#327: Sunny Sharma, MD - He Faced a Brain Tumor — and Found the True Power of Lifestyle Medicine
What happens when a doctor becomes the patient? In this inspiring episode, Rip talks with Dr. Sunny Sharma — a lifestyle medicine physician whose life took an unexpected turn when he was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. That experience didn’t just change his health; it completely transformed how he practices medicine.
Dr. Sharma shares how his journey deepened his empathy, strengthened his belief in prevention, and led him to embrace the six pillars of lifestyle medicine: plant-based nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management, avoiding harmful substances, and connection. He’s now helping patients heal from the inside out — one meaningful conversation at a time.
You’ll hear him open up about:
How his diagnosis deepened his empathy and reshaped how he connects with patients
Why lifestyle choices aren’t just “extras” — they’re the foundation of lasting health
The tough reality of how little nutrition is discussed in most medical settings
His move into concierge medicine, where he finally has the time to really talk to patients about prevention and behavior change
And yes — the joy of getting back on the basketball court after brain surgery!
This episode is a reminder that health isn’t just about managing disease — it’s about creating the conditions for your body to thrive. Dr. Sharma shows us that with the right food, mindset, movement, and support, we can take charge of our own healing journey.
Episode Resources
Watch the Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gQpuaYbcRNQ
Learn more about Dr. Sharma’s Practice: https://www.sunnysharmamd.com/
Follow Dr. Sharma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunnysharmamd
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Episode Transcript via AI Transcription Service
I'm Rip Esselstyn, and you're listening to the PLANTSTRONG Podcast.
[0:04] My guest today, Dr. Sunny Sharma, is living proof that the pillars of lifestyle medicine, food, movement, sleep, stress, and connection can be absolutely life-saving. And if you're ready for a dose of inspiration, science, and a whole lot of heart, this is a conversation that you do not wanna miss. right after this message from PLANTSTRONG. Our PLANTSTRONG chilies and stews are your ready-made solution. They're hearty, they're satisfying, and they are packed with real, whole ingredients. You just rip it open, heat for 90 seconds, and you've got yourself a warm, satiating meal that fuels your day. No chopping, no cleanup, no excuses. From our smoky Engine 2 Firehouse Chili to our savory, creamy white bean chili, these meals are comfort food made clean. So stock up at plantstrong.com and taste how good real food can be.
[1:13] Hey, my cruciferous cousins, Rip here, and I want to personally invite you to join me and the whole PLANTSTRONG crew for an incredible lineup of events in 2026. So grab a pen, grab some paper, and jot down some notes if any of these kind of catch your fancy. So we're kicking things off in April with our PLANTSTRONGRetreat in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It's a full immersion experience in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. It is filled with education, movement, and delicious unlimited plant-based food. And you will be there with about 80 plus other participants. Then in June, we'll be launching something brand spanking new. This is our Vital Signs 2026.
[2:07] Real food, real medicine, real change. This is a groundbreaking Food is Medicine conference hosted at Case Western Reserve University right in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. This is also where my father, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., better known as Essie, went to medical school. But this event will be bringing together healthcare providers and the public to learn the latest and greatest science behind how real food can heal. And then this fall, the big one, this will be our 15th annual Plant-Stock. It'll be returning in person to Black Mountain for a weekend celebration like no other. Details are still cooking on this one, but be sure to mark your calendars. Then we're going to close out the year with our Sedona retreat set against the breathtaking Red Rocks of Arizona as September rolls into October.
[3:06] Here's the thing, It is so important for all of us to find community, to surround ourselves with people who lift us up, share our values, and are walking the same path towards better health. That's what these events are all about. That connection, education, endless buffets of whole PLANTSTRONG foods. So come play pickleball with me, share a meal, and make the time to invest in your health in 2026. You deserve it. So visit liveplanstrong.com, click on events for all the details, and I hope to see you at one or more in 2026.
[3:53] Dr. Sunny Sharma's journey into medicine is inspiring on its own, but what makes his story extraordinary is how life threw him a curveball, a brain tumor diagnosis that instantly shifted him from doctor to patient. That experience gave him a whole new lens of empathy and reinforced what he already believed deep down. Lifestyle is the most important medicine that we've got. In this conversation, we'll dig into his roots, how his diagnosis changed the way he practices, and why he is so passionate about the six pillars of lifestyle medicine. Nutrition, movement, sleep, stress reduction, avoiding harmful substances, and building strong social connections. You are going to love Sunny's openness, his big heart, and his unwavering belief that we all have the power to take back our health.
[4:57] Dr. Sunny Sharma, I want to welcome you to the PLANTSTRONG podcast. It's a pleasure to see you. All right. Thank you for having me. A long-time listener, happy to finally be a guest. Fantastic. I can't wait for the audience to hear your story because it's a doozy. It's a really good one. And you are now a lifestyle medicine practitioner and you have in many, many ways come full circle. And so I can't wait to dive into your story today. So for starters, I would love for the PLANTSTRONG audience to understand.
[5:39] Is Sunny your real name? Because I love the name Sunny. And how did that come to pass? So everybody always assumes it's a nickname, but it is my actual name. When I was born, my parents actually asked my sister, who was five and a half at the time, what they should name me. They had a couple of ideas in mind, but she chose Sunny. And at that time, there was actually a famous Bollywood actor with the name Sunny. So it was kind of popular at that point. But very rarely do I meet someone else that is named Sunny that is their actual name. Well, you know, it's funny. Growing up, I obviously knew of Sonny and Cher. They were a very popular husband and wife, you know, kind of singing, comedic act.
