Be Wary of the Health Hoaxes

Stardate 04.25.2026

There’s a memorable scene in Star Trek where Dr. McCoy places an alien device called “The Teacher” over his head so he can learn, in an instant, how to perform a surgery to restore Spock’s brain. I’ve always loved that episode. Imagine having something that could instantly guide us to the right decisions.

Sadly, in real life, we don’t have a “Teacher” helmet. What we do have is a marketplace filled with voices, promises, and products that claim to cure everything under the sun. Some of them are helpful. Some of them are harmless. And some of them are nothing more than modern-day snake oil.

I know some of you may read my stories and wonder if I’m the unconventional one. That’s fair. I often share choices that go against what many of us were taught for decades. But the truth is, the One I follow was also considered unconventional. Jesus once said, “My ways are not your ways.” I try, as best I can, to follow His example in how I live, work, eat, and care for my body.

When it comes to health, that means I’ve eliminated nearly everything manmade from my daily food rhythm. Years ago, during what I jokingly call my cousin’s “caveman food experiment,” I cut out processed foods. What happened next surprised even me. I went from being on a path toward serious health trouble to becoming what my primary care doctor now calls a poster boy for good health.

But along this journey, I’ve seen a troubling pattern.

Many people want to improve their health. They hear about supplements, longevity, and wellness, and they try to take action. But they unknowingly buy products from fake sellers online. The labels look right. The branding looks right. The ingredients list looks right. But what’s inside is often anything but.

That’s where the real snake oil lives.

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is not verifying where their supplements come from. The supplement industry is largely unregulated. That means unscrupulous sellers can create knockoffs that appear identical to trusted brands. People take them faithfully, see no results, and conclude the whole idea of supplementation is a scam.

In reality, they were never taking the real thing.

I buy my supplements from a research-driven company that tests products, including counterfeits from online sellers, and publicly shares the results. Over time, I met other regular people like me who were on similar journeys, and many of us found the same source. We formed a small tribe around the shared desire to live better, longer, and more intentionally.

I’ll be reuniting with some of them this September at their international conference, and I’m looking forward to hearing more real-life stories from people who are serious about their health.

If you’ve been following my journey, this is simply my encouragement to be careful. Learn. Ask questions. Verify. If you choose to explore supplements related to longevity, make sure you’re buying from someone with credibility and testing behind what they sell.

And always talk with your doctor before changing anything. Blood tests, longevity markers, and simple check-ins can show you whether what you’re doing is helping or not.

Some of my tennis partners joke that whatever I’m doing must be a placebo because of how I perform late in the match. Maybe they’re right. Or maybe consistency, good food, and trustworthy supplementation simply add up over time.

Either way, I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing.

In the spirit of Health Week, I’m including a link to the company that sponsors my stories and whose products I’ve used for years. I am an affiliate, which means I receive a small stipend if you choose to use my link. I share this openly because transparency matters. I only recommend what I personally use and trust.

As always, take the link, take the information, and take it to your doctor. Let wisdom guide you, not impulse. Click here to get a glimpse of what DoNotAge is preparing to launch in a couple of days.

“The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.” — Proverbs 14:15

Join me here:
https://substack.com/@michaelmulliganlivelong

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🖖 Captain’s Addendum

Spock: “Captain, logic suggests not all information presented as truth is, in fact, truth.”
Bones: “That’s right. And not everything in a bottle is medicine, either.”

Sometimes wisdom isn’t about finding the newest solution. It’s about learning to recognize what’s genuine and what only looks the part. That’s a lesson I’m still learning, one careful step at a time.

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I’m grateful you walk this journey with me. May your steps be thoughtful, your choices wise, and your days filled with strength and clarity.

How is the Aging Process Going for You?

Stardate 04.24.2026

My wife and I were fortunate to discover
Dave Ramsey
at a financial low point in our lives.

What he taught us about money quietly changed how I think about health.

His Baby Steps method for financial peace became, for me, a blueprint for physical well-being. Small changes. Simple disciplines. Consistency over time.

In the spirit of Health Week and the introduction of my blog sponsor’s newest product, today’s story is for anyone who has wondered if we truly have any say in how we age.

We may not be able to cheat death.

But I have come to believe we do have influence over how we travel toward it.

