A 45-year-old tech mogul is spending an average of $2 million a year to not only reverse aging, but also increase his health span and longevity. With it being reported that he now has “the heart of a 37-year-old, the skin of a 28-year-old, and the lung capacity and fitness of an 18-year-old,” it seems like Bryan Johnson may have just discovered the fountain of youth.
Who is Bryan Johnson?
Bryan Johnson is a US-Based Software Mogul, and CEO of California-based neurotech company Kernel. The company is home to a team of world-class physicists, engineers, and neuroscientists.
He believes that “quantifying, exploring and understanding the human brain and mind is the most consequential opportunity in history”. This forms the basis of this neurotech company; making neuroimaging mainstream through a “brain helmet”, made to dissect the impacts of meditation and hallucinogens on the body’s physical state.
What Inspired This Move for Longevity?
As far as he can remember, Johnson has struggled with his self-image. Basically, he grew up on a “typical ’80s American Diet” (consisting of high-sugar cereals, and processed and canned foods). As a result, Johnson struggled to rid himself of the “awful” diet and habits that developed from it. Later, he struggled with chronic depression, exacerbated by the stress of running multiple companies. All of this led to the manifestation of whom he calls “Evening Bryan”.
Evening Bryan
Describing him as “an absolute monster,” Evening Bryan would help himself with extra servings of dinner or a whole box of graham crackers every night. This would leave Johnson irritable, miserable, and self-loathing the next morning.
“I was out of control,” he says, citing how he “couldn’t regulate” what he ate. His habits took a massive toll on his life. “I was just a slave to myself and my passions and my emotions and my next desire,” he says.
BRYAN JOHNSON/INSTAGRAM
It took him learning how to fly a plane and marveling at the autopilot feature, to change his outlook. The question posed?
“What if my body could be run on autopilot?”
The Body As A Computer Program
His tech mind kicked in. He began viewing his body as a computer program. He started by analyzing all 78 of his bodily organs, testing his urine, stool, and saliva. Johnson has conducted every possible test to obtain data on his body. He’s undergone ultrasounds and even swallowed a camera “the size of a baby carrot after fasting for 24 hours”. He, along with his team, compared this data to scientific literature. This led to the creation of a program specifically curated for his body, to improve every aspect of himself, known as Project Blueprint.
Project Blueprint
Led by Oliver Zolman, a 29-year-old physician who goes as the “rejuvenation doctor”, a team of 30 health experts work on this curated health program, designed to measure the 70 organs of Johnson’s body, and “maximally reverse the… biological age of each.”
By keeping tabs on all bodily activities, they are able to find the perfect routine to reverse the aging of Johnson’s organs. Consisting of a carefully curated, intense daily regimen, Project Blueprint is no easy task. From hour-long, high-intensity exercises to a strict vegan diet with restricted calorie intake, Johnson, and his team are pushing boundaries to find the “fountain of youth” throughout his regimen.
A Strict Regimen For Johnson
Starting The Morning Right
Beginning his day at 5:30 am, the first thing Johnson does is weigh himself, then takes an iron supplement with vitamin C to ensure easy absorption. Correspondingly, he follows this with light therapy and meditation.
While doing this, he does some Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Training, which teaches you how to control variations in your heartbeat. He then takes a total of 26 supplements, including lycopene (which promotes oral and bone health), Metformin (which improves insulin sensitivity), and Turmeric (which protects against heart disease).
Pre-Workout and Exercising
Before exercising, Johnson has a healthy pre-workout drink called “The Green Giant.” It consists of the following;
- Spermidine (which has protective effects against cancer and heart disease)
- Amino Complex (which grows and repairs body tissue)
- Creatine (improves strength, helps muscles recover more quickly during exercise)
- Collagen Peptides (improve skin health and reduce joint pain)
- Cocoa Flavanols
- Ceylon Cinnamon.
He then drinks a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. He then works out for 1–2 hours. With an exercise routine involving about 25 different exercises, he makes sure to activate and strengthen all his muscle groups by utilizing weight lifting and HIIT.
Skincare
Johnson has an intense skincare routine carefully designed to keep his skin looking and feeling young. He uses multiple serums, active creams, mineral sunscreen, and custom skincare products made precisely for his skin.
He also undergoes a full body intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment, which he explains as reversing collagen loss in the dermis. Along with this, he undergoes weekly acid peeling sessions and total body laser treatments. This not only rejuvenates the skin but also removes marks and wrinkles.
Diet
Johnson follows a strict vegan diet, restricted to three meals a day. Every ingredient in this diet has been “methodically (chosen) based on… scientific evidence for optimal nutrition,” which continues to be adjusted according to his needs.
“We try to make every single calorie perfectly suited for my body,” he says.
One of the staples in this diet is called “Super Veggie”, his breakfast.
A hummus-like paste, Supper Veggie consists of broccoli heads and stalks, cauliflower, lime, hemp seeds, mushrooms, and ginger.
His second meal is called “Nutty Pudding“, a sweet treat made using almond milk, macadamia nuts, grand walnuts, Brazil nuts, ground flaxseed, Ceylon cinnamon, berries, and pomegranate juice.
His third and final meal varies and consists of vegetables, nuts, seeds, and berries. Example recipes are provided on his website, including Asparagus Almond Beet Salad, Orange Fennel Salad, and Stuffed Sweet Potato. All these variations contain 500 calories, keeping him in line with his daily limit of 1 977 calories. Additionally, he accompanies this meal with 16 supplements.
Night Routine
2 hours before going to bed, Johnson uses blue light–blocking glasses, then undergoes light therapy again. He also takes melatonin to aid with his sleeping.
The Hunt For Longevity
Bryan Johnson describes this as a journey to “prove that self-harm and decay are not inevitable.”
He acknowledges that not everyone is able to maintain this “guinea pig” lifestyle. As such, this is his form of giving back to the community unconventionally.
It is believed that through Project Blueprint, we will be able to identify techniques to not only slow aging down, but potentially reverse it, and lengthen one’s lifespan.
MAIN IMAGE CREDIT: BRYAN JOHNSON/INSTAGRAM
References
- Mohindru, S., Nigam, R. and Kar, B.R., 2023. Cognitive and Emotional Aging Across the Life Span: Implications for Building the Cognitive Reserve and Resilience. In Emerging Anti-Aging Strategies (pp. 287-309). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
- Escrichs, A., Sanz Perl, Y., Martínez-Molina, N., Biarnes, C., Garre-Olmo, J., Fernández-Real, J.M., Ramos, R., Martí, R., Pamplona, R., Brugada, R. and Serena, J., 2023. The effect of external stimulation on functional networks in the aging healthy human brain. Cerebral Cortex, 33(1), pp.235-245.
