Redefining Longevity Medicine: It’s Not What You May Think
The New Science Behind Living Better, Longer
By Dr. Darshan Shah
AUGUST 2025
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I got into the field of Longevity Medicine 12 years ago—way before the word was popularized, and definitely before there were hundreds of self-proclaimed biohackers on Instagram. Before everyone who owned a medspa added an IV lounge to become involved in “longevity.” Over the past decade, I have witnessed the field of what I called “Longevity Medicine” turn into a circus of extreme diets, supplement wars, and full-body stem cell injections. I think it’s time for a reset.
First, let me be clear about what I believe the definition of Longevity Medicine should be…and (spoiler alert) it isn’t about living to 250. It's also not about flying to Colombia to inject stem cells into every joint in your body, or wearing six wearable devices while lying in a cryo chamber, or eating beef liver under a red light. That’s not medicine—that’s performance art.
Real Longevity Medicine, as I feel it should be defined, is much more grounded in science and the sound practice of medicine within a new framework that is different from what I was taught in medical school. It’s evidence-based, personalized, and deeply rooted in optimizing what we already know works. It’s also hyper-preventative, with a focus on root cause medicine, and enabled by the latest science and technology available. It’s empowered by data on an “N of 1” basis, with an experienced human guiding you through a lifelong journey of reversing disease and optimizing all the inputs to allow you to live the fullest life possible up until the inevitable end, whenever that may be.
When I talk about Longevity Medicine, I refer to a new model of healthcare, Medicine 4.0, if you will. There are four pillars of practice that, when brought together, can completely change the destiny of health for an individual and an entire population. These pillars are: Lifestyle Medicine, Functional Medicine, Preventive Medicine, and Longevity Medicine. Let’s dive in.
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Obvious to most, health begins with getting the basics right (nutrition, sleep, and exercise). This is the elusive field of Lifestyle Medicine that all doctors should be incorporating, but sadly, don’t have the time or reimbursement to do so. But how do we cut through the noise and use science to find what works? The answer is to personalize an approach to lifestyle medicine by dialing in sleep, nutrition, and exercise that works for each individual. This is true “N of 1” medicine. We know that different modalities work for different people, and for the first time in history, we have relatively low-cost devices that are incredible tools to finally get all of this right!
Between wearables, CGMs, and bloodwork, we can personalize an approach that was never possible before. For me personally, I found that intermittent fasting, going to bed at the same time every night, and HIIT worked best in combination to truly turn my health around. I would have never discovered any of this without my wearables, bioimpedance scale, and quarterly blood work testing.
Then we add the additional depth of Functional Medicine—gut health, detox pathways, hormone optimization, and metabolic flexibility. This field of medicine, which was pioneered by Jeffrey Bland and Mark Hyman, helped me change the trajectory of my health. Frustrated by the typical Western medicine program of being on ten different prescription medications to treat my diabetes, obesity, autoimmune disease, and hypertension, I went to an IFM course 10 years ago that empowered me with the medical knowledge I wish I had been taught in medical school! Within eight months, I lost 40 pounds, got off eight of my ten prescriptions, and “cured” myself of diabetes and my autoimmune condition.
“Why isn’t everyone doing this?!?” I thought to myself. This was the impetus for me to start a new clinic, one founded on functional medicine and empowering patients to finally have access to their own biomarker test results. This was virtually unheard of ten years ago, but is now considered the norm with multiple entrants into the market. It should have always been this way.
Next in a patient's journey, we layer in Preventative Medicine through advanced diagnostics used 20 to 30 years before they are used now. We have the technology to detect Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, cancer, metabolic disease, and more decades before they take hold in our biology. The problem is that we do too much, too late in our current system. Often waiting to use these technologies when we become symptomatic, which is usually preceded by years of disease progression internally.
In my 30 years of experience as a physician, I can tell you that the last thing that happens in disease is you “feel it.” Full body MRI, Cleerly scans, pTau217 testing, and liquid biopsies will hopefully one day become covered by insurance and mainstream. But I wouldn't hold your breath since the financial incentives in mainstream medicine are not geared towards prevention. Thankfully, in the U.S., these technologies are now available and getting more affordable every year.
And finally, once we get all of that right, we can integrate some of the latest breakthroughs in Longevity Medicine: regenerative therapies, peptides, biological age reversal, and cellular optimization. These technologies can further accelerate one’s journey towards optimal healthspan, but lose their efficacy if not preceded by the previous three pillars.
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This is the architecture of what I call the new clinical practice of Longevity Medicine, or Medicine 4.0—and it’s the foundation of what we’re building and democratizing at our clinics.
The truth is that there needs to be thousands of clinics like this throughout the United States and the world. I like to imagine a world where there is a 1:1 ratio of “sick care” doctors' offices to Longevity Clinics, until we only use “sick care” to manage emergencies and catastrophic health diagnoses that should rarely occur. Eventually, everyone would have their Longevity Clinic that serves the primary role of preventing chronic disease and keeping people healthy for the long run, adding decades of healthspan to every lifespan.
Next Health was born out of my personal crisis with the medical system. As a surgeon, I was operating at the top of my field, yet I was sick, obese, inflamed, hypertensive, and heading toward diabetes. I was prescribed pills with no root-cause exploration, no lifestyle interventions, and no real plan to optimize anything. That’s when I realized: we don’t have a healthcare system. We have a “sick-care” system that waits for you to break down, then tries to patch you up just enough to keep going.
Next Health currently has 12 clinics throughout the U.S. and Dubai, and is in active development of two dozen more, with close to 100 planned at the time of this writing. I see many similar models popping up now that are doing something similar to us, which I am incredibly excited about. We need this now. At a time when chronic disease is at an all-time high, we need to do something differently. Trying to fix the current system is a fool's errand, in my opinion. And besides, we need that system for when we really hit a disaster scenario.
Let’s build a new system that democratizes the best technology and learnings in lifestyle medicine, prevention, functional medicine, and regenerative technology. One that empowers patients with their data, but still provides thoughtful guidance based on a human-to-human connection. And let's define this new system, “Longevity Medicine.”
The “Wellness Wheel” — Dr. Shah’s methodology to empower someone's Longevity journey.
From groundbreaking insights in Longevity Medicine to in-depth features like our profile of Dr. Darshan Shah — longevity expert and physician — Biohack Yourself Magazine is available at Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Indigo/Chapters, Kroger, Publix, Albertsons, H-E-B, Meijer, Raley’s, and leading fitness centers across the USA and Canada. Learn more at biohackyourselfmarketing.com
Disclaimer:
Contributor content reflects the personal views and experiences of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Biohack Yourself Media LLC, Lolli Brands Entertainment LLC, or any of their affiliates. Content is provided for editorial, educational, and entertainment purposes only. It is not medical or dental advice. Always consult qualified professionals before making health decisions. By reading, you agree to hold us harmless for reliance on this material. See full disclaimers at www.biohackyourself.com/termsanddisclaimers
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