Early in my research for Live Long and Prosper, I came across the work of a Harvard scientist,
David Sinclair,
who argues that aging should be classified as a disease.

Sinclair suggests aging is less about the passage of time and more about a loss of biological information. He explains that as the protective end caps of our DNA — called telomeres — shorten, our cells begin to forget their roles. When instructions get scrambled, disease can follow.

Whether or not science ultimately settles that debate, the takeaway for me was simple:

If our bodies lose information over time, perhaps we should be more intentional about what information we give them each day.

What we eat.
How we move.
What we avoid.
What we add.

Baby steps.

Just like finances.

Start small. Add motion to your life. Reduce sedentary habits. Choose whole foods more often. Do your own research into nutrients and supplements that support cellular health and longevity.

You don’t have to change everything at once. In fact, you shouldn’t.

Pick one small step and let consistency do the heavy lifting.

Last night I recorded a short, five-minute clip at the dining room table as I mixed my first sachet. Nothing polished. Just a simple moment of getting started.

That small moment reminded me how powerful it can be to remove friction from good decisions. One sachet. Cold water. No thinking required. A baby step made easy.

If you’re not sure where to begin, I often point readers to my blog sponsor,
DoNotAge,
a health research company focused on longevity science. They recently launched a one-a-day sachet that combines many of the supplements I have personally used for years into a single mix.

Their name happens to fit today’s theme rather well.

Do Not Age.

I am an affiliate partner, which means I may earn a stipend if you choose to explore their products through my link. Those proceeds help fund my mission to encourage others toward health and wellness. Click here for the link.

As always, I encourage you to review ingredients with your physician and do your own research before adding anything new to your routine.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?” — 1 Corinthians 6:19

Caring for the body is not vanity. It is stewardship.

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🖖 Captain’s Addendum

Spock: “Captain, it appears humans resist large changes but adapt well to incremental ones.”

Bones: “In plain English, Spock, the Captain’s saying don’t try to fix your whole life before breakfast.”

Small steps, taken faithfully, often lead farther than dramatic overhauls that never last.

Join me here:
https://substack.com/@michaelmulliganlivelong

May you live long and prosper.

How I Found My Food Rhythm

Stardate 04.23.2026

I stumbled onto what I now consider a missing link during a routine eye exam in late 2023.

My optometrist reached into a drawer and pulled out a book: The Diabetes Code by Jason Fung. Because diabetes runs in my family, the title caught my attention. I snapped a photo of the cover and told him I’d look into it.

When I got home, I noticed the foreword was written by Nina Teicholz, author of The Big Fat Surprise. That sent me down a rabbit hole of interviews and lectures. The more I listened, the more I realized how little I had questioned what I’d always assumed about food.

That trail eventually led me to Tim Noakes, an endurance athlete and exercise scientist who had publicly reexamined decades of conventional nutrition advice.

Each voice added a piece to a puzzle I didn’t know I was trying to solve.

What I discovered wasn’t a diet. It was a rhythm.

Before I share it, I want to be honest about something: your brain will likely resist what I’m about to describe. Mine did. Changing how we eat isn’t just physical — it’s neurological. Years of habit, comfort, and routine are wired deeply. Sugar and refined carbohydrates have a powerful pull, and breaking that pull felt like trying to tame a wild stallion.

Slowly, patiently, I learned not to fight my brain, but to retrain it.

I began to understand something simple: when certain foods are constantly available, the body never needs to tap into the energy it already has stored. And most of us are walking around with plenty of stored energy.

So I experimented carefully, with awareness and medical guidance.

Here’s the rhythm I settled into:

• One meal a day, twice a week on days off
• Two meals a day on workdays
• Very few snacks
• Minimal sugar
• Very low carbohydrates
• Mostly whole foods like meat, eggs, and simple ingredients

What surprised me most was this: my energy increased even though I was eating less often. Hunger faded. Cravings quieted. My mind felt clearer. My body felt steadier.

I wasn’t depriving myself. I was teaching my body to access a different fuel source.

Over time, this rhythm became natural. My brain stopped arguing. Autopilot started working in my favor.

Some have asked why I still take supplements if this food rhythm works so well for me. For me, the answer has more to do with longevity and supporting my body as I age. I see the two as partners — food rhythm and nutrient support working together.

