Advanced Age Reversal: A Step-by-Step Blueprint for Longevity with Bryan Johnson

Johnson's body temperature runs cooler than baseline, routinely measuring 95.9-96.1°F upon waking (previously not the case), suggesting possible downward adjustment of metabolic set point in response to sustained caloric restriction of 2,000 calories daily while maintaining 1 hour daily exercise

“you said on on the website that your body um temperature is running cooler than when you first started which obviously can sometimes indicate a slight drop in the metabolic set point...routinely when I measure my every single morning when I wake up I measure my my waking Body temp and it's you know routinely 95.9 96.1”

Johnson's past included sugar cereals, sodas, sleep deprivation (sleep viewed as waste of time in 20s-30s), startup entrepreneurship, chronic depression, and overall body destruction, yet he's surprised his body recovered well with care and emphasizes that prevention is much easier than remediation of damage

“I spent the majority of my life uh to destroying myself you know I grew up on sugar cereal uh sodas uh when the idea was sleep was a waste of time uh in my 20s and 30s I was a startup entrepreneur wearing the mythology of sleep under your desk work hard be ragged and then you know a couple babies chronic depression”

Ben Greenfield uses vitamin IV cocktails a few times per month from Dr. Craig Conover's Fast Vitamin IVs company, and performs stem cell, exosome, and V-cell treatments 2-3 times per year with Dr. Matt Cook at BioRecept Medical, which he frames as an 'oil change' for the body

“a few times a month I'll do a vitamin IV like a vitamin cocktail IV I get them from Dr Craig Conover he has a company called Fast vitamin IVs and then two up to three times a year I'll do stem cells V cells and exosomes usually with Dr Matt Cook at biorecept Medical one or two times a year is kind of an oil change for the body”

Johnson's prescription medications include rapamycin, metformin, and acarbose as core longevity pharmaceuticals, along with testosterone replacement therapy (TTRT) using patches and alpha estradiol 17-beta-E2 (non-feminizing estrogen), justified because caloric restriction causes testosterone decline

“the major pillars we've got diet the pills we've got the prescriptions which is rapamycin form in a carbos I'm taking uh Alpha estradiol 17 out the E2 okay which is the non-feminizing um estrogen”

Self-destructive behaviors can be categorized on a continuum: activities that accelerate aging rate are self-aided destruction, while activities that slow aging rate are rejuvenative; this binary can be assessed through DNA methylation aging clocks and thus transcends subjective judgment about whether a behavior is 'good' or 'bad'

“the easy bifurcation is if an activity accelerates your speed of Aging it's self-aid or destruction if it slows your speed of Aging it's rejuvenate of a nature and because we've been using this so much in our own work you're basically just looking at information Theory are you causing entropy to happen uh like in accelerated Pace or not”

Ben Greenfield has high genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes, family history of colon cancer and cardiovascular disease, and stable plaque accumulation from years of endurance sports (Iron Man Triathlon), requiring specific monitoring of diabetic markers, cardiovascular markers, and colonic health through targeted supplementation like red yeast rice, CoQ10, niacin, and butyrate focus

“I know I have a high predisposition to type 2 diabetes I have a big family risk for both colon cancer as well as cardiovascular disease and I even have probably due to years of racing Iron Man Triathlon and some of these other excessively masochistic Sports uh a buildup of plaque stable plaque but plaque nonetheless”

Brian Johnson has slowed his speed of aging by the equivalent of 31 years using the Dunedin Pace of Aging clock, which measures DNA methylation changes longitudinally across five decades, and he now accumulates aging damage slower than the average 10-year-old

“I've slowed my speed of Aging by the equivalent of 31 years and I now accumulate aging damage slower than the average 10 year old now a lot of people don't realize that 10 year olds accumulate aging damage they do”

Ben Greenfield and Brian Johnson's approaches to longevity demonstrate that biochemical individuality means different protocols (plant-based vs. omnivorous, different exercise modalities, different technology use) can achieve similar age reversal outcomes, suggesting there are multiple valid paths to optimizing aging rather than a single 'correct' protocol.

