American 'biohacker' touts olive oil as top anti-aging food

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An American tech executive, on a quest to live an anti-aging lifestyle, says olive oil is the ultimate food to stay young.

Bryan Johnson, a 46-year-old entrepreneur and venture capitalist from Utah, swears by the staple of the Mediterranean diet that he claims helps him age in reverse.

Three years ago, the “biohacker” started a health program called Project Blueprint, which combines medical diagnostics, treatments, food, sleep and exercise to identify processes that can slow, and maybe even halt or reverse, the aging process.

And olive oil is at the top of the list of super foods.

“The question I get most frequently is, ‘Give me the one thing I can do in my life,’ because you’re busy, you have stuff going on and you don’t have the team to do all this,” he said in a recent YouTube video.

Johnson said extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is better than resveratrol, nicotinamide riboside, cold plunges and saunas.

He said he consumes a tablespoon of the oil three times a day with every meal, which he claims has reduced his biological age by five years.

But he warns it must be the right type of olive oil or it may damage your body.

“The scientific evidence is compelling, (and) extra virgin olive oil is in an elite category,” he said.

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In fact, Johnson is selling two bottles of his premium extra virgin olive oil on his website for US$82, along with other foods and powders he claims help slow down the aging process.

However, one olive oil expert says buying similar products from the local grocery is just as good as what he is hawking, and cheaper too.

Dr. Selina Wang, an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at University of California, Davis, checked the ingredients list of the Blueprint olive oil and didn’t notice anything different from other products.

“I don’t see anything on this list that’s different from other fresh and good quality EVOO with a cheaper price tag,” Dr. Wang told Business Insider last year.

Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a registered dietitian, also said you can find a cheaper olive oil elsewhere and to spend your money on other healthier fruits and vegetables.

“I would say that unless you are a multimillionaire or billionaire with more money than you know what to do with, to give this expensive olive oil a miss,” Ludlam-Raine said. “What matters most with regards to health is what you are eating the majority of the time.”