He’s got the magic in him.
Biohacking mogul Bryan Johnson is known for his wild claims and wellness practices to age backwards, reportedly spending $2 million a year to reduce his chronological age.
And his latest research shows how psilocybin — also known as magic mushrooms — may have a negative impact on men.
A naturally occurring psychedelic compound produced by hallucinogenic mushrooms, psilocybin is often hailed as a wonder drug that could extend lifespan and improve Parkinson’s symptoms.
But Johnson recently discovered what he believes is the “first in-human observation” on the negative effects of the groovy drug on sperm count.
Testing to see if magic mushrooms are a longevity therapy, Johnson took two doses, with the first dose measuring at 25 milligrams and a second dose of 28 milligrams, although it’s unclear how far apart the doses were.
Before the first dose, his sperm count was in the 99.6th percentile for men under 25 years of age.
Three days after the second dose, motility (the ability of sperm to swim and move efficiently) dropped 51% to the 77.7th percentile. However, the total count was nearly unchanged, only decreasing by 2%.
Johnson also noted his sperm morphology — or shape, another key indicator of male fertility — was also cut in half.
While some of his fertility markers did partially recover in the 20 days post-dosage, there was still a significant drop in count from the pre-psilocybin baseline of 600 to a count of 373 milligrams.
The supporting theory Johnson has for these changes links back to how his testosterone levels were affected.
While his total serum testosterone increased by 30% after three days following the second dose, the sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels increased by 37%.
SHBG serves a necessary purpose to transport sex hormones like testosterone throughout the bloodstream and to produce sperm. But too much can cause low libido, fatigue, erectile dysfunction and muscle loss.
Johnson’s free testosterone (the small amount instantly available for the body to use) dropped 24% three days after his second mushroom dose, then another 23% after 20 days.
But he sees these effects as negligible, citing the systemic metabolic and anti-inflammatory benefits of psilocybin outweighing any potential reductions in sperm count.
He also noted that these results were the first recorded and “to our knowledge there is no published human clinical study demonstrating that psilocybin diminishes male fertility markers.”
Previous studies have been done on the connections between recreational and psychoactive drugs and fertility markers due to the effects on the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and general hormonal reset.
There seems to be no evidence, though, of the direct effects of psilocybin or other similar psychedelics inhibiting fertility markers.
