Since 2021, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and biohacker Bryan Johnson has spent years – and, it’s now clear, millions and millions of dollars – trying to ‘live forever’.
This mission was immortalised in Netflix’s Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever, a documentary that detailed the 48-year-old’s controversial journey to both boost his lifespan and reverse the biological ageing of his vital organs. Part of this process, also known as Project Blueprint, included a one-litre plasma transfusion from his 18-year-old son and a 17-step morning routine that involves taking 54 pills first thing in the morning.
Johnson, who claims that his biological age is five years younger than his real age and spends around $2m a year in an attempt to keep this figure trending downward, recently explained his relationship with GLP-1s – a class of drugs used for diabetes and weight loss.
Speaking on the Full Send podcast, Johnson expanded on his own relationship with Ozempic, and why he takes a low dose of the drug. ‘I am as healthy as a person can be and I still benefit from GLP-1,’ he said on how he uses the drug not for weight loss or appetite suppression, but for ‘metabolic effects…as it has good neural protective effects,’ he explained. ‘There are still healthy effects for me.’
Johnson also explains a key area where he’s seen significant improvements from taking GLP-1 medication. ‘If you look at my blood glucose, I’m in the 99th percentile for 18-year-olds,’ he said. ‘When you compare my blood glucose management to an 18-year-old, I’m better than 99 out of 100.’
He balances this success with the potential side effects of taking a GLP-1, which affects certain biomarkers that Johnson measures obsessively, including his resting heart rate.
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‘There are some side effects,’ he said. ‘For example, the dose I’m on raises my resting heart rate by two or three beats, which is a big deal for me, but the benefits are great.’
Before Johnson was taking a GLP-1, a 2021 Frontiers of Endocrinology study expanded on GLP-1s’ efficacy beyond weight loss. It identified that these drugs could also help control blood sugar and reduce inflammation in the brain while promoting nerve growth.