In honor of Health Week, I’m sharing a link from my blog sponsor, DoNotAge, who recently released a new daily sachet that combines several supplements into one simple mix. If you explore it, I encourage you to print the ingredient list and ask your doctor if it’s appropriate for you. Click here to learn about the sachet. As a partner, I receive a small stipend if you choose to purchase through this link.

“Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” — 1 Corinthians 10:31

That verse feels practical to me now. Food is no longer random. It’s rhythmic. Intentional. Supportive.

Join me here:
https://substack.com/@michaelmulliganlivelong

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Captain’s Addendum

Spock: “Captain, the body adapts remarkably well when given consistent input.”
Bones: “Which is my way of sayin’, what you feed it every day matters more than what you do once in a while.”

They’re right. I didn’t change everything overnight. I changed the rhythm.

Grateful for another day to learn, adjust, and move one percent better.

Your Brain's Role Regarding Health Choices

Stardate 04.22.2026

Do you trust your brain to make the best health choices?

It’s an honest question. One I had to ask myself when I realized my own brain had quietly been steering me in the wrong direction for years.

Not because it was broken.
Not because it was careless.
But because it was working with faulty input.

Faulty input almost always leads to poor outcomes. And the surprising part is, we often don’t notice it happening. Most of our daily decisions run on autopilot. We reach for the same foods. We keep the same routines. We live inside patterns we built long ago.

If those patterns serve us, autopilot is a gift.

If they don’t, autopilot can slowly work against us without us ever realizing it.

What changed things for me was a simple idea: awareness.

I began to think of every action as a programmed decision. If I didn’t like the result, it wasn’t a willpower problem. It was a programming problem.

One practical exercise helped me more than anything else. I kept a log for one week of my health choices. What I ate. When I moved. When I rested. What I consumed without thinking. It wasn’t about judgment. It was about observation.

And what I saw surprised me.

The temptation at that point is to try to change everything at once. That’s where many of us lose the battle. Your brain doesn’t respond well to a full-scale overhaul. Too much change at once feels like a threat, and it quietly pulls you back to familiar territory.

So I did something different.

I chose one change.

Just one.

I gave my brain a new direction with a single habit. I let that habit become familiar. Once it felt natural, I moved to the next one. Over time, those small changes became new programming. And eventually, I was able to put autopilot back to work for me instead of against me.

That’s when real progress began.

You don’t need dramatic change. You need gentle reprogramming.

In the spirit of simplifying decisions, I’m sharing something today from my blog sponsor, DoNotAge. They’ve created a single daily sachet that combines several supplements I’ve used for years into one simple mix with cold water. For me, this removed friction from an otherwise complicated routine and made consistency easier.

If you explore it, please do what I always encourage: print the ingredient list and ask your doctor if it’s appropriate for you. Let wisdom, not impulse, guide the decision. Click here to learn about the sachet.
As one of their partners, I receive a small stipend if you choose to use my affiliate link, which helps fund my mission to support others in their health and wellness journey.

This isn’t about adding more to your life. It’s about making healthy choices easier for your brain to repeat.

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” — Romans 12:2

That verse feels practical to me now. Renewal doesn’t happen through force. It happens through small, steady changes that reshape how we think and live.

Join me here:
https://substack.com/@michaelmulliganlivelong

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Captain’s Addendum

Spock: “Captain, the human brain prefers familiarity over optimization.”
Bones: “Which is my way of sayin’, people stick with what’s easy, even when it’s hurtin’ them.”

They’re both right. My brain wasn’t trying to harm me. It was simply repeating what it had learned.

Now I teach it better patterns, one habit at a time.

Grateful for the chance to keep learning, adjusting, and moving one percent better each day.

Please Share This With Your Doctor

Stardate 04.21.2026

There was a time in my life when I thought I was doing everything right.

I exercised.
I tried to make healthy food choices.
I surrounded myself with positive people.

And yet, something wasn’t right.

I didn’t see it at first because the people around me looked just like me. Tired. Inflamed. Slowing down earlier than we should. It felt normal because it was common. Only later did the light bulb come on: I had been participating in a long-term health experiment without even realizing it… and I was getting a failing grade.

What startled me most was this: almost everyone I knew was failing too.

