer from Kiran! Join the free Circe community here to get the FREE Leaky Gut Guide and The 5 Pillars to Building a Resilient Gut. 
Thank You To Our Sponsors: 
Next Health Longevity Summit: Head to next-health.com/summit to secure your spot at the first ever Next Health Longevity Summit in Nashville on 9/12! Our speakers include Dr. Shah, LeAnn Rimes, Dr. Jeremy London, Dr. Louisa Nicola, Dr. Vonda Wright and many more! This is one day packed with activities like blood tests, recovery modalities, IV's and brands we love that will completely change the way you think about health. 
Momentous: Head to livemomentous.com and use code DRSHAH for up to 35% off your first order!

What if one of the most important markers for your heart, brain, and longevity is something most people have never measured? AND roughly 90% of Americans aren't in the optimal range for? 
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. William Harris, one of the world's leading experts on Omega-3 fatty acids and the co-inventor of the Omega-3 Index, a test he helped develop more than 20 years ago. Dr. Harris has spent decades researching how omega-3s influence cardiovascular health, inflammation, cognitive health, chronic disease, and longevity. And his message is surprisingly simple: you can't know whether you're getting enough omega-3 just by looking at your diet or supplement routine. You have to measure it.
We break down what omega-3s actually do inside your cells, why Dr. Harris believes an Omega-3 Index of 8–12% is the target, and why measuring EPA and DHA in red blood cell membranes gives you a more stable picture of your status than plasma testing. We also tackle some of the biggest controversies in nutrition today—including seed oils, omega-6s, saturated fat, LDL cholesterol, fish versus supplements, EPA versus DHA, and whether you really need to worry about the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. Dr. Harris also explains why some of the conventional wisdom circulating online simply doesn't match what decades of research actually show.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why roughly 90% of Americans may be below the optimal Omega-3 Index
What the Omega-3 Index measures and why the target range is 8–12%
Why red blood cell testing can provide a better picture of omega-3 status than plasma testing
How omega-3s help maintain healthy, flexible cell membranes
What EPA and DHA actually do—and why you need both
What the research really says about omega-6s and the seed oil controversy
Why Dr. Harris doesn't recommend focusing on the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio
How chronically elevated LDL contributes to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
Why low omega-3 levels have been associated with earlier mortality, cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, and other chronic diseases
Why eating "fish" doesn't necessarily mean you're getting enough omega-3
The best food sources of EPA and DHA, including salmon, mackerel, sardines, anchovies, and albacore tuna
What to look for when choosing an omega-3 supplement
Why vegans can still get EPA and DHA through algae-based omega-3s
How often Dr. Harris recommends retesting once you're optimizing your Omega-3 Index
Listen to this episode if you take omega-3s, eat fish, care about your heart and brain health—or simply want to know whether you're actually getting enough of one of the most important nutrients for healthy aging. Because when it comes to omega-3s, taking a supplement isn't the goal. Getting your biology into the optimal range is. 
Learn more about Dr. Darshan Shah: 
Website: www.drshah.com
Clinic: https://www.next-health.com
Instagram: @extend_podcast and @darshanshahmd
Learn more about Dr. William Harris: 
Website: www.faresinst.org
Omega-3 At Home Test Kit: https://omegaquant.com/
Thank You To Our Sponsors: 
Next Health Longevity Summit: Head to next-health.com/summit to secure your spot at the first ever Next Health Longevity Summit in Nashville on 9/12. Our speakers include Dr. Shah, Dr. Jeremy London, Dr. Louisa Nicola, Dr. Vonda Wright and many more! This will be one day packed with activities like blood tests, recovery modalities, IV's and brands we love that will completely change the way you think about health.
Momentous: Head to livemomentous.com and use code DRSHAH for up to 35% off your first order!
IM8: Try IM8 today with a 30-day money back guarantee. Get 10% off your first order with code DRSHAH at im8health.com/drshah