• When Dr. Darshan Shah was expecting his first child, he was stressed and overweight.
• He feared he wouldn't see his son grow up if he didn't make lifestyle changes.
• He lost 50 pounds and came off medications after making lifestyle changes including improving his diet.

At 42, Dr. Darshan Shah was used to being stressed. As a successful surgeon based in Los Angeles, he had spent 20 years regularly working 12-hour days, starting at 6 a.m.

But when his wife got pregnant with their first child in 2016, he realized he needed to make a change to be healthier.

"I found myself in a state of poor health. I had developed an autoimmune disease, I was 50 pounds overweight, I had high blood pressure that could not be controlled with medication, I had high cholesterol, and lots of risk factors for an early death," Shah, 52, told Business Insider. "But my son had a long life ahead of him, and I wanted to be around for it."

Shah took a year off from being a surgeon and began researching the science behind long-term health.

"I was able to completely turn my health around and completely come off 10 different prescription medications within a year. I lost 50 pounds, and my autoimmune disease completely disappeared," he said.

His focus improved at work, too, and he found that he was no longer tired. Instead, he "wanted to wake up every morning and jump out of bed to attack the day."

Shah's transformation made him realize this was the type of medicine he wanted to practice — helping people get and stay healthy rather than just addressing medical issues as they arise. In 2016, he founded Next Health, a health optimization and longevity clinic with locations across the US and in Dubai.

Now, Shah does experimental longevity treatments at his clinics, but he still thinks that getting the basics right, as he did, is key for a long, healthy life. He told BI the lifestyle changes he made.

Cutting out ultra-processed foods

"My nutrition was horrible. I was eating a lot of ultra-processed food, especially highly processed carbohydrates," Shah said, so he eliminated them from his diet.

Evidence suggests that UPFs are associated with a range of health problems. In a 2024 metareview of 45 studies involving over 9.8 million people published in the journal The BMJ, UPFs were linked to cardiovascular disease, depression, and type 2 diabetes.

Researchers don't agree on whether all UPFs are equally harmful, so nutritionists advise eating fewer without stressing about quitting them.

Getting 7 hours of sleep a night

Before his son was born, Shah said he "barely slept four hours a night."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that adults between the ages of 18 and 60 get seven or more hours of sleep a night.

Not getting enough sleep can be harmful. A 2022 study conducted on over 10,000 British civil service workers found that participants who reported getting less than five hours of sleep a night at the age of 50 had a higher risk of developing chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, and dying from long-term health conditions.

Getting enough sleep is also associated with eating fewer calories.

Now, Shah sleeps for seven hours a night and says he feels amazing.

Moving more

Shah sees exercise as an essential part of a "good health routine," and doing a mixture of strength training and cardio has been linked to living longer. He goes to the gym every other day to do a routine that is 70% strength training using free weights, and 30% cardio, for which he runs on a treadmill — plus some stretching to warm up.

Shah also tries to get up and move every 45 minutes when he's at work to break up periods of sitting.

"They say that sitting is the new smoking, and I think that's true," Shah said. "As a surgeon, you spend a lot of time either standing or sitting in one position, and that sedentary non-movement leads to a high risk of disease."

While research shows that sitting for longer than 10 hours a day is associated with a higher risk of dying early, a 2023 study of about 12,000 people over the age of 50, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, suggests a solution. It found that 22 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a day — such as doing housework, brisk walking, or cycling — appeared to offset the negative effects of being sedentary all day.

Bringing his testosterone levels to a normal range

"I had no idea that my hormones were in the toilet. But when I measured my testosterone level, it was very low for a 42-year-old male," Shah said.

Low testosterone can cause symptoms such as a reduced sex drive, erectile dysfunction, low moods, and increased body fat, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Shah used hormone replacement therapy and increased his testosterone levels to a range considered normal.

The lifestyle changes he made may also have helped. According to Cleveland Clinic, eating a healthy diet, exercising, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding excessive alcohol and drug use can help to keep testosterone levels normal.

As BI previously reported, once considered taboo, growing numbers of men are doing testosterone replacement therapy without an official diagnosis of "low testosterone," to help them build muscle, get erections, and have more energy. However, it's unclear whether it is beneficial for young, healthy men, and side effects can include acne, hair loss, and infertility.

• New vacation rental company Savvy took a swipe at Airbnb and Vrbo with its new Texas billboard.
• The company chose a spot near Vrbo's Austin office, mimicking Vrbo's recent sign targeting Airbnb.
• Savvy is emphasizing its no-fee model to lure hosts and guests away from the two bigger platforms.

Just in time for summer, a rivalry between vacation-rental companies is brewing.