“if someone were to come to you because it sounds like maybe they have I mean like hey I want to follow the blueprint protocol A to Z do you ever consider about their body perhaps responding differently to the supplement regimen or the dietary regimen or the exercises than than you yeah of course yeah so the blueprint is basically just a a demonstration of evidence and measurement that's it it's just saying let's have a discussion on what we do and why we do it based upon data”

Johnson extensively analyzed hyperbaric oxygen therapy for age reversal and longevity but concluded the evidence did not justify its inclusion in the blueprint protocol, despite potential utility for acute injury treatment

“we just completed a an extensive look at Hyperbaric and we couldn't find the evidence to do it it in our analysis it appeared it appeared as if it was interesting for acute uh um injury but we couldn't find it for Rejuvenation um and so we we did move forward with it”

Johnson's team systematically reviewed every lifespan study and healthspan study, ranked them according to evidence quality and trial methodology, then prioritized supplements based on whether evidence came from animal models or human studies, with the protocol built from highest-value evidence working downward

“my team has systematically reviewed every lifespan study and every Health span study and then systematically ranked each one according to the evidence and the staff teach one according to the quality of the trial that was run and then we stack ring all the studies look at all the evidence so we try to prioritize which evidence we think is worthy”

Blueprint is fundamentally a demonstration of evidence and measurement, designed to move health and wellness away from religious-style tribalism and infighting toward dispassionate scientific inquiry focused entirely on data and measurable outcomes.

“the blueprint is basically just a a demonstration of evidence and measurement that's it it's just saying let's have a discussion on what we do and why we do it based upon data that's all I'm trying to do okay and so just like eliminate human opinion eliminate tribal Warfare just look at the data”

Johnson's philosophy on the creation of intelligence in the world is that with computers and artificial intelligence, the cost of manufacturing and distributing intelligence is approaching zero, so intelligence will be everywhere and permeate all things, requiring humanity to figure out how to scaffold its progress in a measured, quantifiable way—progressing version by version without losing the human element.

“if we zoom out of planet Earth and we try to contemplate what is the most important thing going on I would say it's the the creation of intelligence where with with computers and not now artificial intelligence the cost of manufacturing and distributing intelligence is going to zero intelligence is going to be everywhere it'll permeate all things”

Ben Greenfield's diet is largely low-carb Mediterranean including organic vegetables, fermented dairy, plant foods, organ meats, clean fish, bone broth, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, and very dark chocolate, combined with an overnight intermittent fast of 12-16 hours, with occasional quarterly 3-5 day lower calorie or water fasts

“my diet is largely low carb Mediterranean a lot of organic vegetables fermented dairy and plants organ Meats clean fish bone broth extra virgin olive oil like Brian vinegar dark chocolate like Brian very dark chocolate and I do an overnight intermittent fast so 12 to 16 hours”

Johnson's chocolate and olive oil selections undergo five-level curation: Level 1 (chocolate is good), Level 2 (dark chocolate), Level 3 (Dutch-processed dark chocolate), Level 4 (unalkalinized dark chocolate without heavy metals), Level 5 (unalkalinized dark chocolate without heavy metals with high polyphenol content), with blueprint eventually making curated products available due to difficulty finding compliant sources

“if if you start at the level one you say chocolate is good for you that may lead someone to believe a Snickers bar is okay because at least some portion of that bar is chocolate level two is dark chocolate level three is dark chocolate on Dutch level four is dark chocolate untouched without heavy metals and the fifth is dark chocolate untouched heavy non heavy metals with high polyphenol”

Johnson plans to organize a group experiment with several hundred people to systematically reduce self-aided destructive (SAD) behaviors, featuring five different behavioral therapy coaches (representing different schools like CBT) who will present their methodologies and individuals can select which coach aligns with their approach, using acceleration or slowing of biological aging as the objective bifurcation point.

“I'm in a couple weeks time I'm I'm wanting to get a group of people together like maybe a few hundred people and working on people eliminating sad from their life self aided destruction”

When Johnson measures his lungs with detailed biomarkers, individual lung components range from age 18 (diaphragm strength) to age 67 (B-lines indicating fluid/solid accumulation), and his heart shows similar heterogeneity with some components age 20s and others age 60s, requiring targeted therapy approaches to specific organ subsystems

“my lungs like my diaphragm strength is age age 18. but my B lines which is like a accumulation of fluids or solids in my lungs are like age 67 and so my lungs have these I have like 10 different biomarkers from my lungs ranging from 18 and 21 and 22 and 33 and 37 and 67”

Johnson's plant-based diet of 2,000 calories daily consisting primarily of vegetables, berries, nuts, seeds, and black lentils with 100 supplements produces 'perfect biomarkers' across hundreds of variables when measured against optimal clinical outcome ranges, with every calorie and ingredient requiring evidence-based justification

