The 51-year-old actor said it was around May or June last year when he embarked on a transformative health journey.
Ranvir participating in Metabolic Health Conference 2.0 organised by metabolic health coach Anup Singh and Shashikant Iyengar that was held on April 26,27 and 28.
In a gripping session at the Metabolic Health Conference held over the weekend, actor Ranvir Shorey shared a transformative journey that could inspire anyone to take a closer look at his/her health.
Shorey said he transformed his metabolic health, including his body composition, energy levels, and kidney functions, with the guidance of Dr Parikshit Bhattacharya, the founder of healthieRx- Lifestyle & Functional Medicine.
Shorey was part of a panel hosted virtually by metabolic health coaches Shashikant Iyengar, founder of dLife.in Anup Singh and Ira Sahay, metabolic health coach and media head of dLife.
The 51-year-old actor, known for his diligence in personal health and scientific curiosity, said it was around May or June in 2023 when he embarked on a transformative health journey under the guidance of a visionary doctor.
Despite having access to the best nutritional advice and exercise regimes, Shorey said he struggled with abdominal fat, hypertension, and an overarching goal to get fit.
Shorey recounted that his encounter with Bhattacharya, which started it all, took place on a seemingly ordinary film set.
“He mentioned he was a doctor, which piqued my interest since I have always been keen on maintaining my health and am quite informed about science and health topics,” he said.
As someone already experimenting with ketogenic diets and body-sculpting, Shorey was no stranger to health strategies.
Dr Parikshit and Ranvir on a video consultation
However, Bhattacharya’s mention of “insulin resistance” marked a turning point in Shorey’s health narrative. This was a term Shorey hadn’t encountered before, despite his well-informed background.
He said, “This one term — insulin resistance (IR) — changed my life and everything about me and my health.”
Driven by curiosity, Shorey dived into learning more about insulin resistance, which led to a series of tests recommended by Bhattacharya.
The results were a wake-up call for the actor, aligning precisely with the doctor’s predictions.
The advice that followed was game-changing. Shorey had been practising intermittent fasting, but according to Bhattacharya, he wasn’t doing it quite right.
Under the doctor’s guidance, Shorey adjusted his approach, focusing more on what to do and what to avoid.
The effects were almost immediate. By his birthday in August last year, Shorey — after attending a wedding in the US and starting the new regimen — noticed significant improvements in his blood parameters.
“Just doing them for a bit already improved my blood parameters,” he recalled.
The journey from a health-conscious actor to a dedicated health enthusiast saw Shorey’s weight drop from 84 kg to 74 kg within a year, he said.
More than the numbers, the feeling of well-being convinced Shorey of the changes.
“In 2022, my Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (EGFR), which shows how well your kidneys are working, was 68, which was quite bad. In 2023, after I started intermittent fasting and going low carb, it got to 80. And just recently, in March 2024, it rose to 87. I hope I will have my kidney fully functional at 90,” he said.
Bhattacharya told South First that Shorey had a lot of abdominal fat and mild hypertension, and his overall goal was to get fit.
“People in this industry do have access to nutrition, exercise, and the likes, and he is a person who likes reading up a lot on scientific discoveries and health updates. He still struggled,” noted the doctor.
His initial approach was to redefine Shorey’s relationship with food, teaching him to identify real hunger as opposed to eating just out of habit or for emotional comfort.
“I basically looked into very simple traits. One was that I had to teach him to eat based on requirements. Most people worldwide do not know how to define or recognise real hunger,” explained Bhattacharya.
“We then tend to eat based on various parameters like ‘It’s time to eat’, ‘That food gives me pleasure, so let’s eat’ or ‘I have to have breakfast/lunch/dinner, so let’s eat,’ or even use food as an emotional management tool,” he noted.
“That is a bit of the process, but in general, most people end up realising two good meals is all it takes,” added the doctor.
Shorey’s transformation involved educating him on the timing and quality of meals, specifically focusing on the concept of intermittent fasting.
However, his existing routine lacked effectiveness due to inaccuracies in its application, said Bhattacharya.
A crucial aspect of Shorey’s regimen involved managing his salt intake. Contrary to the traditional medical advice that links high salt intake to increased blood pressure, Shorey’s doctor highlighted the body’s essential need for salt and other electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium, especially during fasting periods.
This nuanced approach helped maintain energy levels and made time-restricted eating more sustainable. And it didn’t have any adverse effect on his blood pressure.
At the core of Shorey’s health issues was insulin resistance — a condition in which the body’s response to insulin is diminished, leading to high insulin levels in the blood. In fact, a majority of patients Dr Parikshit comes across have insulin resistance.
This can trigger various health problems, including increased fat storage, inflammation, and cardiovascular risks.
Bhattacharya called it an irony that this was not taught in medical colleges. Instead, what was taught was only about insulin as a therapy or for diabetes treatment.
“I was not taught how to regulate insulin secretion in my own body. It was probably there only in one paragraph, which many do not use in their real-life practice,” he said.
IR is essentially a scenario where the body becomes so resistant to insulin that it compensates by pumping out more insulin.
This insulin resistance leads to something known as hyperinsulinemia, where the body produces too much insulin. This causes multiple health issues.
Too much insulin in the blood leads to more fat being stored in the body than one can burn. Too much insulin also causes raised inflammation.
It can even cause cardiovascular episodes, besides triggering a mechanism that keeps the blood pressure (BP) elevated. In other words, it can inhibit the body’s ability to maintain a normal BP.
“This was something Shorey did not know. When I explained it to him, he understood the science behind the way he ate. When we started regulating his insulin, he began losing fat, gained better control over his BP, and generally started feeling much stronger,” explained the doctor.
Bhattacharya targeted another area: Starting to build muscles through strength-training exercises.
“He moved to two meals of the day. He let go of the foods that were causing very big insulin spikes or worsening his IR. We stopped his amla and mixed-fruit juices to allow him to eat only particular fruit at a particular time of the day,” he explained.
Shorey’s meal, which used to be two staple ones a day with some non-vegetarian food, rice, roti, dal and curd, was changed to focus more on protein intake.
Expanding on intermittent fasting, the doctor introduced longer fasting periods, including occasional 48-hour fasts.
This not only helped Shorey manage his calorie intake more effectively but also led to spikes in energy and a reduction in hunger.
The adjustments to Shorey’s diet and lifestyle not only resulted in visible weight loss and better control over his blood pressure but also a significant improvement in kidney function.
Shorey’s case was an example of the myth that a high-protein diet was bad for kidneys, said Bhattacharya.
He added that despite Shorey’s kidney function just being about okay, he advised the actor to go on a high-protein diet but reduce the carbohydrate intake.
“There is a perception that protein is bad for the kidneys. His was a classic example,” said the doctor.
“He was consuming protein in moderation but his kidney function had scope for improvement. I then reduced the carbs, which are primarily found in rice, fruits, and roti, and proportionally increased his good-quality protein. It made his kidney function better,” he explained.
Shorey says it was the power of the low-carb high-fat diet, time-restricted feeding, and exercise that changed his life.
(Edited by Arkadev Ghoshal)
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