Last month, Vrbo crowned itself the "hotter, cooler, friendlier" platform with a billboard teasing rival Airbnb. Vrbo put the billboard right outside Airbnb's San Francisco headquarters.

Now Savvy, a brand-new vacation rental company, is taking a shot at both of its much-bigger rivals.

Savvy placed a billboard close to Vrbo's Austin headquarters to drive home its "no-fee" model, mimicking Vrbo's own playbook for poking fun at Airbnb.

Savvy — an Austin-based startup with 13 employees that launched in February — promises no fees for hosts to list their properties for rent or for guests to book with them.

"As the new kid on the block, we thought it would be fun," Savvy founder Eric Goldreyer told Business Insider.

Goldreyer thought focusing on fees was a way to seize upon common customer gripes about Airbnb and Vrbo.

"What customers really care about is saving money on their stay," he said.

Airbnb called Vrbo's original sign "desperate," though Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky did post a laughing emoji on Instagram in response to it. Airbnb and Vrbo both declined to comment on Savvy's billboard.

Savvy has 150,000 properties across US, Canada, Mexico, Goldreyer said.

It has a long way to go before catching up with its competitors. In 2024, Airbnb said it had 7.7 million listings around the world, while Vrbo said it had more than 2 million.

Savvy is trying to draw attention to its no-fee model

Fees on Airbnb have been a sticking point for guests and hosts over the years, with some saying rising costs made them quit booking via the platform altogether. Airbnb has gone to extra lengths to make sure guests can easily see the total price of a stay including cleaning fees and taxes.

Airbnb primarily uses a split-fee model, where the most common arrangement is a 3% service fee for hosts and a fee around 14% for guests. Vrbo charges hosts a 5% fee and guests up to 20%.

Hosts list their properties for free on Savvy, and guests don't incur booking fees, Goldreyer said.

However, hosts can choose to pay for a subscription that boosts how prominently their home is featured on Savvy. Current subscription packages range from $5 to $20 a month, Goldreyer said.

Savvy is primarily targeting larger-scale rental operators to grow its listing base.

The platform only registers professional short-term-rental hosts who have at least five properties and use formal booking software, among other requirements.

Goldreyer said Savvy wants a consistent experience for guests.

"We don't want people that host as their side hustle," he explained. "We want to know if our guest gets there at 11 p.m. and the Bluetooth lock goes out, there's a professional they can call."

• Donald Trump quietly opened a pizza parlor at Trump Tower in New York City.
• The food has been a focal point of his career and political campaigns.
• The parlor's opening makes Trump the first known president to own a pizza joint while in office.

Donald Trump's love story with pizza entered its latest chapter as the president quietly opened a pizza parlor at Trump Tower in New York City.

Trump Pizza is "where New York tradition meets Italian craftsmanship," according to a Tuesday post on the Trump Tower Instagram page. It also makes Trump the first known president to own a pizza parlor while in office.

The new pizza parlor, first pointed out by Emily Sundberg in her "Feed Me" Substack, appears to be part of a recently completed renovation of Trump Cafe, one of the restaurants located within Trump Tower. The oven in the Instagram photo showcases the signature white marble and gold aesthetic that Trump has become known for over the years, as well as several of the restaurant's offerings: pepperoni, a sausage and pepper combination pie, and what appears to be a classic Margherita with tomato, mozzarella, and basil.

While a full menu following the upgrades is not yet available online, Business Insider has previously reported dining options at Trump Tower are pricey — and a little lackluster.

The Cafe was closed at the time of publication. A receptionist at Trump's 45 Wine and Whiskey Bar told Business Insider that they did not know the cost of a slice at the Cafe.

Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

For decades, pizza has been a focal point of Trump's career and political campaigns; indeed, pizza and politics have long gone slice-in-hand.

Many politicians, Trump included, have made campaign stops at local pizza parlors in an effort to sway blue-collar voters. They have regularly made headlines when being caught eating a slice with a knife and fork or being seen delivering pies to hardworking civil servants.

On several occasions dating back nearly 30 years, Trump has publicly declared his love for the tasty Italian offering, including in a 1995 Pizza Hut commercial in which Trump and his then-wife, Ivana, negotiated a deal to eat their pizza the "wrong way" (crust first) to promote new stuffed crust options at the franchise.

However, his preferred method for enjoying a cheesy slice remains unclear. After being lambasted on The Daily Show for stacking several slices on top of each other and cutting individual bites away with a fork, the food journalism outlet Serious Eats reported that Trump said he preferred no crust at all.

"This way you can take the top of the pizza off, you're not just eating the crust," Serious Eats reported he said. "I like not to eat the crust so that we keep the weight down at least as good as possible."

But, no matter how you slice it, it was just a matter of time before Trump had a pizza stone to call his own.