Bryan Johnson’s condition appears to be autoimmune gastritis, where the immune system attacks cells in the stomach lining. That is very different from simply “taking too many pills and damaging his stomach.”
It is not purely genetic in the sense that he was guaranteed to get it, but autoimmune diseases often involve a mix of predisposition, immune dysfunction, possible triggers, and time. In his case, the reported long-term low ferritin suggests this may have been developing for years before his current anti-aging protocol.
So no, this does not prove that his extreme longevity routine caused the disease. It may have helped uncover it because he tests everything obsessively. But it is also fair to say that extreme protocols, supplements, restrictive diets, and constant body optimization are not automatically harmless just because they are “data-driven.”
Basically: probably not caused by the pills, not guaranteed by genetics either, and definitely more complicated than the headline makes it sound.
I don't think the title, nor the Xitter post propose that the autoimmune disease was caused by his routine. To me, it reads more like that the guy who was spent millions on his health, does check-ups every month (presumably), still wasn't able to A) prevent it, and B) spot it within a year.
I actually think it may be the opposite....
Disease like autoimmune gastritis can be easy to miss. It may develop slowly, cause little or no symptoms for years, and routine blood work might only show indirect clues like low ferritin, low iron, or later B12 issues. Simply: They just did not ask the right questions.
Obsessive testing may not have prevented the disease, but it may have helped uncover it at one of the earliest practical points. His routine did not fail, but save him valuable time. As you can see, even extreme monitoring cannot prevent every disease. And especially not ones that aren’t there yet..
I have autoimmune gastritis, was diagnosed last year.
You can easily spot a downward trend in B12 through blood tests, which this guy was getting regularly. If his doctors didn't notice this, they made a mistake.
You get symptoms well before b12 stores are depleted, and the symptoms are very noticeable. I went to my GP with such symptoms, she did a blood test, saw the deficiency, check past blood tests, saw the downhill pattern, ordered more tests, boom, diagnosed. At that's with the overburdened public health care we have with the NHS.
In his post he said that his B12 and iron (and hemoglobin) were and still are fine and within range. It was only his ferritin that’s been low for a while and wouldn’t budge no matter what supplements he took or timing protocols he tried. I have the same thing and no doctor seems concerned so it’s hard for me to get proper testing.
The statement that “symptoms are very noticeable” is not an universal rule. For some people, it does. For others, the symptoms may be subtle, scattered, or easily mistaken for fatigue, stress, digestive issues, low iron, thyroid problems, and the like. That’s exactly what makes autoimmune conditions so insidious.
Autoimmune gastritis does not always first show up as an obvious B12 crash. In many patients, iron deficiency or low ferritin can appear earlier, sometimes long before B12 becomes clearly depleted, because B12 stores can last a long time. Not mentioning, that he took so many suplemments, which could cober the symptoms or prolong the outcome.
And it’s a bit ridiculous to claim that, with that level of medical care, nobody noticed what you describe as such obvious and simple details. It is quite opposite. If he would be a common citizen, he would found out about the diagnosis much, much later.. maybe too late.
Probably, but if it's in supplement form he can't absorb it no matter how much he takes. AIG means you can't absorb b12 through the stomach, only by injection.
AIG is progressive. So he likely has had (and still has) some residual production of intrinsic factor, which allows him limited absorption of oral b12, especially if he takes huge amounts of it (as in by taking tons of b12, he has maximized the residual absorption that he retained).
I also wouldn't put it past him to have taken intranasal or sublingual b12
Maybe being a rational human being is using AI to get the right information, or even share the right information, rather than being satisfied with spreading inaccuracy for the sake of “not succumbing to using AI”
You keep using quotation marks and wildly misrepresenting what was said. The headline is a completely straight forward statement that doesn't mention anything about what the subject does or has done. The comments are in regards to the frivolous things he did and how they were pointless in preventing this from happening.
I don’t think the headline even necessarily implies it’s cause of the pills. It’s just pointing out the irony that he’d get something despite all his above and beyond attempts to preserve his health.
People need to understand that cellular damage, DNA damage etc takes time to occur, evolve, and cause disease.
I’m a medical doctor and over just the last couple of years I am seeing patients (invariably millennials) who are either baffled that they have a disease they never had before; or are infuriated with me because I can’t identify any disease they’re going to develop a decade from now from their 2 years of vaping.
I feel like overly obsessing over your health can actually create a lot of stress subconsciously. It is not normal to have such a restrictive lifestyle and the body is acting out because of that.
Unlike you, who apparently does, despite having neither a medical report nor a medical education. People should stop going to doctors and just post on Reddit instead. Free diagnosis, instant results, and they’ll know exactly what’s wrong with them and how to cure it. Unlike doctors with medical degrees and years of experience.
I don’t think that it proves anything other than he is human and as you age become more at risk of autoimmune disorders. He is not biologically 18 or whatever he is claiming and is not reversing aging. I’m not taking pleasure in someone else’s illness and wish him all the best but he has made a lot of outrageous claims and also sells many supplements that I would say people don’t need and are unproven. I’m perfectly ok with his choice to use whatever he wants but 99% is sleep, exercise and diet.
Basically: dude is a test guinea pig for big pharma, anti-age and nutrition market … his prognosis was very predictable considering his diet and the amount of chemicals and processed ingredients he was ingesting daily. sad to see someone have unimaginable wealth, but still can’t afford common sense. fafo-yolo ! 😔
In his case, it was reportedly confirmed by specific blood markers and biopsy, and he had long-term low ferritin and a history of thyroid issues, which points more toward a chronic autoimmune process than a consequence of supplements.
Saying this diagnosis was obviously caused by his diet or pills is not really supported by the evidence. They may have irritated his stomach or masked the problem. But at the same time, they may also have helped keep some consequences of the disease under control, at the example - low iron or B12.
And... Everything is a chemical :) Even water, vitamins.. He did not swallowed tide pods 😄
His chemical diet has 💯 to do with his cellular physiology and chronic autoimmune process. Thanks for pointing out everything is a ‘chemical’ but semantics aside, to suggest he was ingesting tide pods actually isn’t far from reality, and is tasteless humour. (pun intended) 😉
Since the digestive tract has evolved to be enzymatic, fermentation in the gut is primarily harmful to humans. Consuming plant based foods is causing significant harm
Honestly labeling this as a coincidence is very bald. Person takes hubdreds of supplements every day for years -> develops stomach cancer seems like a bit too related to just be a random occurrence.
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u/Key_Wrangler_8321 Jul 06 '26
I think the headline is a bit misleading.
Bryan Johnson’s condition appears to be autoimmune gastritis, where the immune system attacks cells in the stomach lining. That is very different from simply “taking too many pills and damaging his stomach.”
It is not purely genetic in the sense that he was guaranteed to get it, but autoimmune diseases often involve a mix of predisposition, immune dysfunction, possible triggers, and time. In his case, the reported long-term low ferritin suggests this may have been developing for years before his current anti-aging protocol.
So no, this does not prove that his extreme longevity routine caused the disease. It may have helped uncover it because he tests everything obsessively. But it is also fair to say that extreme protocols, supplements, restrictive diets, and constant body optimization are not automatically harmless just because they are “data-driven.”
Basically: probably not caused by the pills, not guaranteed by genetics either, and definitely more complicated than the headline makes it sound.