“Bodybuilding Destroyed My Hormones”: Jesse James West on Longevity, Fitness, and Self-Worth

0:42:23 Bryan Johnson (host)overstatedlow

Psilocybin, ketamine, LSD, and ibogaine possess the strongest anti-aging properties among psychedelics, whereas heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl accelerate aging.

"So yeah, it was if I remember correctly psilocybin, ketamine, LSD, uh ibogaine, and then I think the ones clearly that did not have anti-aging, actually were aging, were heroin, meth, cocaine, fentanyl is not an anti-aging." (said at 0:42:23)

The assertion that psilocybin, ketamine, LSD, and ibogaine possess strong anti-aging properties overstates very preliminary experimental and observational evidence, while the assertion that illicit stimulants and opioids accelerate biological aging is consistent with observational literature. Small pilot trials have observed decreases in next-generation epigenetic aging markers following ketamine infusion therapy in patients with depression or PTSD, and rodent work has explored psilocybin on lifespan; however, robust clinical evidence demonstrating anti-aging or life-extension effects in humans is lacking for psilocybin, LSD, and ibogaine. Conversely, epidemiological and epigenetic clock studies consistently demonstrate that chronic exposure to substances such as opioids (heroin, fentanyl), methamphetamine, and cocaine is associated with significant biological and epigenetic age acceleration.

supports: Epigenetic clock analysis in methamphetamine dependence. (Psychiatry research 2022) · cited 7x in the literature
"Following adjustment for confounding factors, MA dependence was significantly associated with accelerations in PhenoAge, GrimAge, and DNAmTL, as well as alterations in DNAm-based age-predictive factors (beta-2-microglobulin, granulocytes, and naive cluster of differentiation 4+ T cells)." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
partial: Epigenetic aging and DNA methylation biomarker changes following ketamine treatment in pat… (Translational psychiatry 2025) · cited 2x in the literature
"We observed a reduction in epigenetic age in the OMICmAge, GrimAge V2, and PhenoAge biomarkers." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
partial: Psilocybin and human longevity. (npj aging 2026)
"These findings highlight the need for rigorous mechanistic and epidemiological studies before inferring human anti-aging effects of psychedelics." (abstract, conclusions, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
supports: Substance use and epigenetic age acceleration: Associations with alcohol, tobacco, illicit… (Drug and alcohol dependence 2026)
"Binary measures of illicit opioid use (β=0.417, p = 5.913e-11; β=0.180, p = 0.010) and non-prescription opioid use (β=0.264, p = 1.744e-09; 0.001; β=0.127, p = 0.008), as well as a continuous measure of SUD severity (β=0.061, p = 6.608e-06; β=0.039, p = 0.008) were positively associated with AgeAccelGrim2 and DunedinPACE, respectively." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)

0:57:45 Bryan Johnson (host)overstatedlow

Following an international flight, it takes the human body approximately 15 days to fully recover its physiological architecture and restore blood glucose regulation.

"It's 15 days afterwards, your body is still trying to recover its architecture. Your body fully doesn't restore, you know, blood glucose is messed up. So, it really has this compounded long-term effect." (said at 0:57:45)

The claim that the human body takes 15 days to recover its overall physiological architecture and blood glucose regulation after an international flight overstates the published evidence. A large observational study analyzing wearable sleep tracker data across a 15-day post-travel window (PMID 40127035) found that while sleep duration recovers within ~2 days, sleep timing and sleep architecture resynchronize very slowly and had not returned to baseline by day 15. However, clinical studies measuring physiological markers of circadian disruption (such as salivary cortisol levels, sleep duration, and perceived jet lag symptoms) demonstrate normalization within approximately 7 days following long-haul flights across multiple time zones (PMID 36367300). Furthermore, published evidence does not support a 15-day persistent impairment in blood glucose regulation from a single international travel event.

contradicts: Effects of long-haul transmeridian travel on physiological, sleep, perceptual and mood mar… (Chronobiology international 2022) · cited 14x in the literature
"Following LHTT in an eastward direction across eight time-zones, it took seven days for perceived jet lag, physiological markers for circadian rhythm and sleep to normalize in Olympic team support staff." (abstract, conclusions, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
partial: Insights about travel-related sleep disruption from 1.5 million nights of data. (Sleep 2025) · cited 13x in the literature
"In contrast, changes in sleep timing and sleep architecture were considerably slower to recover, with sleep timing not returning to baseline after 15 days." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)

“Bodybuilding Destroyed My Hormones”: Jesse James West on Longevity, Fitness, and Self-Worth

Overstated

Psilocybin, ketamine, LSD, and ibogaine possess the strongest anti-aging properties among psychedelics, whereas heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl accelerate aging.

Following an international flight, it takes the human body approximately 15 days to fully recover its physiological architecture and restore blood glucose regulation.