[6:28] But, you know, it sounds like your parents were giving your sister a lot of power by naming you. Are you close with your sister today? Yes, yes, we are close. And honestly, I've actually seen pictures of my sister when she was younger before I was born. And she always wanted a younger sibling. So there's a lot of pictures and stuff of that. And I've heard all those stories. So I guess she earned the right at that point. Yeah. Well, I think it's very apropos then. And so because this is such an important part, I think of your, of your story, So tell everybody, like, where did you grow up and where were you born? So I grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and I was born at what was called at that time Humana Hospital. It's now St. Alexis Medical Center, the same exact facility where I am working out of. I'm the first doctor to be born here to come back and practice in the facility. So that's always a pride point for me.
[7:35] It was a childhood dream. I did want to become a doctor and I'd always say this, that's where I want to practice. It was always the story that I would tell my parents. We'd be driving down the road, I'd point to the hospital. And, you know, lucky for me that the opportunities worked out perfectly and ended up out here. And why, what was the gravitational pull, if you can recall, when you were a little child towards medicine and being a doctor? So I wish I could say that it was just continuous, that I always wanted to be a doctor. When I was little, it was just something about the idea of the profession. And I saw what doctors were doing and the idea of healing and helping people.
[8:21] There was this point where the tech boom happened and I was very good with computers and programming and all that stuff. And I'm like, you know what, maybe I'm going to go into this. And I took classes for programming and I was getting straight A's and they were just so boring. And then I took this health occupations class, which you actually could become a certified nurse's assistant by taking this class. And I loved it. I love the challenges, the fact that you were on your feet, the fact that you're moving, the impact you were making on a day-to-day basis on individuals. And I shifted my mindset back to the idea that medicine is the right thing for me. And it stuck. Yeah. It's funny you brought up the word impact, because I've had two meetings already this morning before this podcast. And in both those meetings, we just talked about what can we do to make the greatest impact in what we are doing. And I love that, you know, impact is something that felt right to you.
Medical School Journey
[9:30] And, you know, I think with the word impact, it kind of evokes something of us wanting to give back. And there's something about, I think, what that does to kind of feed our soul.
[9:49] And there's probably, as a physician, there's probably nothing better than seeing your patients get better as opposed to get worse. So that's a place that I really want to dive into on this conversation with you. And why don't we start with this? So you went to medical school.
[10:11] Where did you go to medical school? So I had a little bit of an atypical process. I knew I wanted to be a doctor when I was in high school. So I graduated in three years and I finished my undergrad in three years. I went to Windsor University School of Medicine. It's actually in the Caribbean where they actually do the first couple of years of basic sciences out there. And then you do your clinical rotations throughout the country. And the thing I loved about that was I was able to set up rotations at various facilities throughout the country. So I was able to do surgery at the Arizona burn unit in Maricopa County. I did trauma surgery at Cook County Hospital. I did cardiology at Northwestern. I did psychiatry at a dedicated psych facility in Shreveport, Louisiana. It took a lot of legwork and moving around, but that experience that I gained, I felt like I was ready to start residency and not be as nervous as many of my other colleagues. Wow. I mean, that sounds like you got quite a little peek into all these different kind of specialties. And so where was it that you eventually decided to go in medicine? Yeah. So, when it came to medicine, I always felt like I knew I wanted to do something that was more primary care based.
[11:36] I like the idea of building these relationships with patients and not necessarily focusing just on one thing. And it was actually my mother that was getting admitted in and out of the hospital with various medical issues. She had ulcerative colitis, that I saw how doctors would just jet into the room and jet right out and would say, use all these big words and talk over her head. And I'm sure that's exactly what it was for every other patient. And it wasn't until I was in medical school and I actually would come wearing my scrubs that people are, are you in medicine? I'm like, yeah, I am. And I was able to ask the appropriate educated questions that people finally started breaking things down for us. And that's when I realized that we needed people that would actually communicate with the patients and take the time. And primary care is the base of medicine.
[12:33] So give me an idea, timeline-wise. When did you finish medical school, residency, internship, and kind of hit the ground running with medicine? So I finished medical school at the age of 25. I finished residency at 28, and I started working immediately out where I am right now. I was in a bit of a traditional practice. I saw patients in the hospital. I would see them in the office. I would also go to nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities as well. Just your traditional practitioner that everyone grew up with that would see you in all settings. Yeah. And...
[13:16] So are you practicing traditional medicine at this point? No, I am not. It was actually starting to wear on me the idea of seeing about 30 people in the office, 10 to 15 in the hospital, and then about 20 a day in the nursing home. And I wanted to actually focus on where I felt like I could make the biggest impact. And for me at that time, I realized the biggest impact is in the office because I could focus so much more on prevention.
[13:45] Gotcha. But at some point, how did you get get involved with lifestyle medicine and, you know, the six pillars of lifestyle medicine and all the wonderful fruits that that that that rains upon us? So I guess a little bit of the bug of lifestyle medicine was planted when I was young. I grew up a vegetarian in a vegetarian household. And at that time, I thought that was as healthy as I could be. And I thought the umbrella term of vegetarian automatically meant you were in better health than others. I was an athlete. I did great. I played basketball. I played football. But I was also considered skinny at that time. And I was encouraged to go ahead and you should eat meat. You need more protein. You need more protein. And I was an animal lover at that time as well. And I just did not feel like it was the right move for me. But in hindsight at that time, I probably wasn't the healthiest of vegetarian either. I was more of the junk food vegetarian.
