This video analyzes the "biohacking" trend pursued by Silicon Valley's wealthy elite, examining anti-aging strategies with scientific backing and practical habits anyone can adopt. It reviews the longevity approaches of prominent figures such as Bryan Johnson, David Sinclair, Peter Attia, and Rhonda Patrick, shares medical perspectives on controversial drugs and supplements, and ultimately emphasizes that affordable, fundamental lifestyle habits matter most.

1. What Is Biohacking? 🤔

Dr. Hee-won Jung explains "biohacking" — a trend popular among Silicon Valley billionaires and scientists. Just as software can be hacked, biohacking attempts to enhance the body's performance, extend lifespan, and achieve "slow aging." Methods range from drug use to lifestyle optimization. As both a researcher and physician, Dr. Jung says he will distinguish what has genuine scientific evidence from what is overhyped, and draw practical conclusions.

"The idea is to hack our bodies like software — boost performance, extend lifespan, and age more slowly. You use drugs, adjust lifestyle habits, and try to squeeze out the maximum. That's the thinking."

2. Bryan Johnson's Extreme Biohacking 👨‍🔬

The most famous biohacking case introduced is Bryan Johnson. Born in 1977, he invests two million dollars a year in his mid-forties to remodel his own body. Under a program called "Project Blueprint," he takes more than 80 drugs and supplements, is monitored by over 30 medical professionals, and has even gone so far as to receive plasma transfusions from his son.

Bryan Johnson's specific daily protocol is as follows:

• Wake-up and preparation: He wakes at 5 a.m. without an alarm, measures body composition, and exposes himself to bright light for three minutes.
• Supplements and exercise: He takes supplements, then performs Zone 2 cardio for up to 4.5 hours per week, Zone 5 cardio for 1.5 hours per week, and various strength training sessions.
• Meals: He eats only in the morning, fitting three meals between 7 a.m. and noon. His diet is primarily plant-based (lentils, mushrooms, etc.) at 2,250 calories, with extra virgin olive oil included.
• Recovery: In the afternoon he uses dry sauna, infrared light, and hyperbaric oxygen; he begins winding down for sleep at 7:30 p.m. and is in bed by around 8:30 p.m.
• Sleep: He sleeps 8.5–9.5 hours, consistently scores 100 on sleep metrics, and uses a mattress that automatically regulates temperature between 8–20°C.

The drugs and supplements he takes include:

• Medications:
  • Metformin: Slows glucose absorption and suppresses blood sugar spikes; he takes a fairly high dose of 200 mg.
  • Tadalafil: Has vasodilatory properties and observational research suggests possible dementia-prevention benefits.
  • Candesartan: An ARB-class heart/blood pressure drug; longevity research often cites losartan, but he uses candesartan.
  • Empagliflozin: An SGLT2 inhibitor that excretes glucose and sodium through the kidneys, producing a fasting-like effect (burning 400–500 extra calories per day). Anti-aging benefits are also noted.
  • Repatha: An injectable that significantly lowers LDL cholesterol.
• Supplements:
  • NMN (500 mg): An extremely popular supplement at the moment.
  • Creatine (5 g): Helps increase muscle mass during strength training (Dr. Jung also takes this).
  • Omega-3: He takes it despite ongoing debate about cardiovascular benefits.
  • Melatonin (0.3 mg): Taken at the physiological dose the brain naturally produces.

Bryan Johnson's fitness metrics are remarkable:

• VO2 Max: 58.7 — very high (Dr. Jung's own is 55).
• Resting heart rate: 39 — a true athletic heart.
• Total cholesterol and inflammation: Extremely low.
• Aging clock: Claims to age at 0.54× speed — only 0.54 years per calendar year.
• Rejuvenation Olympics: Ranked 1st out of 5,677 participants.
• Body fat: Extremely low, reflecting the extreme nature of his regimen.

From a basic medical standpoint, this pursuit of slow aging is essentially caloric restriction (CR). Dr. Jung admits candidly that he personally could not live this way.

"Honestly, it doesn't sound fun. Doesn't it feel like an ascetic monk? I truly admire it, but personally I think it would be a bit difficult for me to live like this."

3. David Sinclair's "End of Aging" 🧬

David Sinclair is famous for his book Lifespan and his information theory of aging. He argues that the epigenome's software is central to aging and that regulating it can slow — or even reverse — the aging process. A 2023 paper published in Cell reportedly demonstrated successful vision restoration in mice.

