Bryan Johnson Drops Rapamycin — What He's Using Instead

What Actually Changed

Sources: Omre.co's live stack tracker + Blueprint protocol updates, March 2026.

Why Rapamycin? Why Now?

Rapamycin (sirolimus) has been the most-hyped longevity drug for the past decade. It extends lifespan in every animal model tested — yeast, flies, worms, mice. The data was always there. The question was always: what does it cost in healthy humans?

Johnson's answer, after years of self-experimentation: more than it's worth, at least for healthy adults in their 40s.

• Hair loss: Johnson reported consistent hair thinning on weekly rapamycin dosing
• Wound healing: Even low-dose weekly use impairs skin repair — a known mTOR inhibition effect
• Metabolic disruption: Blood glucose and lipid changes that weren't trivial
• Exercise interference: mTOR inhibition may blunt muscle protein synthesis post-workout

"The side effect profile for a healthy 46-year-old isn't the same as for an aging mouse. The math changed." — Blueprint Protocol update, March 2026

The VITAL-H Trial: Rapamycin Gets Its Reckoning

Separately — and this is huge — the U.S. government just launched a $38 million Phase 3 trial directly testing rapamycin, semaglutide, and dapagliflozin head-to-head in healthy adults aged 60-65.

Called VITAL-H, run by the Barshop Institute at UT Health San Antonio with ARPA-H funding, it's the first randomized controlled trial of these drugs specifically for healthspan (not treating disease) in healthy people.

Results won't arrive until 2028-2030 — but this trial will finally settle the rapamycin debate with human RCT data instead of mouse studies.

What Bryan Johnson Added Instead

Lithium Orotate — 1mg/day

This is the most interesting addition. Low-dose lithium (the OTC form, lithium orotate) has population-level data showing dramatically reduced dementia rates in regions with higher natural lithium in drinking water. A Texas study found communities with more lithium in municipal water had lower rates of Alzheimer's.

At 1-5mg/day (vs the 150-300mg/day psychiatric doses), it's considered very safe with essentially no side effects. Johnson is using it specifically for brain longevity and neuroprotection.

NDGA (Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid)

Lesser known. NDGA is a natural compound from creosote bush with a different angle on the mTOR pathway than rapamycin. Mouse data shows lifespan extension — it actually has positive results in the NIA's Interventions Testing Program (ITP).

It's cheaper, safer, and doesn't carry rapamycin's side effect profile. Think of it as a "mTOR-adjacent" option for those who want some of rapamycin's longevity signaling without the trade-offs.

The ITP March 2026 Results: More Supplements Fail

Speaking of the Interventions Testing Program — the gold standard for rigorous longevity supplement testing — their March 2026 results just dropped. The headline: it's all negative.

For those who bought into AKG supplements (sold as "the TRL-1 molecule" by some brands) — the most rigorous mouse test says it doesn't extend lifespan. That doesn't mean zero health benefit, but the longevity specific claim is weakened significantly.

The New Best Longevity Stack (March 2026 Evidence)

Based on integrating Bryan Johnson's protocol update, the ITP results, and the March 2026 research landscape:

The Bottom Line

Bryan Johnson dropping rapamycin doesn't mean it's worthless — the animal data is too strong to dismiss, and David Sinclair still takes it. It means that for a healthy person in their 40s with good baseline health, the cost-benefit calculation is genuinely unclear.

The VITAL-H trial will give us the answer. Until 2028, you're choosing based on either mouse data (pro-rapamycin) or Johnson's personal biomarker response (anti-rapamycin).

What's clearly worth doing right now: NMN + TMG, Zone 2 cardio, Fisetin pulse, Urolithin A, and — cheapest win of all — a basic multivitamin. The Nature Medicine RCT data on the multivitamin is genuinely surprising and deserves more attention.