[14:56] As I went through my process of medicine in med school, they did tell you first line treatment for everything is diet and exercise, lifestyle interventions. But wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. They they told you that. But in reality, I mean, what percent of physicians that are out there do you feel are actually practicing that? Less than 5%. And that might even be generous. And it's because of the way the system is built. The system is built on, you have to see patients in 10 to 15 minutes. And a proper conversation to tease through someone's diet, to tell them the important aspects. It takes a lot more time than that. And patients deserve that. But on top of that, in medical school, the first line was, healthy diet and exercise, but nobody really dove into what is a healthy diet. And it's up to all of us to kind of assume what that is. You'd hear the basics, eat your fresh foods and things like that. But just like everybody else, we utilize the internet to find out what's popular, these low carb diets and things like that. And that's why a lot of docs fall into these traps.
Shift to Lifestyle Medicine
[16:06] And then there was actually a specific day where I was rounding and this is when I used to still go to the hospital. And I distinctly remember this day was it was Halloween 2018. And I saw a heart failure patient. And as I finished my conversation with them, I was going out into the hallway, a pizza delivery guy was walking in. And I stopped the pizza delivery guy. I'm like, did you mean to deliver to the nurse's station or the break room? And he said, no, this is the name I was told to come to this room. And I was like, that's my patient. So I went in with the delivery guy to talk to the patient again, spent a good hour just explaining why this was what brought him into the hospital in the first place, things like this, and explained it all to him. And I was like, you know, we have to have a lot more conversations. There's a lot more behind this, but I do not want you eating this food right now.
[16:59] After finishing up with that patient, I felt like I needed to take a break. I went down to the cafeteria and I looked around and there's the CEO. There's all the doctors. There's all the nurses, all eating pizza, chicken wings, burgers, all the same stuff that I know that is putting people in this hospital. And I just lost my appetite. I finished my work for the day. I went back home and I distinctly remember the conversation with my wife. I don't think I'm making an impact anymore. All I'm doing is patching things up, making people better. They go home and they're doing the same thing that's going to bring them back in here. We just so happened to, on that day, we love documentaries, watch Cowspiracy. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I guess I was ignorant for the idea. I never knew the environmental impact at that. And at that point. I decided I stopped in the middle of, I was eating some Mexican food. I stopped in the middle of it. I went vegan immediately. I'm not going to say that there weren't lapses for a little while afterwards because I started out as the junk food vegan for a little while because I was trying to figure out how to do this. I was used to having cheese on everything.
[18:13] And I've come a long way. And now I don't see myself ever going back.
The Turning Point
[18:17] But that was the moment that I realized that I had a bigger purpose. And came across the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, which I'd never heard of at that point. It was just a new thing to me. Do you remember how you came across ACLM? Honestly, it was because I couldn't sleep that night after seeing that patient. And I saw the documentary. I just stayed up online researching things. And then I saw, I came across, it was Dr. Greger, who I love. And I loved him in the documentary. I was looking up all the doctors I was seeing. And I saw that he was coming out of the first board exam, carrying a paper that he had just passed the inaugural class of ACLM. I'm like, I'm going to do that. I need to do this. And I started the process of figuring out how I had to do it. And over the next two years, I received all the CME. And there are certain hiccups because COVID happened and delayed the process a bit. but I was able to get it all done. Um, And it is one of the greatest decisions I could have made in medicine. Yeah. Yeah.
[19:30] I just, I want to go back for a second to that moment, that inflection point where the gentleman, the pizza guy, it was carrying the pizza to your, to your patient. Did you happen to take a look in the box and see what kind of pizza it was? Oh yeah. It was, so the pizza, it was, it was one of those, I call it the garbage pizza. It had a little bit of everything. Like pepperoni, it had sausage, and it had oil just dripping all down from it. It was one of the worst things you possibly could have had. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So you have this epiphany. You start going down this path. And then how does your medical practice or your medical care to your patients change, if at all? Yeah. And when it does change, how long does it take for you to change? And do you have the support of the establishment that you're working with? So initially, when I started this process, I was like, OK, I have to I have to have these conversations with every single one of my patients.
[20:40] And sadly, there's 24 hours in a day and there just was not enough time to have these conversations. And that's when I started shifting away from the idea of, well, maybe I probably shouldn't be going to the hospital as well because I'm focusing on prevention and these dietary measures so they don't end up there. And then the nursing homes, it was more skilled nursing facilities where they needed rehab, which was for after the hospital. So I thought, once again, it makes more sense to focus on the office. So within a year, I started transitioning into that practice.
[21:14] But I still found that seeing about 30 to 40 patients a day, there wasn't enough time in the clinic to have these deep down conversations. And luckily, with the support of my organization, they did assist me in transitioning into more of a concierge style model this year. And with that, each of my patient visits are anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours long. And my wellness visits, I usually spend a good two hours where we go through food logs, exercise logs. I have them get their tests done beforehand. We review everything. I love giving an idea. I was showing everybody. I'm like, do you eat fruits and vegetables? Yeah, I do. I'm like, okay, so what do you have? French fries and ketchup. I'm like, okay.
