164. SXSW Panel: How To Actually Take Control Of Your Health In 2026 and Beyond — Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD

A lot of us are doing everything we can to stay healthy, taking supplements, wearing trackers, getting our labs done, and still ending up sick. And if you are like most people, you probably thought that was on you, that you were not disciplined enough, not consistent enough, or simply not doing the right things, but that is not the case. The system we have been relying on was never designed to keep us well in the first place, and expecting the Western medical system to manage your long term health is like expecting a fire department to landscape your garden.

We dive deeper into this in the Extend with Steve Martocci, Pranitha Patil, and John Sullivan. We also chat about why 30% of people have dangerously high blood pressure and have no idea, why four out of six top selling creatine products on Amazon contain zero creatine, and why doctors receive zero training on supplements in medical school yet are expected to advise patients on them every single day.

Steve Martocci is the founder of SuppCo, a platform that has catalogued over 300,000 supplement products and built the industry's first independent trust scoring system. Pranitha Patil is the co-founder and Chief Business Officer of Function Health, which offers comprehensive lab testing across hundreds of biomarkers for $365 a year. John Sullivan is a senior leader at Whoop, the performance wearable that introduced medically cleared continuous health monitoring to everyday consumers. If there is any panel qualified to tell you the truth about what it actually takes to stay healthy in 2026, it is this one.

What's Discussed:

(13:12) The supplement industry's trust problem and why four out of six top selling creatine products on Amazon contain zero creatine.
(20:17) How to build your own N-of-1 health roadmap using lab work, wearables, and supplements working together.
(39:58) The single highest leverage investment you can make for your health right now that has nothing to do with money.
(43:26) Why 30% of people have dangerous blood pressure and have no idea.
(46:50) The FDA, the supplement industry, and where the line should actually be drawn between regulation and innovation.
(53:12) Why the Western medical system was never built to keep you healthy and what to do instead.

Listen to this episode of the Extend Podcast and finally understand why the system you have been trusting with your health was never designed to keep you well, and what it actually looks like to take that power back into your own hands.

Thank You to Our Sponsors:

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Learn more about Dr. Darshan Shah:

Website: drshah.com

Clinic: next-health.com

Instagram: darshanshahmd

Learn more about John Sullivan:

Instagram: @johnjsulli

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/johnjsulli/

Learn more about Pranitha Patil:

Instagram: @pranitha/