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Daily Mail health reporter tries biohacker Bryan Johnson's anti-aging protocol... so was she able to roll back the years?
Love him or hate him, Bryan Johnson has become the face of the anti-aging movement.
The 46-year-old multimillionaire spends $2million per year on his lifestyle, which has at different points included a vegan diet, more than a hundred daily supplements, blood transfusions from his 17-year-old son and erection trackers.
He claims this routine has helped him reverse his biological age and that he now has the skin of a twentysomething and the heart of a 37-year-old.
The extraordinary price tag and effort of his lifestyle has made biohacking seem largely exclusive to the rich and famous... until now.
THE BIOHACK STACK: The BluePrint comes with four bottles of supplements, three packages and one bottle of olive oil.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: Mr Johnson made headlines when he decided to see if infusions of his son's blood helped him in his anti-aging journey. He no longer does this
Mr Johnson has released a supplement package called the BluePrint Stack, which is meant to provide most of the benefits of his anti-aging routine without the... more extreme stuff.
As a health reporter who's watched his career with fascination, I had to try it, so the team at BluePrint sent me a stack cost-free.
For three weeks in April which involved supplements, shakes, eating a fully vegan diet and only consuming grains and added sugar in one meal per day. The official pack doesn't require the vegan diet and lack of grains, but I wanted to be as faithful to Bryan's ethos as I could.
Taken together, the $361 one-month's supply of the BluePrint Stack claims to help improve bone health and resistance to stress, increase energy, even out cholesterol levels, reduce inflammation and improve cognitive function.
You could think of it like ‘a longevity multivitamin,' Mr Johnson said.
As a 25-year-old with no pre-existing health conditions, I doubt this was designed with me in mind but figured I still might find some benefit.
It began with eight packages.
There's one powdered meal of a 'nutty pudding,' which contains protein and anti-inflammatory vitamins and an optional package of blueberry nut mix.
Next, there's one powdered 'longevity' drink, which is said to help cognition and muscle recovery and a bottle of his own brand of olive oil, which Mr Johnson named 'Snake Oil' as a nod to his 'haters.'
There are also four supplements, including two bottles of multivitamins and two bottles of exotic-sounding pills labeled ginger and curcumin capsules and red yeast rice plus odor-free garlic capsules.
When I got my blood tested before beginning the diet, things looked good, according to Bracha Banayan, the founder of IV Drips, a concierge blood testing company, who reviewed my results before and after the diet.
She said my cholesterol, nutrient and hemoglobin levels were 'very good' and guessed I was the sort of person who led an active lifestyle and watched what I ate.
I'd like to think of myself as relatively healthy. A normal day of eating for me might include overnight oats with chia seeds and fruit for breakfast, a kale salad with quinoa for lunch and a piece of salmon with white rice and kimchi for dinner.
Still, I eat sweets most days and add dairy to my coffee even though it disagrees with me - leading to some bloating and inflammation.
ROLLING BACK THE CLOCK? Before the diet, pictured left and after the diet, pictured right. I did not observe any physical differences aside from feeling a bit irritable and developing headaches
BREAKFAST SLUDGE: Over time, the consistency and taste of the nutty pudding improved as I became more precise with my measurements and included the blueberry nut mix
The only weakness Ms Banayan identified from my blood is that I was low on Vitamin D, a nutrient crucial in energy and bone health. Studies have suggested nearly half of Americans are deficient in the nutrient, which is generated by sunlight and found in fish.
After results came in, I began the real test.
Day one I was immediately faced with my lack of planning as I opened the box containing the Blueprint Stack.
I started with the nutty pudding, which you're supposed to eat once a day.
It contains cacao, pea and hemp protein, amongst other things. My food scale was out of batteries, so I didn't know the exact amount (2oz) of almond milk I was adding to the pudding.
I resented having to weigh my food, and felt like this might be a similar hurdle for other Americans.
Mr Johnson acknowledged that in building the stack, he accounted for people who wouldn’t be as precise as he was.