[22:01] So let's talk about that a bit. But the idea of how people don't realize how we're all fiber deficient. I mean, only 5% of the U.S. population gets enough fiber. And that's probably a generous number on top. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I am just mulling all this over. It really is incredible. Now, I want to come back to this concierge medicine that you're involved with now with MDVIP. Sounds very, very fascinating. But before we do, I think it's important that we dive into, because I think this also really helped inform your current practice and the level of empathy and compassion that you have for your patients. And that is, you got pretty sick a couple of years ago with a very rare brain tumor. Can you tell us about that? Yes. Yes. So in June of 2022, I wasn't actually having any symptoms.
[23:12] I actually could thank my son for this. My son got me sick. And I woke up and I was having trouble hearing on my left ear. And it was because of this viral infection. I had to actually get shots in the ear, go on steroids and antivirals. I got better, but there's always a 1% chance when you suddenly lose your hearing, even if it rebounded, it could be a rare brain tumor known as an acoustic neuroma. I ended up scheduling the MRI, not thinking anything of it. I'm like, well, I'm fine now, but I'll just do it. I'll humor everybody.
[23:45] I got the MRI and the tech actually told me because I work at the facility, he's like, do you want to see the MRI? I'm like, sure. He's like, because there's something there. I'm looking and
Facing a Brain Tumor
[23:55] I'm like, it's on the other side. So I had a golf ball size acoustic neuroma on the right side that was pushing on my brain stem, almost closed off the spinal fluid from actually going through. And I had no symptoms whatsoever. And I probably was within six months to a year of having something very catastrophic happen to me. Wow. Yeah. So I ended up getting set up for a surgery. It was done September 13th of 2022. They had to, I lost my hearing because of the surgery on my right side, which I knew going into it because the tumor was so large. And it grows out of the balance nerve and the hearing nerves right there as well.
[24:44] They couldn't get all of it because it was a very complex tumor. But I was also told all these things to be worried about going into the surgery. Like, you know, your balance is going to be off.
[24:55] People told me that I might have to have some facial paralysis. I was told that it might take a while to start walking again. I'll probably need vestibular therapy. And my surgery wasn't really a cakewalk either. It was supposed to be a six to eight hour surgery. It was 14 hours, ended at about three in the morning. And I remember waking up, And prepared to just be dizzy because that's what everyone told me. And I'm looking and I see the clock straight ahead of me. I could read that clearly. And I'm just looking all around the room and everything I could see, I could read. I'm like, okay, so I'm not unsteady. I don't have that dizziness feeling. So let's see what the nurses and the doctors say when they come in. They're like, okay, you don't have facial paralysis. I'm like, okay, that's great. Um, they brought physical therapy in first thing in the morning and speech therapy and occupational therapy. And I had no swallowing issues. Physical therapy got me up. They put a walker there and I stood up without needing anything. Um, they walked me down the hallway and cleared me within five minutes, uh, for physical therapy. Occupational therapy did the same thing. Uh, within 48 hours, I was discharged from the hospital after a 14 hour brain surgery. Wow. Yep. And, you know, they usually try and get people out quickly, but I was one of those where I could have walked out the front doors if I wanted to.
[26:19] And I've always told people some of the best medicine for you is getting outside and walking. So that's something that I just tried to do. I was walking as much as I could. I started out with just short spurts. I'm like, let me go for a five minute walk. I'll take a break. And maybe after 30 minutes, I'll go for another five minute walk. Within a week I was walking about five miles a day. And, uh, I remember I had my follow-up appointment a week later and they did a follow-up physical therapy appointment. And, uh, I went to a specialty center that really focused on this tumor. And there were other people in the room that had the same surgery as me around that same week. And they were watching me just go back and forth, get cleared of physical therapy. And I distinctly remember one of the guys pointing, he's like, I want to do what he's doing. Yeah. Yeah. And, um, I just remember talking to my medical team and they, they were really impressed with how well I had done, uh, afterwards. And the only thing they could really attribute it to is like, you clearly really take care of yourself. Yeah. And, and I will say, like, I was already doing a really good job at that point, but from the time of diagnosis to the time of my surgery, I really locked in even harder at that point.
[27:36] And it just made sure that everything was 100% to the T of this whole food, plant-based, what I consider to be an anti-inflammatory diet that helped me heal. Yeah, that's very, very impressive.
Family's Support
[27:54] What was the overall sentiment like at home with your wife and your two children?
[28:03] Well, as far as things go, my kids were so young and I kind of kept it that way that it's like they don't fully know what's going on. They just know daddy has a bit of a scar there. It was obviously very stressful for us to to be going into the surgery process and not know what was going to come out the other end. We actually put a king-size bed in our family room, in our house, in order to prepare for things just in case my balance was so bad I couldn't get upstairs.
[28:31] I did not need to use that bed once. I did not need to sleep in that one. So afterwards, there was just this giant feeling of relief with the family that I did come out the other side capable of doing so many more things. Yeah. And I mean, I had a dream of running a marathon that I was able to to start revisiting at that point. Yeah. You've talked about how this experience that you went through with your brain tumor and the surgery and all of the, I guess, mental fears that we all have when something happens to us. And we're put in the hospital and we see physicians and all that. I mean, it puts you on the other side of the fence and allowed you to see the kind of the medical system in a much different light. And that is now informed the way you do medicine with your MDVIP. Like, talk to us a little bit about that experience as a patient and what you learned that you now want to kind of share with your patients.
