Billionaire Biohacker Diagnosed with Autoimmune Gastritis
Bryan Johnson, the 48-year-old American entrepreneur who has spent millions on anti-ageing treatments including blood plasma transfusions from his son, has revealed he suffers from an incurable autoimmune disease. In a lengthy social media post, Johnson disclosed that he has autoimmune gastritis (AIG), a chronic condition where the body's antibodies attack the stomach lining.
'Bad news #1: I have an autoimmune disease. My stomach is eating itself,' Johnson wrote. 'Bad news #2: 2–5% of people have this, too. Likely more, because it hides.' He noted that while there are treatments to manage symptoms, no cure currently exists, but he vowed to try to find one: 'I'm going to try and solve it. Will share all.'
What is Autoimmune Gastritis?
According to the Global Autoimmune Institute, autoimmune gastritis affects an estimated 0.5% to 4.5% of adults worldwide. It is a chronic, inflammatory condition of the stomach lining caused by antibodies attacking acid-producing cells. Symptoms are often non-specific, leading to frequent misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. The condition can cause irreversible damage, including nutritional deficiencies, anaemia, and an elevated risk of stomach cancer over time.
Johnson traced his health struggles back to childhood, recalling that he 'gobbled down fast food' and sugary drinks. After a healthy period in his 20s, the stress of building a business and fatherhood led to a decline, including chronic depression. 'Somewhere in that timeline, my body began developing an autoimmune process affecting my thyroid and then my stomach lining,' he explained.
Diagnosis After Overhauling Medical Team
Johnson had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism at age 21 and managed it for nearly three decades. However, he noticed signs of something else, such as persistently low ferritin levels for 11 years that did not respond to dietary iron or supplements. He only received the AIG diagnosis in May 2026 after overhauling his personal medical team to support a $1 million-per-year longevity programme called 'Immortals Care'.
Tests included a colonoscopy, which came back clear—'better than 95% of colonoscopies of men, according to the gastroenterologist'—ruling out colon cancer. A bi-directional endoscopy revealed elevated anti-parietal-cell antibodies, and a stomach biopsy confirmed a weakened stomach lining, diagnosing AIG.
Johnson's Anti-Ageing Regimen
Johnson, founder and former CEO of Kernel, has spent roughly $2 million (£1.5 million) annually on his anti-ageing protocols under 'Project Blueprint'. His regimen includes 54 daily supplements, a strict vegan diet of about 1,977 calories consumed between 6am and 11:30am, a bedtime of 8:30pm, and constant health monitoring by around 30 physicians. He has undergone regular MRIs, ultrasounds, and, in 2023, six monthly one-litre plasma transfusions—one from his son.
While some aspects of his lifestyle are scientifically supported—consistent sleep, exercise, stress management, and calorie control—his more experimental therapies lack scientific backing and have drawn criticism from experts.
Optimism for a Cure
Despite the incurable diagnosis, Johnson remains optimistic. He believes modern medicine has 'normalised too many conditions' and that with today's technology—AI, multiomics, and custom-built DNA—no condition should be presumed incurable. 'We want to change that,' he wrote, concluding on a personal note: 'Care for yourself, care for others, care for the planet and care for our animal friends. Care for life as it's the most precious gift there is.'
