I don’t believe the VO2Max. It’s too good.
2 Likes
A new Time Magazine article:
“If you want immortality, you should go to a church,” adds Dr. Eric Verdin, CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. “If I believed even a little bit that it would be possible, I would be excited. It’s a pipe dream.” Verdin isn’t just skeptical of Johnson’s claims that he can achieve immortality; he’s skeptical of his claims of age-reversal altogether. “He professes to make everything transparent, but as a scientist it’s really impossible to understand the tools he’s using to assess his age,” Verdin says, adding that the Buck Institute reached out to Johnson to collaborate on some research, but never heard back. Johnson’s lack of interest in collaboration with independent scientists made Dr. Verdin even more skeptical. “I think if he wants to convince all of us that what he’s doing is valid, then he’s going to have to accept being challenged by colleagues,” he says. (Johnson doesn’t remember ignoring Verdin’s invitation, and says that he and Verdin have recently exchanged friendly emails.)
3 Likes
1 Like
2 Likes
4 Likes
Johnson thinks of any act that accelerates aging—like eating a cookie, or getting less than eight hours of sleep—as an “act of violence.”
Eating a cookie is an act of violence
3 Likes
Same, I don’t pay attention to him. To be honest, I think his protocol is useless and a waste of money.
Plus, I can’t imagine myself being strictly vegan and how that would negatively impact my life and health. Vegetables have antinutrients and oxalates and legumes,grains, and seeds have phytates which chelate the minerals which you are supposed to get from them. I don’t understand the benefit of not incorporating some high quality game meat, or even raw milk, raw kefir etc…
For someone who spends all that money on his longevity yet still lives in crime ridden Venice, California where he can be stabbed or shot just walking down the street, I would disregard most of what he says.
He is probably just a marketer and businessman like Peter Attia.
2 Likes
He does it for ethical reasons not (strictly) health. I find this reason much more appealing as I am toying with this idea for years. Not there yet. Maybe one day…
Btw many antinutrients in vegetables need just the right preparation that many traditional cusines instinctively knew. Cooking destroys oxalates. Legumes need vitamin C for better absorption, fermentation is another great preparation that limits antinutrients etc.
4 Likes
If vegetables need to be cooked to remove all those antinutrients and oxalates, isn’t that nature saying that they are not supposed to be consumed in large amounts?
I understand the ethical reason, although those animals are going to be killed regardless and ironically he probably flies private and drives cars that run on gasoline.
By cooking the vegetables you are also getting rid of Vit C + B’s which are extremely heat sensitive. I guess we all have our preferances. I tried being vegan for a few months and it was the worst decision I have done health wise. I felt inflammed, bloated and like garbage. Nothing beats high quality protein, raw dairy and fruit.
1 Like
Can you really separate cooking and humans? 
You can always cook vegetables and serve them seasoned with a bit of lemon juice? A lot of vegetables can be eaten raw as well. It is not one rule fits all. Like also one diet doesn’t fit us all, but gut microbiome certainly needs some time to adapt to new conditions, new diet.
I am not advocating vegan or for that sake carnivore. I just find farming animals, especially industrial farming one of the biggest crime of humanity and ethnically needs an appropriate response. Being vegan is hard, vegetarian seems lees hard, some flexibility in this with a serving of fish or meat once in a while makes it not just doable but also if not ethically optimal at least move in the right direction. Not to mention that eating a lot of fibers will lower your blood lipids and eating majority (around half) of calories from carbohydrates is shown to be best for ACM.
PS I think he said he gave up flying (disrupts his sleep too much) and he drives an electric car
3 Likes
I don’t really get this argument about vitamins when they can be supplemented easily. Protein and calcium intake is harder to achieve when eating only plant-based but far from impossible.
1 Like
I don’t get any argument about vitamins. The easiest way to get vitamins is to just take a supplement.
I think we also need to disassociate rich from being equal to genius. I view him now as a very effective canary in a coal mine. If something does go wrong, his constant testing and team of doctors will let us know (hopefully).
However let’s be extra aware of any supplements he drops. Therein lies the potential poison.