[29:51] So I think it's something that's always been that's been helpful since that process is I am able to talk about how it there's certain things that are going to go really well. And that's great. And a lot of people focus on those. And and there's things that people see superficially. So everyone sees me and they see this guy that goes out there and hits the gym as hard as he can and still goes out there and runs. And but there are also those days where because of it's a chronic issue for me that I am a little bit more tired. I do have a little bit more fatigue. And just because there isn't a blood test or or I visibly don't look a certain way, that doesn't mean that it's not happening. And I share that with my patients that I believe you when you tell me that there's something wrong. And I think a lot of people in the medical community there, there's a lot of people that don't like going to doctors like, well, it's because you're stressed. Just because of, you know, you're getting older. And I don't necessarily buy that. I don't buy that. I mean, I always make with my patients is we're all like, we're all like cars, but I want you to be like that, that Toyota Camry that you took care of, that you got all the oil changes and it's still riding the one from 1980.
Patient Empathy
[31:07] But this really allowed me to be there for my patients and hear them out and let them know that I hear you. I understand you, and I'm not going to give up on you. Yeah.
[31:19] You talk about how what you're doing now with... Your new concierge type of medicine, it's kind of like you say a quiet revolution. Explain that. So it's something that our current medical system has patients just funneling in and out. And usually there's only enough time to address one problem, if that. And there's so many things that we could actually just tease through if we talk about them. And a lot of these medical issues that we deal with day in and day out, they need the time to really break down and show people that this is actionable. You could take it home with you. You could take these dietary measures home with you. And the issue with the current setup is even if I gave somebody a bunch of handouts and said, hey, this is some great material. This is phenomenal. If I'm not going to see them again for another year, there's not enough follow through. Most of the time, that's something that's going to just end up collecting dust in the corner. But if I'm able to actually say, hey, I'm going to actually talk to you about this process. I'm going to tell you about how much fiber you need. I'm going to tell you about which foods. These are some cool little dessert ideas that I came up with that are plant-based, that are oil-free, that are healthy for you. Why don't we check back in a month? I actually have the time to do that. My wait time used to be three months before. Incredible.
[32:48] It's three, you know, Sunny, three months, and then they see you for 10 or 15 minutes. I mean, what kind of, care can you give them? What kind of a relationship can you build with your patients? And can you really actually heal them? I would imagine the answer is no. No. And that's where we get in this process of, well, it's faster to give them the next blood pressure medicine, the next diabetes medication than it is to actually counsel on sodium and reversing insulin resistance by reducing saturated fat. Because they're not simple conversations that that you're you're someone's going to understand people go to medical school or nutrition training for years and they still don't fully get it well Sunny this this so this to me is fascinating i was having a conversation the other night at a birthday party with a very very intelligent human being.
[33:47] Who was convinced that sugar was the cause of diabetes. And you just said it, right? It's basically saturated fat. It's the excessive fat. And there's so much misinformation right now because of the influencers, because I guess doctors don't actually get enough accurate nutrition education in medical schools. I mean, it is... It's kind of a jungle out there. Yeah. Yeah, it really is. Actually, I think you would appreciate my analogy I use with my patients when it comes to diabetes all the time. Blaming carbs and sugar for the diabetes is like blaming the firefighter for showing up at a fire.
[34:35] That's really good. That's really good. I like that. I'll use that. There you go. There you go. I thought you would appreciate that one with your history.
[34:44] But it's true. You know, with this with this influencer era and now these CGMs, the continuous glucose monitors that people wear in their arms, people are just buying them and assuming they know how to use them. Reality is when you eat something, your sugar goes up. It's supposed to go up. If it didn't, we would probably collapse and die when we worked out. Yeah. But the problem is when it goes up and it stays up and that's when you have a diabetic patient. The reality is we have to remove that insulin resistance so that when we have those elevations that our body does know how to appropriately bring that value down. And just since you brought up this topic of the continuous glucose monitors and blood sugar spikes, what is a... Quote-unquote normal blood sugar spike after, let's say, a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and raspberries on top? I mean, you'll see somebody even with a healthy glucose, they'll get up to the 140s, 160s at that point. And I'm not afraid of that. That never has worried me. Now, if it stayed at 160 about five, six hours later, yeah, you probably have some insulin resistance. But those oats and blueberries, those are probably going to be the thing that are going to help you improve that. Yeah. And typically, like what's how high, let's say you get up to, you know, 160.
[36:10] When, how long should it take if you're insulin sensitive for that to come back down to your normal range? So traditionally within one to two hours, you end up seeing that come back down to normal. So a lot of the, like the pregnancy tests, when women have their diabetes screening, they do the oral glucose tolerance test. They're checking their glucose over the next couple of hours because they want to make sure it comes back down in that way. So that gives us, that should ideally give us all an idea of how our body should respond to glucose in the first place. Yeah.
Six Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine
[36:45] So I think you and I can very much agree that the best way to heal patients and get to the root causation is through the six pillars of lifestyle medicine. Yes. And just as a quick review, if you and I could go through those, the first one is obviously nutrition, right, which is based on whole food plant based. Yes. Is also, because I haven't gone through the training like you have, is a kind of low oil. Is that part of that nutrition component? So in the pillars of lifestyle medicine, they don't necessarily pursue a low oil approach. I, with my patients, usually emphasize more of a low oil approach, but there's variable reasons for it. When it comes to oil, it's become very controversial. Obviously, the term seed oil has become huge nowadays.
