In a viral video on X this week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the likely new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, can be seen adding drops of blue liquid to his glass of water during a flight. “What is RFK Jr. putting into his drink?” asked an anonymous account that posted the video, which as of Friday had been viewed more than 20 million times.
The answer, local biohackers believe, is a chemical popular in San Francisco’s experimental wellness scene.
“[It’s] very likely methylene blue, based on the distinct color,” said Greg Mushen, vice president at gig-worker platform Angi and founder of the Open Longevity Project. Mushen occasionally takes 10 milligrams of methylene blue when he’s feeling overloaded. “When I use it, I notice a strong ability to focus,” he said.
Kennedy’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
A cobalt-colored dye, methylene blue was first synthesized in 1876 for use in textiles. It was quickly adopted by the medical community after scientists found it to be a useful treatment for malaria, joint pain, and psychosis. Today, it’s FDA-approved as a prescription medicine to treat cyanide poisoning and rare blood disorders. However, methylene blue drops, lozenges, and powders are widely available online without a prescription. In the past four years, the chemical has become popular among the longevity community for its purported antioxidant properties and potential to boost cellular energy production and extend lifespan or decelerate skin aging.
RFK Jr. is well known for his opposition to mainstream medical recommendations, especially his stance against vaccines, and his insistence in advocating for the debunked conspiracy theory that vaccines cause autism. He is also a vocal proponent of deregulating medical treatments. He has referred to the FDA approval process as a “war on public health,” including “its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything else that advances human health and can’t be patented by Pharma.”
Methylene blue can be dangerous if combined with other medications because it functions as an MAO inhibitor. MAOs are best known as a class of antidepressants that work to inhibit oxidization of neurotransmitters; when combined with certain other drugs, they can cause dangerous side effects such as serotonin syndrome.
Research has also shown that the dye can literally turn human brain and heart tissue blue, a fact that Lan Dao, a San Francisco-based scientist at Athena DAO, a decentralized community of researchers working to advance women’s health, raised as to why she would not use it. “I got really turned off methylene blue after finding out it turns your brain blue,” Dao posted on X. “The idea of taking methylene blue ‘preventatively’ is absolutely ridiculous to me tbh.”
Others had the exact opposite response to seeing the U.S. health czar to be dosing himself with blue dye. “I think it shows the sophistication of [RFK Jr.],” said Goktug Yilmaz, a biohacker and founder of gaming site Colonist.io. “It’s probably healthier than Coca-Cola on the plane.”
Mac McDonald, CEO of Patchwork Food, an Oakland-based DNA weight-loss startup, ventured that RFK Jr. may use methylene blue as a pick-me-up. “My guess, with his Zyn usage, it’s for energy for his robust work schedule as an old man,” he said.