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Does anyone know of any reviews or analyses of Bryan Johnson's food guide/protocol? To me a large amount of this is obviously useful (eating well, sleeping properly, exercising, etc etc) but him also selling $50 packs of blueberries and supplements infowars-style suggests me that some portion of it might be grift. I'd like to see a rating of what's useful and what's more skeptical other than from the author himself.
https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.com/pages/blueprint-protocol
Its certainly a good amount of grift and clout chasing IMO.
Many of the substances he is taking are on the cutting edge of science, as in, there are very few studies to go off of, and even fewer ones based on human models, in vivo or in vitro.
He also has/is taking supplements with opposing mechanisms of action. For instance, in the past he was taking rapamycin (sirolimus) which is an mTOR inhibitor, but was also taking creatine, which induces mTOR...
The diet, exercise and sleep are all good choices, but from there things get quite a bit murkier. I do think at some point taking too many experimental treatments is going to backfire, metformin only improving lifespan in type 2 diabetes being another. It actually blunts adaptations to exercise, which may not impact him much while he is relatively young, but may do so more as time goes on.
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Bear in mind that he is only 47 years old. We will just have to wait about 30 years when he would reach the average American male lifespan and see just how much of his claims actually pan out. I remain skeptical; something's very suss about this dude from the start.
I do find it amusing that the oldest verified person indulged in the likes of dark chocolate, port wine and cigarrettes.
There’s a pretty persuasive theory that Calment was actually her daughter impersonating her, but in either case she still lived a very long life.
It seems to me obvious that each of us have a natural life expectancy that is probably decided before and during birth and possibly to some extent in early childhood. We can reduce this by poor luck or by destroying ourselves by becoming alcoholics, drug addicts, taking unnecessary risks, being exposed to toxic substances, but we can’t increase it.
If your destiny is to die at 65 or 70 for genetic reasons there’s probably nothing you can do. If your destiny is to die at 103 then all you need to do is have some luck (not die in a war, accident, get exposed to a mountain of asbestos etc) and practice the most basic self care - like not getting ridiculously obese - and you will meet that expectancy.
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it is found here: https://protocol.bryanjohnson.com/Step-1-Step-2-Step-3
He says he's a vegan. There is some truth to this as an effective weight loss diet. Cultures and societies that primarily subsist on starches tend to be thin. Plant based foods have lower calorie density, save for nuts. When I lost weight, I found myself adhering to mostly a non-meat diet. Animal products limited to fish and some chicken.
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He is running a massive, multivariate, and esoteric experiment with an N of 1. Its not possible to say what's useful other than stuff we knew beforehand from actual studies: eat well, exercise, sleep well.
That's quite true, and the dynamics of different body systems and what we eat/how we act is obviously not a solved system, but I would be happy with individual reviews of his practices of diet and supplements even if they amount to "X: 95% agreed by all very good and helpful, Y: 70% probably good but maybe is just targeting biomarkers and not getting perceived health benefits, Z: 40%, lacking evidence of claim, cutting edge practice by Mr Johnson"
My point is that by definition 100% of his unique claims lack conclusive evidence. Individual reviews will be anecdotal in an area where people are known to fool themselves. That said, I understand the desire for individual reviews. His ideas are interesting, and may help. But there are myriad things we known for sure will help. Most people don't do them.
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