[37:43] The thing that I always ask people is, what are you replacing it with? Now, if someone is using butter, yes, I wholeheartedly would rather you use oil as a transition period while we work your way down. But if someone's replacing it with what I like to use with cookies, like a veggie broth. Then the veggie broth is going to be healthier for you than the oil. And for many reasons, I mean, even the healthiest of oils, there is saturated fat in it, olive oil, avocado oil. But on top of that, it's the nutrient, the calorie density and the lack of nutrient density. Just one little spoon, 120 calories right there. And I don't see people measuring a spoon out and pouring it into their pan. It's usually just pouring it until their heart feels good.
[38:34] Yeah. So number one is nutrition. Number two is movement. I think we all agree that, you know, movement is a wonderful thing for our bodies. Yes. Movement, movement's very important and it's, it's underrated in the sense in the U.S. In the sense that we all think that movement is only going to the gym. And when you look at a lot of these other countries, especially European countries, Asian countries, that they're a lot more walkable and people are just moving in general. So they get that activity. But the traditional American setup is I wake up in the morning, I hop in my car, a lot of times grabbing some drive-thru on the way, get to work, sit at a desk, maybe get some drive-thru in between and.
[39:25] Finish work, drive home, another drive-through route, and you barely got any steps in. There's no movement. People are using elevators for everything. The fact that we actually have an idea and a process called a drive-through where you don't get out of your car to get the food is already a problem. It is, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. You know, I was just reading an article about pickleball. I'm a huge fan of the pickleball and how the average person, if you're playing singles in an hour, you get 3,333 steps. And if you're playing doubles, you get 2,700 steps and you're having fun and you're socializing and you get all kinds of movement. It's a good thing. So the next pillar is sleep, right? Getting a good quality sleep. Are you seeing many of your patients these days that are having issues with sleep? It's, it's become so common nowadays. Um, and, and it's for various reasons. I think a lot of people are overworked and people feel like there's not enough time to get stuff done. And then we also live in this era where our, we have the world at the palm of our hands that we just sit there and we just scroll through all night long. And it's like, I'm going to go to bed at nine o'clock and then it's 11 o'clock and I'm still scrolling. That's what's very common for people.
[40:49] So before it used to be, well, let's at least try and get you seven to nine hours in bed so you can get the proper sleep that you need. But people are scrolling for hours on end in bed itself. So it's not the same anymore. No, no, it's really not.
[41:06] It is a insidious little tool that we have, right? As you just described, the world in the palm of our hand um, Reducing stress is another big pillar. Are many of your patients coming in stressed out? Yes, yes. And a lot of the stress is for various things. I mean, people stress every single day about what should we have for dinner? What should we have for dinner? What should we have for dinner? And then there's also the stress of when you don't sleep well, your stress is much worse. So it becomes a vicious cycle and they really play hand in hand. And then there's also stress of your own health. I'm not as healthy as I used to be. Well, people stress, well, I don't have time to work out. But like I said, the idea of just getting daily movement, if you actually simplified your foods to be a little bit more whole foods instead of what takeout place should we get, you do eliminate some of those things. Yeah.
[42:05] Another, the fifth pillar is basically avoiding negative substances. Are you seeing many of your patients coming in that are drinking too much, smoking too much, recreational drugs, you know, all those things? So thankfully, the smoking part has gotten a lot better over the years. You still have your pockets of people that continue to smoke. Alcohol, I will say it's almost like it hit a peak during COVID. Yeah. And interestingly enough, a lot of these places started being able to deliver alcohol.
[42:41] And it's funny. If you went on one of those food apps, Grubhub, Uber Eats, it'll be like, well, do you want a six-pack of beer with that? So we did see it go up. But the latest data actually showed this year that this is the lowest alcohol consumption has been in decades. It's still far higher than it should be. But it's greatly improving. And part of it is people are ditching this idea that I have to have a drink. And then there's also a lot of nice non-alcoholic components as well that aren't as calorie heavy, that give people that flavor for the people that are like, I want my craft beer. I want to try something that has like a, I want my summer shandy and things like that. But it's helping. Yeah. I think people, too, are really starting to understand how –.
[43:37] Unhealthy alcohol is for our bodies at so many different levels. And frankly, I just think also people are realizing, you know, it's just, it's not very cool. I mean, it's just, you know, drinking is not a, it doesn't make you cooler at all. Yeah. And, and, you know, this, this whole mindset that it's like, oh, just one or two glasses of wine at night. That's, that's healthy, right? That's healthy. Everyone is, has made extrapolated data from studies, but the reality is it's the skin of the grapes that goes into the red wine. That's actually the healthy part. It's not the alcohol that's actually doing it. And there actually is no healthy amount of alcohol.
The Role of Social Connection
[44:16] There's none. Now, people will still consume some. And I traditionally will tell my patients this. I'm like, I just want you to know that there is technically no healthy amount. So for you, if you're not ready to quit, the lowest amount that you could possibly do is exactly what I want you to shoot for. Yeah. The healthiest amount is the least amount going down to zero. Yeah. And then the last pillar is social connection, which it sounds like to me.
[44:45] Is kind of the, maybe the one of the crux of you starting this concierge medicine.
