Hepatologist and gastroenterologist  Dr Shiv Kumar Sarin has observed, studied and corrected countless liver-related problems over a career spanning four decades. But it’s matters of the heart that our conversation begins with. The country is witnessing an abnormal surge in cardiac episodes among young Indians aged 20 and 40—a problem, that Dr Sarin argues is connected to the human liver. “Yes, the numbers are abnormal. Because people with fatty livers don’t die of liver diseases. They die of cardiac events,” he says. The way to a man’s heart, is through his stomach, after all.

The Director of Delhi’s Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences and Padma Bhushan awardee, Dr Sarin has recently authored the book Own Your Body: A Doctor’s Life-saving Tips, with which he tries to package scientific rigour to produce a cultural manual for life and longevity. The title, tells us, is the gist.