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Chapters

0:00 Introduction
0:41 What the research says
1:16 Holistic therapy benefits
1:45 Types of Holistic therapy

is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), integrated medicine or integrative medicine (IM), and holistic medicine attempt to combine alternative practices with those of mainstream medicine. Alternative therapies share in common that they reside outside of medical science and instead rely on pseudoscience. Traditional practices become “alternative” when used outside their original settings and without proper scientific explanation and evidence. Frequently used derogatory terms for relevant practices are new age or pseudo- medicine, with little distinction from quackery.

Some alternative practices are based on theories that contradict the established science of how the human body works; others resort to the supernatural or superstitious to explain their effect or lack thereof. In others, the practice has plausibility but lacks a positive risk–benefit outcome probability. Alternative medicine is distinct from scientific medicine, which employs the scientific method to test plausible therapies by way of responsible and ethical clinical trials, producing repeatable evidence of either effect or of no effect. Research into alternative therapies often fails to follow proper research protocols (such as placebo-controlled trials, blind experiments and calculation of prior probability), providing invalid results.

Much of the perceived effect of an alternative practice arises from a belief that it will be effective (the placebo effect), or from the treated condition resolving on its own (the natural course of disease). This is further exacerbated by the tendency to turn to alternative therapies upon the failure of medicine, at which point the condition will be at its worst and most likely to spontaneously improve. In the absence of this bias, especially for diseases that are not expected to get better by themselves such as cancer or HIV infection, multiple studies have shown significantly worse outcomes if patients turn to alternative therapies. While this may be because these patients avoid effective treatment, some alternative therapies are actively harmful (e.g. cyanide poisoning from amygdalin, or the intentional ingestion of hydrogen peroxide) or actively interfere with effective treatments.

The alternative medicine sector is a highly profitable industry with a strong lobby, and faces far less regulation over the use and marketing of unproven treatments. Its marketing often advertises the treatments as being “natural” or “holistic”, in comparison to those offered by medical science. Billions of dollars have been spent studying alternative medicine, with few or no positive results. Some of the successful practices are only considered alternative under very specific definitions, such as those which include all physical activity under the umbrella of “alternative medicine”.
Definitions and terminology
See also: Terminology of alternative medicine

The terms alternative medicine, complementary medicine, integrative medicine, holistic medicine, natural medicine, unorthodox medicine, fringe medicine, unconventional medicine, and new age medicine are used interchangeably as having the same meaning and are almost synonymous in most contexts.[1][2][3][4] Terminology has shifted over time, reflecting the preferred branding of practitioners.[5] For example, the United States National Institutes of Health department studying alternative medicine, currently named the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), was established as the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) and was renamed the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) before obtaining its current name. Therapies are often framed as “natural” or “holistic”, implicitly and intentionally suggesting that conventional medicine is “artificial” and “narrow in scope”.[6][7]
Marcia Angell: “There cannot be two kinds of medicine – conventional and alternative”.[8]

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Today, I am honored to welcome Dr. Darshan Shah, a distinguished health and wellness specialist, board-certified surgeon, and the visionary founder of Next Health—the world’s first and largest health optimization and longevity clinic. Through his own experience, Dr. Shah empowers us to take control of our health with three simple steps, as well as offers crucial insights into functional medicine, plant-based proteins, the benefits of vegetables, and the repercussions of low vitamin D levels.

Together, we cover social activities to combat sedentary behavior, the significance of sleep tracking, practical advice for improving gut health, and technological advancements in cancer testing. In this episode, Dr. Shah encourages us to correct bad health habits early on and lower our risk for disease, even before danger appears.

In this interview, we’ll discuss:
00:00 Intro
03:06 Why Was There a Need to Build Next Health?
09:11 The Three-Step Process to Stay Healthy
13:19 What Has Changed With Our Food Intake?
16:16 4 Ways to Eat Right
24:36 Plant-Based Sources of Protein
26:11 How Vegetables Can Greatly Help Your Body
30:44 This Happens When Your Vitamin D Level is Low
34:12 Know What is the Blood Work Optimal Range
36:51 You Need to Invest in Social Activity
39:19 How to Break Sedentary Behavior?
46:46 How Do You Get Out of the Perfectionist Mentality?
48:32 How Do You Prepare for Old Age?
50:21 The Benefits of Sleep Tracking
57:24 Best Practices to Help You Sleep Through the Night
01:03:52 Inflammation Affects Your Gut Health
01:09:10 How to Take Care of Your Heart
01:14:23 Technological Evolution of Testing Cancer
01:18:24 How Do We Prevent Cancer?
01:22:28 Dr. Darshan Shah On Final Five

Episode Resources:
https://www.instagram.com/darshanshahmd/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshanshahmd/
https://www.facebook.com/DarshanShahMD/
https://www.youtube.com/@DarshanShahMD
https://www.drshah.com/
https://www.next-health.com/

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