What’s So Special About Extra Virgin Olive Oil? by Jerry Brainum 9/25

 

 

Bryan Johnson is on a mission to defy death—to boldly go where no one has gone before, as the original Star Trek series would say. The 47-year-old venture capitalist sold his tech company to PayPal for $800 million, providing the resources for an ambitious long-term self-experiment: pursuing every known path to life extension.

In countless videos, Johnson openly shares his techniques for slowing and reversing the aging process. The endeavor is expensive, costing an average of $2 million annually, with a team of 30 doctors monitoring every aspect of his physiology. "I'm the most studied person in human history," Johnson claims.

His anti-aging efforts appear to be working. Medical tests indicate that he's aging more slowly than the average person and shows less inflammation than a typical 10-year-old. Johnson calls his regimen "Blueprint," and his frequent online presence has attracted a massive following. Recognizing the commercial potential as a businessman, he began selling supplements based on his program—including the 111 supplement pills he takes daily.

Those who want to mimic Johnson's extensive anti-aging routine can spend $333 monthly on Blueprint supplements. However, while some supplements can likely increase healthspan, if not lifespan, unless a person also incorporates the rest of Johnson's obsessive-compulsive program, they will not achieve the same results that Johnson has. Besides his plethora of supplements, Johnson takes a few prescription drugs. Notable among these are testosterone, thyroid hormone, and, for a while, growth hormone. He discontinued growth hormone because it elevated his blood glucose levels excessively, a common side effect of growth hormone. Johnson also uses the drug Rapamycin, which some researchers think is the only drug that can genuinely extend lifespan, although, thus far, that has been shown only in animal studies. Another drug that isn't commonly available that Johnson uses is 17-alpha estradiol, a form of estrogen that doesn't produce the usual side effects associated with estrogen. Still, in animal studies, it has been shown to extend life in male rodents. The fact that the only evidence for the life extension effect of alpha estradiol exists in rats doesn't faze Johnson. Johnson later cut out the rapamycin because of various side effects that he experienced.

Johnson is also a vegan who follows a calorie-restricted diet. Calorie restriction, which involves a daily calorie reduction of approximately 35%, has been shown to increase lifespan in various animal species; however, no evidence indicates that this effect is duplicated in humans. Johnson doesn't just restrict calories and live entirely on vegetables; he also fasts 16 to 18 . . .