Can ‘Blueprint’ make you biologically younger?

I saw a Twitter thread about Bryan Johnson’s ‘Blueprint’, claiming that he’d made himself biologically younger with a highly optimised combination of diet, supplements and exercise. What could that mean? And should we all start chugging 25 pills a day to start on the Blueprint ourselves? Probably not…but the biology behind it is surprisingly interesting.

*Chapters*

00:00 A tweet goes viral
00:44 Getting ‘biologically younger’
01:23 NAD levels
03:09 Maximum heart rate
04:12 Epigenetic clocks
07:12 Step 1: the Blueprint diet
09:23 Step 2: ALL THE SUPPLEMENTS
11:43 Step 3: track progress
12:40 Conclusion

*Sources and further reading*

Corrections:
01:26 I say a _decrease_ in NAD levels, when I mean a decrease in ‘biological age’ which Bryan infers from an _increase_ in NAD.
02:00 I say that Bryan takes NMN to increase his NAD levels when actually he uses a slightly different supplement called NR. The logic and issues with this are the same though.
03:08 Same mistake as NAD levels, but with maximum heart rate!

I’ve corrected all this in the subtitles for the video.

*And finally…*

[quantumspark]

So... if one wants to biohack his way to immortality, what do you suggest? What is the serious stuff out there, the experimental true stuff?

[suyang]

He forgot one more health advice, don’t be poor.

[Churro_Douglas]

Most people have more savings as they grow older, so by spending all of my money, I will become economically younger!

[charisma-hornum-fries]

There's a study in Denmark where they are testing senior former elite athletes who are not on any supplements, who are still fit and well, and who are actively doing sports in some capacity researching why they are how they are. My mom-in-law is in it, it's fascinating.

[foxymuldar]

Someone your age can wait a few years but Im 75 so I started on Metformin recently and switched my diet to low sugar more veggies and less calories plus I haven't eaten any red meat in 40 years. That I believe has helped me a lot. I also bike ride 90/120 mins at least four or more days a week. That helps my heart rate and overall fitness. I also like to follow what Dr. David Sinclair says about antiaging. He's a big believer in some of the drugs you want to wait years before trying. I guess if I was a multi millionair I could afford all the supplements and tests Johnson is taking. Most of us cant.

[LiannaLovelle]

If his aim is peak fitness and health for whatever age he is, he’s definitely won.

[scottbarnett]

Eh Bryan feels well ahead of the curve relative to the traditional medical model. He is currently employing 20+ specialists - including many MDs to empirically determine and ascertain what metrics hold value. Bryan does talk about 1. Not being destructive to your body as an absolute baseline.

[DrAndrewSteele]

What aspect of the Blueprint would you be most interested to learn more about? Rapamycin and epigenetic clocks are probably top of my list for future videos, but let me know in the comments what you’d find most interesting!

Also: dammit! Thanks to switched-on commenters for pointing out a few mistakes that snuck in because I made this video in a hurry back when this Twitter thread went viral!

I say a decrease in NAD levels (at 1:26) and maximum heart rate (at 3:08 and 3:52). D’oh! I obviously meant a decrease in ‘biological age’ which Bryan infers from an increase in NAD and maximum HR (from 169 to 183 bpm, apparently), which is of course therefore shown as a decrease on the chart. And also, while a higher maximum heart rate is associated with youth, a lower resting heart rate is of course healthier (much more on that in a future video!) so perhaps you can see how I got confused while recording! I’ve corrected all this in the subtitles for the video. I also say that Bryan takes NMN to increase his NAD levels (02:00) when actually he uses a slightly different supplement called NR. The logic and issues with this are the same though! I’ve also corrected this in the subtitles.

All this (and mistakes in any of my videos!) are listed in the Errata section in the video description.

[mattlopez]

Really good video, thank you for recording this!

[flaviosalazar]

Lo interesante de blueprint es que pone sobre la mesa el cuestionamiento acerca de los hábitos que realmente pueden lograr "rejuvenecernos". Por otro lado, tu vídeo tiene mucho sentido... Hay manejos que podemos lograr con nuestro cuerpo que nos darán resultados en muy poco tiempo. Es importante que vayamos popularizando los hábitos que van en esa línea. Hoy en día tenemos acceso a mucha mejor alimentación e información nutricional que hace veinte años.

Muy interesante tu vídeo, muchas gracias desde Chile 😀

[MaxsMonthlyChallenge]

Hi, I am Max Hertan, said thread writer :) I'm just genuinely a big fan of Bryan Johnson and wanted to share my great experience with his Blueprint program. Appreciate the share and thoughts Andrew.

[fcpolitimisoara]

Remember you must refrain from nuts until Thursday :) great video! I recently stumbled across a paper on sulforaphane, and although it's not mentioned in Blueprint, it seems to be another item in the list of promising anti-aging (particularly neuroprotective in this case) compounds that need more testing. If you know any specifics on this, I'd love to hear them. Cheers!

[DaveTexas]

I guess I’m the opposite of this guy. I’ve had a chronic autoimmune disease since childhood. It seems to have caused me to age more rapidly than most people. I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis when I was about 35. I had a bad case of shingles at age 38. I had to have cataracts removed at age 44. Now, in my mid-50s, I walk with a cane due to balance issues and I sleep 11-14 hours per day. I’m essentially 30 years older than my biological age.

Guess I should keep my eye on those drugs. I eat relatively well — lots of vegetables and nuts — but exercise is a problem for me due to neurological and severe pain issues. I get plenty of sleep, but it’s too much sleep. That’s a whole separate issue; we can’t figure out what his causing my fatigue. I don’t think I’ve ever had COVID, but some of my symptoms are consistent with post-viral fatigue syndrome, which can be caused by COVID as well as a bunch of other viruses.

The main problem is that I live in the United States. I can’t afford the doctor appointments and treatments for these things anymore. Being unable to work much, I’m stuck in a poverty cycle — if I could work more, I might be able to afford the medical care that would help me feel well enough to work more. I’m apparently not sick enough to qualify for disability and Medicare (our socialized medical insurance program for the elderly and disabled), because I’ve been repeatedly turned down when I’ve applied for disability. I hate this country.

[nynk]

He doesn't just put on some moisturizer, he gets a fullbody IPL (laser) treatment EVERY. WEEK. That's insane! He also uses tretinoin, which has been shown to improve skin tone, texture, and fine lines. Anyone who does that, regardless of their diet, will have good looking skin!!

[aliimran]

Always love to see a new video from andrew

[forestrunner]

You seem like you are having fun figuring this out...cool...! Bryan Johnson is very interesting and methodical I find it kind of fascinating also,

[georgehornsby]

By waxing off all of my body hair I have the biological equivalent amount as a baby, averaged out with my IQ and my prostate volume (which is the size of a 10 year old's thanks to an implausibly large amount of finasteride) I have an average biological age of 7, a far larger reduction than his! Where can I apply for my world record?

[juliedesnick]

It's impressive that Johnson is doing his Blueprint. But a deep dive into how evidence based it really is, is appreciated. I'm a fan of Dr. Michael Greger on nutrition.

So, increasing your NAD level might be something like coloring your gray hair. The indicator of age decreases / vanishes, but it doesn't mean anything.

[vidhoard]

So fascinating!!! Your channel will absolutely be over 1 mil subs soon!