Internet divided over 41-year-old entrepreneur who takes 40 supplements a day and claims his ‘biological age’ is 27

Sean Kelly may have been born almost fifty years ago, but he claims he’s actually only 27 years old thanks to his extensive supplement routine that he claims has turned back his biological clock.

The California-based entrepreneur uses more than 40 supplements a day to achieve this feat, he said in a recent thread on X, which has more than 10.5 million views.

Mr. Kelly claims that the supplements are needed to turn back time and that food alone is not enough to get the nutrients you need for optimal health.

But many are sceptical, with

And people are pointing out that his biohacking advice may not be purely altruistic. A disclaimer on his tweet states that the company he works for, The Family Fund, is an investor in two of his recommended products, a biological age testing kit and a supplement line, seemingly giving him a financial motivation to promote claims that experts say are not true. are supported by science. .

Popularized by millionaires like Bryan Johnson, more and more people are interested in trying biohacking, which involves rigorous daily exercise, strict diet and sleep routines, and is measured through blood tests, sleep trackers, and in some cases, erection trackers.

Mr. Kelly uses more than 40 supplements and acknowledged in the thread that it is easy to buy poor-quality supplements, but promoted one company – Momentous – as one of the few brands he uses.

Family Fund, Mr. Kelly’s venture capital firm, invests in Momentous, according to their website.

He also wrote that he has his blood tested four times a year by a company called Lifeforce. This is reported on the Family Fund’s websitethe company also invests in Lifeforce.

For one biomarker blood test, telehealth visit and clinical report, Lifeforce users pay $549, although the company offers a membership, which costs $349 upfront, plus $129 per month.

Membership includes retesting every three months and a discount on the company’s products, including supplements.

For the tests, people can prick their finger at home or go to a laboratory to have blood drawn or provide saliva samples.

Mr. Kelly said he has four blood tests a year and sends them to the company, which gives him a score out of 100 based on how biologically healthy his blood appears.

His score, he claims, is 93/100, which is the score of a 27-year-old.

As biohacking becomes more popular, more and more companies are offering ways to test your biological age, even though they often cost hundreds of dollars.

One company, TruMe Labs, offers a one-time biological age test kit using your spit for $110. GlycanAge advertises their one-time blood test for $348.

The tests look for epigenetic changes, which are microscopic signs of aging that build up in your cells over time, like rust on a nail or scratches on a CD. This is called an epigenetic clock.

Epigenetic clocks were originally identified by scientists as a way to determine how much damage a cell has suffered during its lifespan.

The markers, known as epigenetic clocks, have since become a standard measurement for determining whether a person’s lifespan is in sync with their actual age.

Although scientists use epigenetic clocks in laboratories, the measurement is still experimental and therefore not yet useful for individuals at home, Dr. Daniel Belsky, an associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, told me. The New York Times.

“I guess you could say that the best of them (biological age tests) are not entirely useless,” said Dr. Belsky, who studies epigenetic clocks.

He added: ‘But these are not yet proven clinical tools, so they are more for the curious.’

Some studies have even shown that biomarkers fluctuate over a 24-hour period, meaning you can get different results based on when you have your blood drawn.

It’s not that it’s a bad measure, just that it hasn’t been perfected yet, potentially giving people misleading results, experts say.

Even though it was a perfect measure, scientists have not yet reached any consensus on what to do about advanced aging.

There are no proven anti-aging techniques, despite what biohackers claim, says Dr. Charles Brenner, a biochemist at City of Hope, a nonprofit research center in California.

He told the Guardian that someone who uses anti-aging routines “can say he has put himself on a better aging trajectory, but you cannot say he has reversed or eliminated aging.”

‘There are people who age remarkably well and live to be 110 to 122 years old. None of those people had highly regulated practices.”

The supplement brand Mr Kelly had been promoting is Momentus, which is chaired by neuroscientist and wellbeing guru Andrew Huberman.

However, Mr. Huberman has been accused by former partners of irresponsible behavior, including allegedly spreading sexually transmitted diseases during an affair, leading doctors to question his expertise.

Mr. Huberman “fills his podcast with confident displays of pseudoscience,” Dr. Andrea Love, a microbiologist and immunologist, told Slate.

She added: “It has kernels of truth in it, but those kernels of truth are overly exaggerated, even to the point of distracting from the truth.”

This, said Dr. Love previously told DailyMail.com, could extend to his supplements. “They say it’s scientifically based or there’s evidence or data behind it – they’re extrapolating some truth.”

Nutritionists almost universally disagree with Mr. Kelly’s claim that the body cannot get enough nutrients from food alone.

And claims like this have led many to believe that they should spend money on pills that don’t do much. doctor Pieter Cohensaid an internist and associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

“The thinking is that taking these pills can somehow improve your health or protect you from disease,” Dr. Cohen said.

He added: ‘While some people may need specific vitamins or supplements to correct deficiencies, for the average healthy person, following a diet high in fruits and vegetables will provide all the essential vitamins and minerals.’