What you didn't know about the doctor from My 600-lb Life

Anyone who's seen an episode of My 600-lb Life is familiar with Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, who is affectionately known to his patients as simply, "Dr. Now." According to his professional bio, Nowzaradan, a general and vascular surgeon, researched and developed cutting edge laparoscopic procedures to treat morbidly obese patients. As a result, his specialty for two decades has been performing bariatric surgery "on the most challenging weight reduction surgical candidates who have been previously denied by other surgical professionals, especially the super-morbidly obese (over 600 pounds)."

But Nowzaradan is more than just a brilliant surgeon — he's also a character. Known for his no-nonsense advice to his patients, the Iranian-born doc combines the emotionless plain speak of a clinician with his at-times broken English to create some incredibly compelling reality TV moments. Case in point: The time he shut down a patient's claim of "Well, I have to eat something," by saying, "No, you don't have to eat something, you have eaten 800 pound of food in you."

That's the Dr. Now that fans know and love, but there's much more dirt on him than the show reveals. Here's what you didn't know about the doctor from My 600-lb Life.