4 Likes
You knew that was coming.
The “products” and treatment centers/ consultations will follow
There’s this ideological OCD he seems to be building that seems to be connected to spirituality, no offence to him as it’s all good, but it borders on someone religious. Is he including happiness in the equation? He doesn’t seem to be speaking of it often. If he had 5 days to live, would he spend them walking on blazing hot stones to live for another day (6 days in total)? Might it have to do with his upbringing as a Mormon? He has recently made memes about healthspan too, so maybe he does care about that. But he doesn’t post about it often.
1 Like
I wouldn’t call it OCD (seems similar though), but I have been following him since almost a year and most of the blueprint program is there to optimize his life, time and give space for other things, ideas, relationships… thing that make one happy. Routine, thinking about cooking, what should I buy today, eat, do with my time makes us believe we are making choices, we are in control, have faith in our hands but really is just taking us precious time. Our brain tends to work most of the time on preprogramed / unconscious patterns of reactions to stimuli and we are mostly not aware of that. His blueprint is really just a way to try to free himself from that. Of course you might argue that he in getting out he just repeated his old patterns in a new way. This is a possibility, but if you look at video I posted above where a guy is following his blueprint for 75 days and shares his results and thoughts, you can see that is is quite a doable plan. it is not really 24/7, but it is morning routine, and evening routine with sleep and I imagine occasional skin procedure and maybe weekly blood draw… but other than this is just a simple (albeit complex) way of freeing you of decisions that are self destructive (in health sense). We can talk about his conscious and unconscious motivation but I believe there is room for happiness in what he is doing.
6 Likes
I’m not sure he’s giving space for relationships.
Johnson says his lifestyle makes it very difficult for him to date, rattling off what he calls the “10 reasons why [women] will literally hate me.” The reasons include: eating dinner at 11:30 a.m., no sunny vacations, bed at 8:30pm, no small talk, always sleeping alone, and, of course, “they’re not my number one priority.”
How self-destructive is eating a cookie really? It’s not based on science, at least. Worst case is extremely low, which probably doesn’t matter because of the positive valence (pleasure) it provides. It’s also possible to be self-destructive in not allowing one to enjoy life.
3 Likes
The article’s critical angle brings up interesting issues about life extension:
- The Pursuit of Immortality: Johnson’s primary focus is on age reversal, bringing up the age-old question of the value and definition of life itself. What is the purpose of life if it’s stripped of its joys and spent in a constant battle against time?
- Sacrifice: Those following his regimen sacrifice much of what many consider integral to the human experience—taste, joy, spontaneity, and more, for the potential benefits of longevity.
- Skepticism and Validation: The medical and scientific communities remain skeptical. They point out the lack of empirical evidence, peer-reviewed research, and collaborative efforts.
- The Human Element: The author’s highlights the simple pleasures of life that make us inherently human, contrasting this to Johnson’s almost robotic lifestyle.
- Gender Dynamics: There’s an underlying observation of gender roles, especially when discussing Tolo’s involvement and her subservient behavior. This is evident when the author notes how Tolo plates meals and cleans up despite her significant role in Blueprint.
- The Culture of Youth: Johnson’s approach reflects a broader cultural obsession with youth and the fear of aging. In contemporary society, where there’s a constant pursuit of perfection, this story is a stark representation of the lengths to which some will go to combat the natural progression of time.
- Reflection on Wants and Desires: The ending of the piece emphasizes the author’s realization of the importance of wants and desires in human life. Even if they bring us closer to our mortality, these desires shape our experiences and make life worth living.
- Lifestyle Influencer: Johnson is selling expensive olive oil for his Blueprint program and also has extensive media writeups and regularly posts to social media about his program. This calls into question his neutrality in evaluating his program.
4 Likes
This book needs a big-time editor to get rid of the gobbledygook: the straw man characters, the stand-in for the author, the lack of focus. It reads like a college late-night bull session. Very little useful content. The best parts are the provocative questions about futurism and how we adapt to changes in technology. I would greatly have preferred an essay format.
1 Like