Don't Die (Prematurely)

Exploring a movement to extend the human lifespan

Can you prevent the Grim Reaper from coming for you?

Recently Netflix released a new documentary titled Don’t Die. It focuses on Bryan Johnson, a multimillionaire who has gone to extreme lengths to optimize every part of his body in an effort live as long as possible. While the documentary focuses on what he does, a recent interview by Bari Weiss on her Honesty podcast for The Free Press, provides much better insight. Mr. Johnson also has a website where he posts all of his health markers, his regimen, and more. His Project Blueprint is a movement, called a cult by some, that has people all over the world following him.

At the time of this writing Bryan Johnson is 47 years old, with a biological age of 36. Biological age is simply a way of assessing the body with regard to its current condition, without considering how many years have lapsed on the calendar. I am 30 years older than Mr. Johnson, and I have no idea what my biological age is. It’s not something that keeps me awake at night.

In watching the Netflix documentary, there were some statements made that I have to take issue with. At approximately 14:10, Dr. Andrew Steele states that aging is the cause of cancer, dementia, stroke, heart disease, and general frailty. He presents a chart of the leading causes of death, with cancer, dementia, and heart disease being the top three. I’m no scientist, but I submit that the cause of these conditions is, almost without exception, metabolic. The food that we eat is the single biggest contributor to our health, good or bad. Because diet has such a big impact on health, eating poorly for a lifetime makes it easy to simply regard aging as the causative agent. In my own personal quest for optimum health, changing my diet has been the single best thing I’ve ever done. Mr. Johnson eats one meal a day, at 11:00 am. I also am a fan of OMAD, but my meal is a bit later, between 11:30am and noon. My wife and I enjoy a small snack of fruit, yogurt, or nuts in the evening, as well as a bit of very high quality chocolate. After 6pm it’s water only.

Mr. Johnson has accrued a lot of controversy over his lifestyle and goals. He has been called a vampire, based on having his body infused with blood plasma from his son. His house is equipped with a laboratory and equipment that would be the envy of many medical facilities. Reportedly he spends $2 million dollars per year in his effort to avoid death. It’s easy to dismiss him as yet another self-obsessed millionaire when he claims to be the healthiest person in the world. He is a fan of AI, and predicts it will surpass human intelligence. By separating his brain from his body (his words), he has a specific routine involving specific exercises, supplements (54), and vegetarian food. In addition to doing this for himself, much like a sport, he also aspires to benefit humanity with his discoveries.

While I very much doubt Mr. Johnson will live forever, or that he will enable others to do so, he is making moves to contribute to the good of all. Ms. Weiss asked him to comment on a recent researcher, who has discovered that the grass-fed beef sold by Whole Foods contains more microplastic particles than any other foods tested. Mr. Johnson explained that this is not a failure of the store or the farmer, but of the entire system. Microplastics are everywhere and can enter cattle through the grass, the water, or other sources. He has tested the foods that are sold commercially, and found that all of them are contaminated in one way or another. Microplastics are ubiquitous, and glyphosate (RoundUp weed killer) is also in nearly everything. Mr. Johnson is planning a consortium to take a hard look at the food supply. The goal is to identify and remove contaminants. I hope he achieves this goal, which is in alignment with Trump’s goal of Making America Healthy Again (MAHA).

Rather than hoping to evade death, I accept it as a natural condition of life. My goal is to stay healthy enough to enjoy my remaining years without being a burden to society or my family. I don’t fault Brian Johnson for his quest, but I do feel sorry for him. He’s going to miss an awful lot while spending all of his time making sure every aspect of his health is continually optimal. Living in California it’s also possible that all of his efforts will have been for naught. A large earthquake could end him. Wildfires, which are raging across the Los Angeles area as I write this, could also lead to his demise.

If you have reached your sixth or seventh decade, you may be wondering how to avoid the end-of-life issues that the documentary classifies as the main causes of death. You may even be considering joining Project Blueprint. I’ve written plenty about what works for me, and will probably work for you. I learned a lot about how to approach death from my friend H. He was a fellow entrepreneur, interested in myriad topics. Every free moment he had was spent learning and doing things he’d never done before. One day he got what seemed to be the flu. A week later he was gone, from undiagnosed leukemia. At his funeral, officiated by a friend, it was said that “he died with no regrets.” I have kept those words in my mind and try to live accordingly.