[44:53] Yeah. Yeah. It really is a big component that I think that even for myself, I'll admit that It's been a bit of a struggle since COVID. You know, they almost felt like they should have renamed the term social distancing. I actually knew some people are working through the CDC to be physical distancing because that's what we needed at that time. But we needed that social connection. And I really wish they did rebrand that because it was important for everyone to stay connected. And I think nowadays with, once again, our phones, all the access to various shows, always at the click of a button on the TV, it's become easier and easier for people to just stay in their own little bubble. Um, and it's kind of this community that, that really helps us all just grow and, and have that support, uh, physically, emotionally, uh, in all these ways. So I, you know, for me, like I, I, I even think about the basic idea of like, when I go to the gym, I don't know everybody that I go to my gym, but it's almost like this mutual respect thing that we're all looking out for each other. Like, Oh, Hey, you dropped your phone there. I do. I got that for you. We have a little conversation. I was like, hey, I noticed that you're lifting more weight. That's great. Good for you. Or you've been consistent. You see people praising each other in this way. And it's just a group of people uplifting each other.
Concierge Medicine Revolution
[46:21] So I want to come back to the concierge medicine because I'm fascinated with this whole concept. And I'm wondering, I mean, you say that this has the potential to kind of heal the system. but I'm wondering, is the system ready for concierge medicine? And is it affordable to your average person? Because when I hear it, it sounds like, oh yeah, this is $20,000 a year and you have unlimited access to Dr. Sunny Sharma, right? You can call him on his cell phone, he's available weekends, you know, 24 seven.
[46:59] But is that, how does it work? So for contour medicine, I guess I'll give you an example of a traditional practice, or my traditional practice was at least. So before I used to have 3,000 patients. And now I'm closer to about 300 in that way.
[47:18] I was seeing about 30 to 40 people a day before. Like I said, it was about a two to three month wait. A lot of patients would be forced to, I would try and squeeze in whoever I could, but people would have to go to immediate cares, end up in emergency rooms because they couldn't get evaluated in time. But in this current model, my fee is so concierge medicine models, they vary. So you'll have someone like me that's on the lower end price-wise. Mine's $3,250, but I know people that have like the 20, the 50, the $100,000. So is that for a year? That's for a year. Okay. So that to me sounds really fantastic. I mean, that sounds like a really great value for me as the patient and fantastic for you. Good. Good stuff. Yeah. And then on top of that, with MDVIP, there's partnerships with Cleveland Heart Lab, actually, which obviously you're very familiar with, with your father. Yeah. So everyone gets a wellness panel that's through Cleveland Heart Lab with the fee as well. There's also an in-body analysis where I'm actually able to break down your body fat, your muscle mass. We do a breathing test, vision, hearing, grip strength, balance. We look at your arteries and your legs. This is all included with the fee.
[48:46] So I wanted people to not only sign up, and I don't like the idea of people like, hey, I'm paying for access. I'm paying for a VIP treatment. I like the idea of people getting more out of it. And actually, the VIP and MDVIP stands for value in prevention. Ah, yeah. Yeah. Well, it's also nice because it makes you as the patient feel very important. Yes. Yes. Yes. But my goal for every patient is by having the more frequent visits, the access to me, the ability to talk about diet and exercise that I want to keep you healthier so that as you get older, when traditionally health care costs goes through the roof, I want your cost to be down because you're already in a better place. You're not spending as much money on medications. You're not going to the ER as often. You don't need to see as many specialists. You don't need as many tests. And it's because we are taking care of you and we're making sure you're in a good place. And did I see or hear or read that does insurance cover any of this or is it HSA, FSA kind of reimbursable? So if somebody has an HSA or FSA account, it is reimbursable through that. Otherwise, insurance doesn't cover this. But any other visits in between, I do take traditional insurance as well.
[50:13] Got it. And what I love is that, you know, you also talk about with this kind of a practice, your patients become your friends and, you know, almost like your neighbors.
Celebrating Recovery
[50:24] And that to me just sounds so...
[50:29] Uh, utopian. Yeah. I have a few of them actually that go to the same gym as me. And, uh, one of my favorite moments in this past week was I had a patient I saw two weeks ago, we did their wellness. I was like, you know, the, the muscle strength in your legs is a little weaker. Um, I know you go to the same gym. These are the machines I think I want you to start working on. We discussed good form. I went there this past week and they were using those exact machines that they had never done before. And I was able to help guide them through the process. Wow. Wow. Um, you know, I think, I think that the way that you and I were introduced was through a colleague of mine, Lori Kortowicz, who went to the food as medicine conference, uh, not, not too long ago. And I guess you were, you were moderating some panels on, on, um, like how can we get real, real, real food back on people's plates.
[51:28] And you had an Instagram post not too long ago where you talked about how right now the current state in America when it comes to our food consumption is fewer than one in eight Americans are getting enough fruit. Fewer than one in 10 are getting enough vegetables. And just a 30% subsidy of fruits and vegetables could basically prevent two million heart disease events, which to me is incredible. And then of course, we have these ultra processed foods that are ubiquitous today and linked with every kind of chronic Western disease imaginable. But from your vantage point.
