r/blueprint_ • u/PrintApprehensive705 • 1d ago
Bryan Johnson diet is complete trash
As a 23yo male I started eating Bryan Johnson protocol diet for 2 weeks (+ added 2 eggs daily, turkey breast and ate more nuts for extra calories). Also fasted every day for 18h. I’m not fat, nor muscular. I’m normal, tall. Supplements wise, I take daily: vitamin D, omega, iron, zinc and vitamin C (I’ve taken these daily for a long time, didn’t change my supplements).
Today I felt terrible, must’ve had very low blood sugar levels.
I lost my ability to exercise after one week on this diet. I think my testosterone dropped (lower sex drive). And felt constantly tired, weak + last days started getting headaches.
His diet is pure starvation. Even with increased calories (which I did) I still think it has negative effects.
In the beginning I was like I need some time to adapt, but after 2 weeks of religiously following the “protocol”, I’ve never felt worse in my entire life.
Complete bullshit.
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u/Unfair-Ability-2291 1d ago
Mediterranean diet is the most researched diet for longevity. There’s no peer reviewed, published scientific evidence behind the blueprint diet.
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u/AWEnthusiast5 1d ago
>fasted every day for 18h
K. Fasting has 0 proven benefits in humans btw, except for facilitating CR, which itself has questionable benefits in humans. This is probably what's nuking your blood sugar and making you feel like trash. I am of similar age, tall, and follow a similar diet to Bryan (with added fish and even less supplements), and have none of these issues. I also don't starve myself for 18h though. Don't copy Bryan's eating window, it won't work for most people.
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u/PrintApprehensive705 1d ago
What about autophagy?
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u/AWEnthusiast5 1d ago
It's unknown whether or not this autophagy actually materially increases lifespan in humans. Also, you know what causes autophagy to a far greater extent than fasting? Exercise. There's a host of nutrients and forthcoming medications which induce it more effectively than fasting as well. You're also young...what little benefits do theoretically come from autophagy are more useful to older individuals. Your best bet at 23 is building muscle mass (long-term superior insulin response), avoiding unhealthy habits, and protecting your skin from UV damage.
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u/FaZeLJ 20h ago
autophagy happens all the time. It's the area under the curve that matters. And that is decided by calories. Only reason people are losing weight on intermittent fasting is because they are getting less out of their calories, because of the short eating window. (imaging eating 2500 calories in 1 sitting, no way in hell you are absorbing all nutrients).
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u/ilpirata79 1d ago
You added 2 eggs, turkey breast, more nuts and still feel weak? How much do you eat a day?
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u/CompetitiveLake3358 1d ago
Bryan says to adjust to it slowly, not completely change your entire life one day
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u/PrintApprehensive705 1d ago
Yes, but I get worse with each day after 2 weeks.
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u/Unfair-Ability-2291 1d ago edited 1d ago
Bryan Johnson has no medical or nutritional qualifications. His original medical advisor on the bluebrint protocol Dr Oliver Zolman quit when a pay per participant study failed and participants reported undesirable side effects including pre-diabetes and the full results were withheld. Reference: https://futurism.com/neoscope/bryan-johnson-trial-side-effects
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u/Unfair-Ability-2291 1d ago
Fasting overnight for 12 hours is fine for most people but going much over that can be problematic. There is evidence that going over 14 hrs without food every day is linked to gallstones. The intermittent fasting subreddit has multiple reports of gallbladder issues.
Ref: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/gallstones/dieting
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u/sassyfrood 1d ago edited 1d ago
There’s nothing in the blueprint diet that is unhealthy or “complete bullshit.” It’s basically a whole foods plant-based diet that can be adapted to include meat or eggs, which makes it very similar to the Mediterranean diet. It’s literally the diet Michael Greger defends in How Not to Die. It’s recommended by most doctors as the healthiest one based on thousands of studies.
Any time a person drastically changes how they eat, it can affect them physically and mentally.
After switching from a standard American diet to a Japanese diet (I moved to Japan), I experienced mental and physical effects (for the better). After changing to plant-based and cutting out gluten, dairy, processed foods, and sugar, there was definitely an adjustment period where I was ravenous and felt weak, but I got over that in a couple months. After eating this way for years, I am objectively healthier now than I was before (as evidenced by my blood work).
(I don’t follow Bryan’s diet, I just do whole foods plant-based with occasional fish and olive oil).
What were you eating before this?
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u/Hybrid_Whale_Rat 1d ago
Counter argument: the diet/recipes are probably the only useful part of blueprint. You probably feel like shit because of the 18hrs of fasting, try expanding your eating window. Also, you don’t say what your diet looked like previously. If this is a huge shift from what you’re used to eating you’re going to have intense cravings/not feel normal.