However, the treatments Sinclair recommends to the public are controversial:

• Resveratrol: Known to activate the SIRT1 pathway, but the company developing related compounds failed in clinical trials.
• NMN, resveratrol, and metformin: Human evidence for all three is very weak. NMN has mouse data but insufficient human data; resveratrol has not proven clinically useful; and metformin was found to have no aging benefit in the ITP (Interventions Testing Program).

"The NMN, resveratrol, and metformin that David Sinclair promotes in his book — the human evidence for these is actually very thin."

Dr. Jung expresses concern that Sinclair pushes metformin and resveratrol too aggressively. He notes that while Bryan Johnson mostly uses drugs that showed benefit in the ITP, David Sinclair has a somewhat biased perspective.

4. Peter Attia's "Outlive" Strategy 🏃‍♂️

Peter Attia, author of Outlive, highlights the problem with modern medicine intervening too late — only after disease has already developed — and emphasizes the concept of "slow aging" through proactive prevention before illness occurs.

The metric he stresses above all is VO2 Max (maximal oxygen uptake). VO2 Max is the single most powerful predictor of mortality in younger individuals; the bottom quartile reportedly has a 500% higher mortality rate than the top quartile. Declining cardiovascular fitness may be more dangerous than smoking.

Attia's key recommendations are:

• Zone 2 training: Aerobic exercise at an intensity where conversation is possible but singing is not — approximately 150 minutes per week (consistent with WHO guidelines).
• Strength training: Approximately three sessions per week.

Attia previously used metformin aggressively but no longer mentions it. The reason: metformin blunts the muscle-building effect of strength training. Because it interferes with the gains from exercise, he no longer recommends it for healthy people who are exercising (though diabetic patients are a different case).

"In people taking metformin, the gains in strength and VO2 Max from exercise are reduced. Because metformin interferes with the effects of exercise, I also tend not to recommend it to young, healthy people — especially lean individuals who should be doing strength training. People with diabetes are, of course, a different story."

Dr. Jung rates Attia as a quite rational voice. However, he notes the double-edged nature of Attia's emphasis on very high protein intake: in younger people it may activate mTOR and accelerate aging, even while being beneficial in older adults.

5. Rhonda Patrick and Andrew Huberman's Protocols 🛀

Biochemist Rhonda Patrick, who runs "FoundMyFitness," has popularized the science of sauna use. Finnish research found that groups using a sauna 4–7 times per week had a 40% lower all-cause mortality rate and lower dementia risk compared to those using it just once a week. However, Dr. Jung notes this is an observational study without confirmed causation — people who regularly use saunas may simply tend to manage their health better overall.

Andrew Huberman champions cold exposure. He claims that cold water immersion produces a sustained dopamine rise that improves mood, though his studies have limitations in sample size. Doing it if you find it beneficial is fine, but people with cardiovascular risk should be cautious about overdoing it.

Andrew Huberman's protocol is notable for costing almost nothing:

• Morning sunlight: Exposure to direct sunlight in the morning to regulate the sleep cycle.
• Timed coffee intake: Drinking coffee immediately upon waking may elevate the stress hormone cortisol, so he waits and then cuts off caffeine in the afternoon.
• Sleep preparation: Before bed, he takes magnesium threonate, apigenin, and L-theanine, and keeps the bedroom temperature below 20°C.
• Fitness: 150–200 minutes of Zone 2 cardio per week, split strength training, and HIIT.
• Cold exposure: Approximately 11 minutes of cold water immersion per week to boost dopamine and norepinephrine for improved mood.
• Meditation: What he calls "Non-Sleep Deep Rest" — lying with eyes closed for 10–30 minutes to elevate dopamine and calm the autonomic nervous system.

The Huberman protocol emphasizes that sunlight, exercise, sleep, cold exposure, and meditation — all free — can meaningfully improve whole-body health.

6. Dr. Hee-won Jung's Own Slow-Aging Strategy 👨‍⚕️

Dr. Jung's personal aging clock runs at 0.75× speed, and he maintains a fitness level comparable to someone in their early thirties (VO2 Max 55–56). His goal is long-term longevity without chronic disease.