[52:07] What do you think we can do to make a dent into that kind of state of the union that exists today? So I'm a firm believer in the food is medicine movement. And that's why I've spoken at many other conferences and moderated panels. And there's multiple things that we can be doing. And I think it starts at the government level in that, you know, instead of focusing on putting beef towel, which is making things worse into into foods, we should be focusing on getting people access to these healthy foods. There's some states and some insurance plans that are starting to cover these food as medicine programs where people could actually have fresh food delivered to them or fresh meals or fresher meals delivered to them as well.
[52:58] And you know there's so many people in this country that live in these food deserts that don't even have access to stuff the closest thing they could get to to get food is is like a bodega or a convenience store yeah and and for them like the the fresh fruit they have there isn't much there so of course they're going to reach for the alter processed foods and and that's a problem and and right now instead of subsidizing meat and dairy and all these things that make these processed foods. We need to be subsidizing the things that truly matter, the things that we actually tell every kid to eat, eat your fruits and vegetables. This is where the money needs to be going so that if you give people the option, they will take it. And regardless of what we're hearing on either political side, the reality is you need to give people these options. Mm hmm.
[53:48] Yeah. Well said. You recently had your three year anniversary from the surgery for your brain tumor. What are you celebrating three years later? So, uh, three years later, I, I actually celebrated by going on the basketball court. Uh, it was something I always loved. Uh, I love playing basketball growing up. Um, and it was something that I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to do that again. I wasn't sure like, okay, well, I can't hear on this side. Will my balance be off? But, uh, I, I'm happy to admit that I held my own. So that was a nice thing to, to be able to do. And, and that's how I celebrated, but I'm, I'm celebrating being here and pushing through and still practicing, being able to take care of my patients, to be a husband, to be a father.
[54:39] I'm celebrating living life. I really am. And it's a reason why I push further and further into this movement because just because I had one thing go against me doesn't mean I have to let the rest of my health go against me as well. So if I optimize all those things, I feel like I'm in a better place health-wise than I was even in my, my twenties and thirties. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you certainly have a sunny outlook on life. I love that. Speaking of sun, when was the last time that you had a meal? Alfresco.
[55:20] And for my patients that don't speak another language, that means outdoors. It doesn't mean naked. Yes. Last time I had a meal outdoors. Actually, before we started recording, this is something I've loved with this concierge practice. I get little pockets of time where I could go for a walk. We have a beautiful walking path here. And I had, it was the overnight oats. And I ate with some berries in them and cinnamon. So I was actually sitting there with my jar just eating them while walking around, getting some fresh air. It's actually a nice, cool morning. It was about in mid fifties, which I love. And I love taking advantage of every opportunity for that. So today, just a couple hours ago. Yeah. Yeah. Wonderful.
[56:10] So this concierge medicine, is this something that has to be like there in the Chicago area, or do you see patients outside of Illinois?
[56:21] So that's where it's a little tricky in a sense that I have to do a visit. They have to be in Illinois. So the once a year wellness visit, I traditionally have to see them. But I do a lot of telehealth and I do a lot of work via the phone and video. So, and once people have kind of paid this membership fee, there is less of this pressure that it's like, well, how are we going to pay the bills? Because we have to keep billing for things. Since we actually have made money to cover the overhead, I'm able to provide a lot of these services, even if I'm not able to bill for them. I have patients, I have a patient that spends 10 months out of the year in Florida. I have some people in Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, and almost every state in the Midwest as well. Wow. And so for people, and we'll be sure to put this in the show notes, but for people that are interested in reaching out to you, what's the best way for them to do that? So I just went live with a new website. It is sunnyshermamd.com. On there, there's a link if somebody wanted to connect to my MD VIP page and sign up or set up a free meet and greet. There's also access to my LinkedIn, Facebook page, and Instagram page. And for those that are not watching, but just listening, Sunny's name is spelled S-U-N-N-Y-S-H-A-R-M-A, Sunny Sharma.
[57:48] Sunny, this has been great. It's been really wonderful to meet you. I'm sorry we didn't get to meet when I was in Chicago over the summer, but I appreciate you sending me a DM on Instagram. And what I think is so wonderful, just to come full circle from where we started the conversation, is that you are now doing your best. To heal from the first place that gave you life. And so cheers to that, my PLANTSTRONG brother. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. And honestly, I look forward to working further with you and your family. I think I had told you I got selected to be a Kale Blazer. It's one of those things that I'm very excited. And I've actually been coming up with different things I can do with the Kale Blazer sponsorship. I was going to do the cooking course, but a lot of the other Kale Blazers already have virtual cooking courses. So I was going to offer it to my patients for free anyways. So now I'm actually looking into doing like more of a book club or, or, or a movie viewing club and something along those lines, mixing it up a bit. So your, your books will be, will, will be on the docket for that. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, Sunny, give me a PLANTSTRONG fist bump on the way out, my brother. All right. PLANTSTRONG. PLANTSTRONG
[59:11] What an incredible story. I am so inspired by Sunny, and I'm proud to call him a kale blazer. His message is super clear.
Closing Thoughts on Health
[59:22] Lifestyle is medicine. Eat more plants, move that body, get your sleep, manage that stress, and surround yourself with supportive and loving relationships. These simple yet powerful pillars can transform your health just like they did for him and for his patients. Be sure to follow Dr. Sharma on Instagram and check out his new website to learn more about his concierge practice. I'll make sure to provide a link to both in today's show notes. And as always, if this episode lit a fire under you, please share it with someone that you love. Until next time, stay active, stay connected, and of course, always, always keep it PLANTSTRONG.