‘Imperfection is assumed; it’s a state of the human condition,’ he told me, which provided some comfort that I still might reap benefits despite my imperfect use of the diet.
Because I was eyeballing the nutty pudding, the texture I made could best be described as soupy.
It tasted like a whipped-up chocolate protein powder. Adding in the blueberry nut mix provided some much-needed texture and flavor.
MY LUNCH: The meals I made were inspired by recipes on Blueprint's website, like the roasted veggie lettuce wraps
Next, there was the longevity drink, which is supposed to be orange flavored, though I found it to be more like a noxious diet lemonade.
It's bright pink and contains ashwagandha, creatine and a fig-derived sugar called allulose.
This beverage is supposed to help cognition and muscle recovery and should be consumed once a day.
Finally, I measured out the Snake Oil, which Mr Johnson’s website said was deliberately named as a 'dance with my [his] hater's.' I was instructed to consume 1.5 tablespoons per day.
The Snake Oil is cold-pressed, unfiltered olive oil, made from Portuguese or Australian olives, depending on the batch.
As far as I could tell, it looked, tasted and functioned the same as any bottle of olive oil I would buy in the grocery store.
After breakfast I raced off to work empty handed.
I hadn't had time to grocery shop for the massive amount of vegetables and beans I was supposed to consume before beginning the routine.
I frantically grabbed a salad for lunch and ate it, depressingly, without the dressing.
Trying the nutty pudding on my first day
When I was able to shop, I found my weekly grocery bills doubling. I spend roughly $50 every two weeks on my normal routine, but with all the fresh produce I needed for this diet, I was eating up about $100 every two weeks.
From the stress, sugar withdrawal, or lack of calories, by the end of day one, I was rocked by a throbbing headache. This continued for a couple days.
On night four, I had lurid dreams about a prosciutto sandwich on a baguette, which could be part of the reason why on day five, while the headaches subsided, the cravings picked up.
For the remainder of the week, I suffered sharp hunger pangs as my colleagues microwaved their pasta lunches or cut into birthday cakes at the office - picking through my veggies and lentils halfheartedly.
At the conclusion of week one, I didn't feel any different- aside from being hungry, irritable and tired.
Moving into week two, I felt like I was eating less food and my energy was steady - which I attributed to the supplements. They were, however, giving me persistent heartburn.
The supplements included taking three light yellow Essential Capsules per day- which include 27 ingredients like Vitamin D, E, B12, Iodine and Zinc.
Alongside that, I took one liver-colored Essential Soft Gel per day.
It contains astaxanthin, for skin and joint health, lutein and zeaxanthin for retinal health and numerous other vitamins, which are supposed to support your bones, heart and liver.
In the more unfamiliar territory, I consumed the NAC, ginger and curcumin tablets three times a day.
The website said these are supposed to help with liver, lung, brain, pancreatic, joint and immune system health.
NAC is a natural compound the body produces and is the darling of the anti-aging community.
You take three essential capsules, one essential soft gel, three NAC + Ginger + Curcumin pills and one Red Yeast Rice + Odor-free Garlic pill per day on the stack
The longevity drink, which you add water to, tasted to me like a diet lemonade. It is supposed to be blood orange flavored
Though many scientists are enthused about its potential, experts say there has yet to be a supplement they believe works.
Curcumin is an antioxidant and the active ingredient in the spice turmeric. Antioxidants are molecules that can help your cells fight against damage caused by stress - and found naturally in many plants.
However, studies have shown antioxidants like curcumin, known as polyphenols, aren't nearly as effective when made into supplements as when they're consumed in food, according to Gary Williamson, the Chair of Functional Food at the School of Food Science and Nutrition at University of Leeds.
Other polyphenols can be found in berries, green tea, cocoa and even red wine.
The final supplement is a dusty-red colored red yeast rice and odor-free garlic capsule, which I took once a day. The active ingredient in red yeast rice, called monacolin K, has been shown lower cholesterol levels, according to the Mayo Clinic.
But supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA, so they could contain doses of the chemical that are either too high or too low. With excessive levels, people may experience side effects like gas, headache, dizziness and you guessed it, heartburn.
And if levels are too low, consumers are dishing out big bucks for a useless pill.
Mr Johnson said his company publishes independent lab testing of their pills to avoid this common pitfall.
'We show in absolute transparency, everything in the product,' he said.
He also said the supplements - and other ingredients in the stack - were based on his team's review of existing scientific studies on aging, longevity and wellness, not just his personal experience.
Eventually, I figured out if I took these eight supplements with an excessive amount of water, my heart burn would go away.
By week three, I was used to the routine. Still, I was irritable.
I had perfected my nutty pudding ratio, and now enjoyed the thicker texture of the blend, and added some chia seeds when I felt I needed more sustenance.
I was making meals similar to those found on the BluePrint website, like roasted veggie lettuce wraps, and, as someone once described my eating habits as 'rabbit-like’, I was actually enjoying them.
Of course, to my immense guilt, I slipped up a few times.
I had a sip of an ICEE and some popcorn at the movie theatre. Once, without thinking, I added butter to a pan of veggies I was preparing to sauté.
Anytime my brain was on autopilot, I was at risk for falling back into old patterns. This made everything feel a lot harder.
At the end of my three weeks, I was ready to be done. Still, I was eager to see what the team with IV Drips had found.
Unfortunately, Ms Banyan told me, not much had changed. My Vitamin D levels were up, which she said could be a sign the supplements were working.
But my B12 levels were down, probably because I had been eating vegan, she said.
This was a sign the supplements weren't a perfect substitute for eating animal products, which are rich in B12, a nutrient that supports cell health, she said.
'Even though you were taking supplements, your B12 levels still went down. So, it looks like it almost didn't do as good as the job as the actual red meats,' Ms Banyan added.
She said if I had done the experiment for longer, maybe I would've seen more of a change.
And Mr Johnson said it would take about six weeks for me to reap the full benefits of the program. He himself uses the BluePrint Stack as part of his every day routine.
Also, since I started with good vital signs it would be difficult to see much improvement anyways, Ms Banayan said.
I did enjoy some aspects - it was nice to know what I was eating every morning. The vegan meals, which I copied from Blueprint suggestions, were good.
But I didn’t feel any different at the end, aside from being isolated and a little frustrated by my limited diet.
Mr Johnson with what appears to be the longevity drink
I had spent less time with my loved ones because I was worried about whether meals and snacks I found outside the house would fit the rigid plan.
With these caveats in mind, I wouldn’t spend $361 per month on this routine - plus the more expensive grocery bill. I think that’s because my motivation for life is very different from Mr Johnson’s, based on our brief conversation.
Mr Johnson told me his goal is to help other people join him in his quest to create a society united behind the idea ‘don’t die.'
Where instead of prioritizing indulgence, people prioritize health and wellness above all else – and form bonds around it.
In this, ‘don’t die’ world, instead of late-night drinking and eating out, people gather around exercising together and eating clean.
‘I’m doing all of this, to basically try to transition the human race from a culture of "die" to a culture of "don’t die" where don’t die becomes our primary means of economics, politics, morals, ethics, philosophy et cetera,’ he told DailyMail.com.
I told him that I found living this way, as I did in part during the diet, was a bit lonely. He said in today’s world a person who follows this kind of wellness routine might have ‘some friction’ with friends who don’t understand their lifestyle.
But in a future where ‘don’t die’ is the central idea, everyone would be in alignment.
I'm not here to judge Mr Johnson’s philosophy, I'm here to judge his diet.
I think the idea of helping humankind towards a more healthy existence can be a noble one.
But I happen to enjoy living like an average human does in this reality, which sometimes includes enjoying a hot dog while strolling in central park or grabbing a beer after work.
And sometimes, the best part of my day is sharing a desert with a friend.
I walked away from the experience deciding that I prefer to live amongst humans- where food is not just fuel, but a source of community, joy and sometimes, indulgence.