I remember being a teenager and hearing my grandfather — a primary care physician who raised ten children — say something that made me roll my eyes at the time. He would say, “Ketchup and mustard are poison.” I thought he was eccentric. Maybe a little extreme.

Years later, I realized he wasn’t being dramatic. He had simply noticed something most of us never questioned. He had watched the food landscape change during his medical training. He saw what was being introduced into the American diet, and he understood where it would lead.

I didn’t.

Not until I had two clear health strikes against me and couldn’t explain why. That’s when I started looking closer at what’s commonly called the Standard American Diet. I began to see how easy it is to slowly drift into patterns that don’t serve our bodies well — not because we’re careless, but because we assume what’s normal must be safe.

My international friends once commented on how many pharmaceutical commercials run on American television. They were stunned. To them, it felt strange. To us, it feels routine. That contrast stayed with me.

It made me ask a simple question:

What if there’s another way to run the experiment?

What if we could learn from a time when obesity wasn’t common? When certain modern ailments were far less prevalent? What if we approached our health with curiosity again, instead of assumption?

That’s the spirit behind what I’m sharing today.

Not a prescription.
Not medical advice.
Just an invitation to ask better questions.

I wrote Live Long and Prosper as a story of mistakes, lessons, and small course corrections. It’s a testimony to the fact that we don’t have to stay stuck in patterns once we see them clearly. Along the way, I developed a daily health routine — a simple stack of habits and supplements that, for me, made a measurable difference.

But here’s the key: I didn’t move forward blindly.

I talked to my doctor.

And that’s what I’m encouraging you to do.

If you’re curious, take the list from my routine and bring it to your physician. Ask if it’s safe for you. Ask if it makes sense for your situation. If you receive the green light, then you can decide whether you’d like to try your own version of a health experiment — one rooted in awareness instead of autopilot.

I’m also sharing a link today from my blog sponsor, DoNotAge, who has invited me to introduce one of their newest products to readers. If you explore it, treat it the same way: print it out, share it with your doctor, and let wisdom guide the decision. Click here to explore. As a partner, I receive a small stipend if you choose to purchase through this link.

Because your health is too important for guesswork.

This isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about learning to pause, ask questions, and take ownership again.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit… Therefore honor God with your bodies.”— 1 Corinthians 6:19–20

Join me here:
https://substack.com/@michaelmulliganlivelong

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Captain’s Addendum

Spock: “Captain, it appears humans often accept the environment they are given without analyzing its long-term effects.”
Bones: “Which is another way of sayin’, they don’t realize the soup’s gone bad until they’re already sick.”

I smiled when I wrote that, because that’s exactly how it felt for me. I didn’t realize the soup had changed. I just kept eating what everyone else was eating.

Now, I ask more questions. And I’m healthier for it.

Grateful for another day to learn, adjust, and move one percent better.

2 Ways to Learn About Your Health

Stardate 04.20.2026

When I look in the rearview mirror at my past health choices, I can clearly see the missteps. The trial-and-error method is one way to learn what works and what doesn’t. It’s slow. It can be frustrating. At times, it’s even humbling when you realize how far off course you’ve been.

And yet, if you stay with it long enough, you eventually begin to understand your own body.

There is a second way to learn about your health.

You can learn from others.

That’s what these daily stories are really about. I’ve spent years learning from my own mistakes and from people willing to share what they discovered through their own trials. Their lessons saved me time. Their honesty spared me from repeating certain errors. Their examples gave me direction when I didn’t know where to start.

My hope for you today is simple: whichever method you use — personal experimentation or learning from others — stay with it long enough to reach your own “light bulb moment.”

Those moments don’t come overnight. They arrive after enough small daily choices stack up to reveal what’s actually working.

One of my greatest challenges over the years has been sleep.

I’ve learned from others who study sleep. I’ve also conducted my own quiet experiments for nearly three years. Adjusting routines. Changing food timing. Watching patterns. Paying attention to what helps and what hurts. Both methods — learning and doing — helped me slowly discover what works best for me.

If you decide to improve your sleep, I encourage you to document your journey. Write things down. Track patterns. Notice trends. You won’t find instant success, but if you stay with it, you will eventually uncover your own ideal rhythm.

Later this week, I’ll be sharing a couple of live streams about this in more detail — one focused on sleep itself and one on the evening routine that supports it.