His strategy is as follows:

• Diet: He follows a "Korean-style" or Mediterranean-style healthy diet — more flexible than Bryan Johnson's — and avoids liquid sugars.
• Exercise: He does a large volume of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, up to 600 minutes per week (to maintain VO2 Max). His half-marathon time is around 1 hour 34 minutes.
• Sleep and alcohol: He sleeps 8 hours every night and takes roughly three months off alcohol per year.
• Supplements and medications:
  • Iron and magnesium: To address iron-deficiency anemia from running and for general supplementation (he also donates blood).
  • Carbohydrates, sugar (during exercise), protein, and creatine: Used appropriately around workouts.
  • Very low-dose GLP-1: Prevents blood sugar spikes, reduces bloating, and also curbs the urge to drink alcohol.
  • Spironolactone: Taken to address male-pattern hair loss and bloating.
  • Very occasional rapamycin: Used intermittently; in rodent studies it has the strongest demonstrated lifespan extension of any drug.
  • Acarbose: Taken in low doses with carbohydrate-heavy meals (especially white rice) to moderate glucose absorption.

Dr. Jung mentions that he does not take drugs like dapagliflozin that cause too much weight loss.

7. Scientific Evidence and Controversies Around Key Drugs and Supplements 🔬

The latter part of the video details the scientific basis and caveats for major anti-aging drugs and supplements.

7.1. Rapamycin

• Animal data: Far stronger lifespan extension than metformin in animal studies. In mice, lifespan extended up to 28% in males and 38% in females; combined with acarbose, up to 34%. It even showed benefit when started at an age equivalent to a human's 60s.
• Human data: Low-dose rapamycin has been reported to improve immune function and enhance vaccine immune responses. However, no randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in humans for longevity exist yet.
• Cautions: Originally used as an immunosuppressant in organ transplant patients, it can cause immunosuppressive side effects. It must therefore be used very carefully and is difficult to recommend to the general public. It is an off-label drug and must only be used in consultation with a physician.

7.2. Metformin

• A controversial longevity drug: Its mechanism is not precisely known; various hypotheses include AMPK activation and mitohormesis through mild mitochondrial inhibition triggering mitochondrial recycling.
• Early interest: It attracted attention because diabetic patients on metformin outlived non-diabetic individuals not on the drug.
• Problems:
  • Blunts exercise benefits: Research shows that taking metformin reduces the strength gains and VO2 Max improvements from strength training. It is therefore not recommended for healthy people who exercise regularly.
  • ITP failure: In the mouse ITP study, metformin showed no aging-delay effect.
• Conclusion: May be worth considering for people with diabetes or metabolic issues, but not recommended for healthy individuals.

7.3. NMN/NR (Nicotinamide Mononucleotide/Riboside)

• NAD precursors: NAD is critical fuel for ATP production and for activating SIRT1 (a longevity-related mechanism). NAD levels decline with age, and NMN and NR may help restore them.
• Controversy: NR and NMN supplementation does raise blood NAD levels, and indirect markers such as insulin sensitivity, walking speed, and mitochondrial function may improve; however, the clinical benefit in humans remains unclear.
• FDA position: The FDA considered classifying NMN as a new drug in 2022, then reversed that decision in September 2025, allowing it to be sold as a supplement again.
• Conclusion: Major side effects are unlikely, but clinical efficacy is still not established.

7.4. Senolytics

• Clearing zombie cells: Senescent cells (zombie cells, senescence cells) are still metabolically active but secrete SASP (a cocktail of inflammatory substances) that accelerates aging. Senolytics are drugs that eliminate these cells.
• Key agents: The dasatinib-plus-quercetin combination, ABT263, and others — most are derived from cancer chemotherapy. They work by releasing the apoptosis-resistance mechanisms that senescent cells share with cancer cells, inducing cell death.
• Research status: Some clinical studies show modest benefit, but results on quercetin vary widely and more research is needed.
• Conclusion: There is still insufficient evidence to support use in humans.

7.5. GLP-1 Agonists

• Strong human data: Among the drugs potentially usable for anti-aging, these have the strongest human evidence. They improve cardiovascular disease outcomes and are expected to benefit aging mechanisms as well.
• Weight and muscle loss: When high-dose GLP-1 agonists (e.g., Wegovy) are used in older adults, a substantial portion of the weight lost may be muscle. Used for aging control, weight or muscle loss can therefore become a side effect.
• Best use case: The most sensible approach is to use them smartly — for disease prevention, cognitive decline prevention, and neurodegenerative disease prevention — by improving vascular function.
• Research status: A Phase 3 Alzheimer's trial failed to demonstrate cognitive improvement, but many studies are still ongoing.

