Biohacker Bryan Johnson reveals he has incurable ‘stomach eating’ disease after spending millions trying to live forever
A BIOHACKER who has spent millions in a bid to live forever has been diagnosed with an incurable “stomach eating” disease.
Bryan Johnson, the world’s most famous biohacker, recently announced that he has been diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis (AIG).
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The 48-year-old said: “My stomach is eating itself.”
The disease, which affects two to five per cent of people, causes nutrient deficiency, anaemia and a potentially elevated risk of cancer, says Johnson.
The Silicon Valley entrepreneur said he is determined to cure the disease.
Discovering the condition in May, he said: “I’m unsure how long I’ve had it.”
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For 11 years, the biohacker had unexplained low levels of ferritin, a protein that stores iron, but did not have anaemia.
He unsuccessfully tried to raise his levels.
After a series of tests, an examination of the 48-year-old’s intestinal tract showed elevated levels of anti-parietal-cell antibodies, which indicated he may have AIG.
A stomach biopsy brought confirmation that he is experiencing early signs of the autoimmune disease.
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He previously was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at 21 and managed the condition with common treatments for nearly three decades.
According to Guts UK, autoimmune gastritis occurs more often in people who have other autoimmune diseases like thyroid disease.
The recent diagnosis made sense of his low ferritin levels as an early sign of AIG.
Nowadays, the biohacker’s diet is painstakingly optimised for longevity, but in his youth he routinely ate fast food and sugary food and drinks.
What is autoimmune gastritis? Symptoms, treatment and prognosis.
Autoimmune atrophic gastritis is inflammation in the stomach caused by the body’s cells attacking its own tissues, says Guts UK.
Autoimmune gastritis is underrecognized. It is more common in women and the elderly, and it is estimated that 5 to 20 people out of every 1,000 in the general population suffer from it.
Common symptoms are:
- Indigestion,
- Feeling sick and being sick.
- Feeling full after eating.
- Stomach pain often described as “burning” or “gnawing”.
- Very rarely, severe gastritis can cause bleeding, which may cause the stool to turn black.
Lifestyle changes that can help to treat gastritis include stopping smoking, stopping recreational drug use and reducing alcohol intake.
It can cause nutrient deficiency and anaemia.
People who have been diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis experience nutrient deficiencies and anaemia.
They can also have a small risk of developing stomach cancer in the future.
After years of a high-stress job as CEO of fintech business Braintree, he fell into a “deep, chronic depression”.
“Somewhere in that timeline, my body began developing an autoimmune process affecting my thyroid and then my stomach lining,” he said.
He believes there were signs that something else was on for years but the symptoms of AIG “hide”, making it difficult to diagnose.
They include abdominal pain, iron deficiency, loss of appetite, nausea or unexplained weight loss – all of which are not unique and can have many causes.
His diagnosis came following a complete overhaul of his medical team, as part of his $1 million-per-year longevity programme called Immortals Care.
“When AIG is discovered today, standard medical care concedes defeat, stating that nothing can be done except managing the condition, no matter how awful or lethal the effects,” he said.
The biohacker said he and his team “are going to try and solve my AIG”.
They plan to monitor his iron levels and other biological indicators and perform additional tests to understand more specifics about his disease.
Johnson stresses that currently “there’s no approved cure for autoimmune gastritis today,” and his team’s attempts to fix it will be a world first.
“In the age of AI, multiomics, and custom-built DNA, proteins, and cells, no condition should be presumed incurable simply because no one has yet tried to cure it with today’s stack,” he said.
“I don’t intend to live a little. I intend to live more than any human who has yet lived and invite you to join,” he said in a separate X post on Monday.
Johnson burst into the public eye in 2023, quickly establishing his name as the ‘godfather’ of the new biohacking movement.
He is renowned for going to excessive lengths and costs to make his body younger.
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In his Netflix documentary Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever he controversially revealed he injects the plasma of his teenage son into his body.
Johnson’s routine also includes fat injections, blood transfusions, regular MRIs, ultrasounds, colonoscopies, erection tracking as well as a strict diet and sleep schedule.