“2 000 calories it's a primarily vegetables berries nuts and seeds so for breakfast it's a broccoli cauliflower black lentils garlic ginger mushrooms then for uh midday the second meal of the day it's macaroni nuts flax seeds walnuts pomegranate seeds and then the final meal of the day is just the vegetables berries and nuts and then um yeah take 100 supplements”

Johnson's workout routine consists of 40 daily movements designed to flex and stretch every muscle of the body, inspired by Ben Patrick's 'knees over toes' protocols, with identical exercise every single day of the week and no variation across the weekly cycle

“yeah basically I try to flex and stretch every muscle of my body and so it's about 40 movements inspired a lot by my knees over toes and uh uh Ben Patrick”

Ben Greenfield practices early morning waking (3:45-4:00 AM) following 6-7 hours of night sleep, utilizing the early morning hours for spiritual practice, meditation, and work preparation, then compensates with a 20-40 minute afternoon nap in either a hyperbaric chamber or on a PEMF mat using meditation, Yoga Nidra, or Brain Tap device

“I usually get up around 3 45 or 4 just because yeah that allows me time for my spiritual practice and my me time and you know prepping for the day and some of the early work but then every day after lunch usually either in the hyperbaric chamber or or on this like big are you familiar with pulse electromagnetic field frequency like these pemf mats yeah so I'll lay on one of those or climb inside the hyperbaric chamber and I'll do about an hour of meditation or Yoga Nidra”

Johnson previously attempted drinkable ketones for 19 days but discontinued them because they spiked his liver enzymes by 200 percent, and when exogenous ketones were tested against evidence standards, the blood flow restriction training and other elements failed to meet evidence thresholds for the protocol

“we tried it and they Spike my liver enzymes oh really yeah so immediately we discontinued them after 19 days they spiked it from uh it was like 200 percent uh in 19 days”

Johnson previously raised in a deeply religious community found beneficial but discovered the tradeoff where in-group identity required creating out-groups, and has since moved through various communities, now creating a new community centered on his longevity-focused way of being with synchronized sleep/wake times for social alignment

“my community has been I've kind of been throughout different communities in my life I was raised in a deeply religious community that was actually pretty amazing to be inside the only As I Grew Older I kind of learned the trade-off where if you're in a certain group there's an out group in group good out group bad”

Johnson was initially trying to fix a personal problem where he couldn't control his Indianapolis at night, leading to 60 pounds of overweight, during a tough time of life; this practical health problem collided with philosophical thinking about the future of human existence to drive both Blueprint and Kernel.

“from a personal side I was trying to fix a problem I had where I couldn't control my Indianapolis at night it led me to be 60 pounds of our weight and I was in a tough time of life and then a second part of it was I was thinking about the future of humanity of what does the future of our existence look like and the two of them kind of collided into a practical way to solve my own problems and a philosophical thought process on how we might understand ourselves as a species going forward”

Johnson's son brought a 'super veggie' smoothie containing vegetables to school lunch every day for a month, and his friend tweeted a photo questioning 'what's wrong at home I hope everything's okay', illustrating the cultural shock of eating vegetables in a peer group consuming Doritos, pizza and soda

“my son took what I call this super veggie to school lunch them every day a bunch of vegetables and and his friend tweeted out uh taking a picture of him eating it I don't know what's wrong what do you say this boy's been eating this every day for the past month I don't know uh what's wrong at home I hope everything's okay”

Johnson's team includes multiple full-time and part-time specialists including dedicated sonographers specializing in cardiac, musculoskeletal, and organ ultrasound who conduct regular full-body ultrasounds on medical-grade equipment, enabling detailed tracking of changes across every organ system

“we have a an epic five uh ultrasound machine here at the house medical grade system and we have several uh sonographers we have one that specializes in in the heart one that does uh muscle skeletal and one that does all other organs of the body and so that's for example free members of the team”

Ben Greenfield's workout protocol utilizes single-set-to-failure training 3 times per week using an ARX machine (2 horsepower eccentric load device) or Tonal wall-mounted machine, combined with Blood Flow Restriction training and a 21-minute VASPER (cold water circulation through BFR bands) HIIT session, with the remaining days focused on sauna, cold, breath work, walking and tennis/pickleball

“three days a week I do the single set to failure training and then I use this thing called a vasper that circulates cold water through Blood Flow Restriction bands for a 21 minute hit workout and so that's typically Monday Wednesday Friday Tuesday Thursday Saturday are all sauna cold breath work walking and tennis or pickleball”