7.6. Caloric Restriction and Intermittent Fasting

• Effective in younger people: Some researchers believe caloric restriction can have an effect as large as quitting smoking in young adults. There are papers showing it slows the rate of aging.
• Limits of intermittent fasting: Intermittent fasting on its own has little benefit. Many studies find that, as long as total caloric intake is restricted, the timing pattern — intermittent fasting versus eating whenever — makes no meaningful clinical difference.
• Conclusion: In young adults, preventing metabolic excess is the priority.

8. Longevity Strategy by Life Stage: Midlife Versus Old Age 🔄

Dr. Jung emphasizes that anti-aging strategy must change across the life course.

8.1. Middle Age (Metabolic Excess Phase)

• Goal: Lower excessive mTOR activation, reduce overeating and obesity, and decrease chronic inflammation.
• Strategy:
  • Moderate caloric restriction
  • ITP compounds: SGLT2 inhibitors (excrete glucose and sodium), acarbose (suppress blood sugar spikes), etc.
  • Aerobic exercise: Prevent metabolic dysfunction and obesity

8.2. Old Age (Metabolic Deficiency Phase)

• Goal: Address metabolic deficiency, sarcopenia, and frailty; prevent immune aging.
• Strategy:
  • Energy replenishment: High protein intake (plant-based or animal-based — get enough)
  • Strength training: Maintain and build muscle mass
  • Cognitive, physical, and social activity: Active participation in all three

Dr. Jung explains that the high-protein intake Peter Attia emphasizes may accelerate aging in younger people by activating mTOR, but in older adults it actually reduces mortality — particularly cancer mortality. Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all intervention; a personalized strategy matched to one's age and condition is essential.

"Any given intervention might be harmful in middle age. Getting too much high-quality protein — as Attia recommends — could actually accelerate aging then. But in older age it can be beneficial. There is no universal rule."

9. Summary: What Works and What to Watch Out For 🎯

Dr. Jung synthesizes everything discussed and identifies what is currently well-supported in humans, what still lacks evidence, and what requires caution.

9.1. What Clearly Works ✅

• Zone 2 cardio and strength training: The most reliably effective interventions.
• Adequate sleep: A foundational element of health.
• Sauna: Can't hurt and may have positive effects.
• Caloric restriction or GLP-1 agonists/dapagliflozin: Can be effective for metabolic dysfunction in younger adults.

9.2. Still Controversial or Requiring Caution ⚠️

• Rapamycin: The strongest performer in animal studies, but no human RCTs exist and immunosuppressive side effects mean it must be used very carefully (difficult to recommend to the general public).
• Dasatinib + quercetin (senolytics): Insufficient evidence for human use at this time.
• NMN/NR: Probably no major side effects, but clinical efficacy remains unclear.
• Plasma exchange: No supporting evidence; the FDA opposes it and even Bryan Johnson has stopped. Not recommended under any circumstances. ❌

In conclusion, Dr. Jung stresses that the most basic habits are the most powerful anti-aging strategies.

"What I always say: eat reasonably to prevent blood sugar spikes, reduce stress, do strength training. Very obvious, isn't it? It really doesn't cost much."

10. Closing: Practical Slow-Aging Tips You Can Start Today ✨

10.1. Younger Adults and Middle Age (Things You Can Do Right Now)

• Zone 2 cardio and strength training 🏋️‍♀️
• Get enough sleep 😴
• Morning sunlight: Regulate your sleep cycle ☀️
• Moderate caloric intake: Don't overeat; focus on whole foods and eat healthily 🍎

10.2. Ages 65 and Over

• High protein intake: Plant-based or animal-based — eat enough (eat your meat!) 🥩
• Strength training: Keep it consistent 💪
• Cognitive, physical, and social activity: Participate actively in all three 🧠🤝

Dr. Jung closes with the core message that moderation and an enjoyable life are what matter most, and that the most fundamental lifestyle habits are ultimately the most powerful — more powerful than any expensive intervention. Biohacking is an exciting and rapidly evolving field, but distinguishing science from hype and finding a strategy matched to one's own age and condition is what counts.

"In the end, moderation is what matters most. Live joyfully. I've said a great deal, but it really comes down to this: expensive interventions don't mean much. The basics are the most powerful. That has always been my core message."