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance.” — Proverbs 21:5

Diligence is not dramatic. It’s steady. It’s patient. It’s one small adjustment at a time.

I’d also like to acknowledge my blog sponsor, DoNotAge, for being part of my health journey. Their research-first approach is one of the reasons I became interested in their work years ago. As I’ve worked to improve my sleep and overall wellness, I’ve learned how important it is to give the body what it needs to function well.

Recently, they refined several of the supplements I’ve been using into a single daily sachet that mixes easily with cold water. For someone like me who values simplicity, this has been a welcome change.

Join me here:
https://substack.com/@michaelmulliganlivelong

If you’re curious to learn more about what DoNotAge is releasing, you can explore it through my partner link. I do receive a small stipend when readers purchase, which helps support this mission. Only explore it if it feels right for you. Click here for the link.

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Captain’s Addendum

Spock studied his console. “Captain, it would appear that health improves through careful observation and repeated adjustment.”

Bones shook his head. “In other words, pay attention to what your body’s telling you.”

I smiled.

Learning about my health wasn’t a single discovery. It was a series of small realizations, one after another, until the pattern finally made sense.

One percent better. One day at a time.

I’m grateful you’re here on this journey with me.

Health Week Begins Today

Stardate 04.19.2026

Two days ago, a small package arrived from DoNotAge, my international blog sponsor. I’ve shared my personal experience with their research-backed supplements for years. If you’ve read Live Long and Prosper, you already know what my daily routine looks like. If you’ve followed these daily stories, you’ve watched the changes unfold in real time.

There was a season when I realized just how unhealthy I had become. The standard American diet had quietly taken its toll. Left unchecked, I’m not sure where that path would have led, but I knew it wasn’t somewhere I wanted to go.

So I made changes.

I stepped away from processed foods. I began eating in a way that resembled how our ancestors once did. I searched for credible research in the world of health and longevity. That search led me to DoNotAge.

Today, at 65, I can play tennis for hours without fatigue. I can work on detailed projects for an entire day without losing focus. I feel a steadiness in my body and mind that I didn’t have years ago.

My only real challenge was managing the number of supplements I was taking each day.

That’s what changed with the package that arrived this week.

You’re getting a first look at a new product before its worldwide release. What makes it remarkable isn’t that it introduces something entirely new. It’s that it simplifies what many of us have been doing for years. Instead of multiple capsules and powders, this refined formula comes in a single daily sachet mixed with water.

Simple. Practical. Thoughtful.

While researching for my book, I discovered something that bothered me deeply. The supplement market is largely unregulated. There are sellers who offer products that don’t contain what the label claims. If you’re like me, when you try something and it doesn’t work, you assume the idea itself is flawed and you move on.

That’s why it matters who you trust.

I found DoNotAge through a health community that followed respected scientists in the longevity field. What stood out to me is that DoNotAge began as a research company created to support scientists and their studies. Their work grew from the laboratory outward.

Last September, I was invited to attend their first international conference in New York City. I met doctors, researchers, and people from all over the world who shared a common desire: to live healthier, longer lives with intention. We were offered samples of a product still in the final stages of human testing and kindly asked to keep it confidential until the research was complete.

That veil has now been lifted.

This week, I’ll be dedicating each day’s story to health and wellness — sharing what I’ve learned, what I practice, and why it matters. Not as an expert, but as someone who needed a change and found a path forward.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit… therefore honor God with your bodies.” — 1 Corinthians 6:19–20

For me, this journey has never been about appearance or performance. It’s been about stewardship. Taking care of the body I’ve been given so I can continue serving, writing, building, and showing up for the people around me.

Join me here:
https://substack.com/@michaelmulliganlivelong

If you’re curious to explore the new product from DoNotAge, you can use my partner link here. I do receive a small stipend when readers purchase, which helps support this mission. Only share if it feels right for you.

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Captain’s Addendum

Spock tilted his head. “Captain, it appears you are suggesting that small daily disciplines produce long-term outcomes.”

Bones smirked. “Imagine that. Take care of yourself, and you feel better. Who would’ve thought?”

I nodded.

Health didn’t change my life overnight. It changed because of quiet, consistent choices repeated day after day. One percent better. One day at a time.

I’m grateful you’re here for this week’s journey.