I noticed on twitter that he was looking for help to mass produce the meals he eats. He’s absolutely going to try and monetize this. Nothing wrong with that though, he’s an entrepreneur first and foremost. I am a bit concerned that this is all a bit too early and this may all end up flaming out because there’s just not enough real world evidence to support his aims. He’s on the right track, but If he’s not careful, he’ll end up becoming another Dave Asprey, who briefly caught the public imagination and now feels like a used car salesman hawking anyone who will sponsor him.
I saw that post as well. I’ve tried some of his meals, they’re good. I like the nutty pudding. They are time consuming to make though - if he offered a service to buy them I would try it.
What if you make a large batch once a week?
The nutty pudding seems easy, just blend a bunch of ingredients.
I’m interested in trying a less expensive Blueprint diet, based on his data.
I’m not sure how Orange Fennel Salad, is 500 kcal, can anyone enlighten me?
There’s going to be a lot of oxalates in the beet salad.
While I completely respect what Bryan is doing I do have a few reservations about him becoming ‘another’ longevity leader. He’s basically doing an N-of-1 experiment and I think it’s a little presumptive of him to assume that this is going to work for the general population. Humans are heterogeneous , we metabolize carbohydrates, fats and protein differently. We also have different microbiomes. If he’s selling a diet then anyone who follows it is really just optimizing for Bryan Johnson’s physiology. He’s admitted he has a vegan diet- which I have no problem with at all- but he’s stated that he takes a bucket load of supplements to make up for any nutritional deficiencies that it may cause him. That’s expensive and probably unnecessary. It’s obviously going to be healthier than the SAD, but it’s not going to have the same effect on anyone else as it will on Bryan. Unless people get their own genomes read and learn how they metabolize different nutrients or what SNPs might be causing deficiencies, you’re basically just paying for- I’m guessing for an expensive food delivery service. Again, I’m supportive of what he’s trying to do, but it just starts to sound like a shortcut diet fad. If we really you want to really take control of our healthspans, then we need to take some serious steps to understand our own biology and tailor our lives accordingly. Basically we all need to be our own Bryans.
The way I look at Bryan Johnson is he’s basically doing the Roy Walford / Brian Delaney type of CRON diet (calorie restriction with optimal nutrition) with longevity drugs and a lot of testing … though perhaps given all the supplements the diet is not so optimal:
Most people cannot stay on a CR diet, so thats a non-starter for the broader population.
The key differentiator is the testing - and right now at least, that costs a fortune. I like the idea of it, but its obviously cost prohibitive for most people.
So what most people can do to duplicate Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint is CRON lite (eat a healthy diet, not too much), and take longevity drugs and test to the level that you can afford.
I don’t understand how a CR diet is physically possible in the long term, or is Bryan breaking the law of thermodynamics? If his bodyfat / weight / muscle mass stays the same, isn’t he consuming maintenance calories?
Well, CR has a pretty loose definition… but at some level your body “bottoms out” and you stop losing weight. i’m not sure of the the entire biological underpinnings of what happens, but when you are doing CR you obviously lose a lot of body fat, and when I was doing it I remember being cold all the time. you end up wearing sweaters during what is normally warm weather… I think your body probably produces less heat so fewer calories go into that. There are probably other metabolic modifications your body does to save energy… less cell turnover, more autophagy, etc. all of which means you adapt to the lower caloric intake.
With a strong focus on nutrition, there is no question you “Can” do CR and not die (you’re not starving yourself, though its hard not to think about food all the time in my experience). Its just unpleasant. I did it for maybe 6 months hard core… it was hard and not fun.
I see so the point really is to make the body burn less calories and become more efficient (not excluding exercise), and that might have a longevity benefit. Did you check your hormones? I’m thinking your testosterone or something might’ve dipped. Bryan is taking a 2 mg test patch almost everyday after all. So something similar to that might be mitigating some of the downsides, contributing with some of their own.
Testoserone levels fall off a cliff. Sex is the last thing on your mind when you are almost starving… another issue for most males As I said, its not a pleasant experience. I didnt’ have my hormone levels tested, but really, its very clear that testosterone is very low.
Yes I don’t think I will try CR without checking my hormones and fixing them if they go out of whack. And that’s a rabbit hole of information on its own. If that can solve it, it could be very promising. Being a little hungry and wearing warmer clothes is OK to me I think, if that’s all there is to it. I guess it depends if the hunger is there all the time and salient or not.
It points to some research docs that Oliver Zolman has available for download on this site: (click on the “open” button, see the HRV doc on Bryan Johnson, (HRV Rejuvenation Results Tracker ) etc.
7% body fat for men seems too low to me. Both Bryan Johnson and his doctor Oliver Zolman have 7% body fat. Is there any evidence to support that 7% is optimal?
Last year was the most lean I have been with a BMI of 21. Measured body fat percent was 13.7 and calculated body fat percent was 23.8. I never noticed the difference here before. The measured came from an electrical device you hold in your hands.
Then at the bottom it says Ideal body weight was 164 for me.
Goal body weight was 157 (I don’t know why if it’s not ideal) but my actual was 155 measured by them. The lowest I saw at home was 148.
I don’t know where they get these numbers but I think it’s Boston Heart. My gut says that somebody my age should have a little more fat than I did then.
7% is insane. That’s concentration camp, or getting ready for a body show (to make the muscles and veins pop). They’re crazy.
As I said, its not a pleasant experience. I didnt’ have my hormone levels tested, but really, its very clear that testosterone is very low.