Hello Frond,

If you’ve glanced at the 3.5 million publicly accessible Epstein files (yes — absolutely disgusting), you might have spotted a longevity expert you know and love(d).

I’m not here to name and shame — Rootless IS not, and WILL not be, about that.

But it does beg a question worth asking: Can you trust someone with shaky moral (and therefore, I’d argue, medical) ethics with something as intimate as your health?

For me? The answer is a resounding no. I cannot separate “the man from his art/medicine.”

Hello Frond,

If you’ve glanced at the 3.5 million publicly accessible Epstein files (yes — absolutely disgusting), you might have spotted a longevity expert you know and love(d).

I’m not here to name and shame — Rootless IS not, and WILL not be, about that.

But it does beg a question worth asking: Can you trust someone with shaky moral (and therefore, I’d argue, medical) ethics with something as intimate as your health?

For me? The answer is a resounding no. I cannot separate “the man from his art/medicine.”

What I have an unwavering belief in — what actually inspired me to work with seaweed in the first place — is time-tested remedies for the body, mind, and soul passed through stories and generations.

For more than 30 years, my mom has started every single morning with a glass of warm water and lemon. When I was younger, I thought it was just… mom stuff.

Now we understand why it matters: beginning the day with water rehydrates the body after sleep, and lemon adds vitamin C and antioxidants while supporting digestion — a small, gentle ritual that primes the body rather than shocks it.

No tracker. No pill organizer. Just habit, consistency, and care.

I also trust population-level data.

Places like Okinawa — historically one of the original Blue Zones — have shown that communities built around plant-forward food, daily movement, strong social ties, and deep connection to place tend to live longer, healthier lives than most Americans. Longevity wasn’t about biohacks; it was about how life was structured.

What I have an unwavering belief in — what actually inspired me to work with seaweed in the first place — is time-tested remedies for the body, mind, and soul passed through stories and generations.

For more than 30 years, my mom has started every single morning with a glass of warm water and lemon. When I was younger, I thought it was just… mom stuff.

Now we understand why it matters: beginning the day with water rehydrates the body after sleep, and lemon adds vitamin C and antioxidants while supporting digestion — a small, gentle ritual that primes the body rather than shocks it.

No tracker. No pill organizer. Just habit, consistency, and care.

I also trust population-level data.

Places like Okinawa — historically one of the original Blue Zones — have shown that communities built around plant-forward food, daily movement, strong social ties, and deep connection to place tend to live longer, healthier lives than most Americans. Longevity wasn’t about biohacks; it was about how life was structured.

And when we look more broadly at outcomes, Japanese women have historically had lower rates of several chronic diseases compared with U.S. women — shaped by differences in diet, lifestyle, environment, and social systems, not by expensive supplement stacks.

Nothing created in a lab — no $300 “longevity protocol” — can replace the foundational power of whole food, movement, rest, community, and nature.

We’ll talk a lot in this series about food synergy — the idea that nutrients work together inside real foods and real lives, not just in isolated capsules.

If we learn to listen, our bodies actually speak quite clearly:

Fatigue is often a signal, not a personal failure
Hair loss (something I’m dealing with right now) can point toward deficiencies or hormonal shifts
Restlessness might be hunger for connection, not productivity

Nothing created in a lab — no $300 “longevity protocol” — can replace the foundational power of whole food, movement, rest, community, and nature.

We’ll talk a lot in this series about food synergy — the idea that nutrients work together inside real foods and real lives, not just in isolated capsules.

If we learn to listen, our bodies actually speak quite clearly:

Fatigue is often a signal, not a personal failure
Hair loss (something I’m dealing with right now) can point toward deficiencies or hormonal shifts
Restlessness might be hunger for connection, not productivity

I think there is a different approach to living well that's elegant in its simplicity (even if it’s not easy):

Eat well
Move your body
Be surrounded by people you love — and love them really damn hard
Sleep and rest
Be in nature (touching grass, as the kids say — in fact, I’m sitting in the sun, in a public park, touching grass as I write this)

I think there is a different approach to living well that's elegant in its simplicity (even if it’s not easy):

Eat well
Move your body
Be surrounded by people you love — and love them really damn hard
Sleep and rest
Be in nature (touching grass, as the kids say — in fact, I’m sitting in the sun, in a public park, touching grass as I write this)

These are the modern “protocols” that we've somehow turned into expensive versions of themselves:

Luxury supplement stacks (as promoted by others I personally don’t trust)
Boutique fitness classes
Expensive therapy apps (therapy is valuable — I’ve been in it for years — but it doesn’t replace the nourishment of community)
High-end “recovery” experiences

Meanwhile, nature is mostly free. (Although not accessible to all of us).

Today, the U.S. wellness industry is projected to be a multitrillion-dollar juggernaut. Most of the true longevity pillars above are… inexpensive by comparison.

Do you see what I’m getting at?

These are the modern “protocols” that we've somehow turned into expensive versions of themselves:

Luxury supplement stacks (as promoted by others I personally don’t trust)
Boutique fitness classes
Expensive therapy apps (therapy is valuable — I’ve been in it for years — but it doesn’t replace the nourishment of community)
High-end “recovery” experiences

Meanwhile, nature is mostly free. (Although not accessible to all of us).

Today, the U.S. wellness industry is projected to be a multitrillion-dollar juggernaut. Most of the true longevity pillars above are… inexpensive by comparison.

Do you see what I’m getting at?

I understand the tension of writing to you about trust while also inviting you to buy seaweed from us. It is a little weird — I feel it too.

Here’s the truth: advisors have told me many times to put seaweed in a pill. It would be cheaper, cleaner, and easier to scale. It would also make my life — and my team’s life — a whole lot simpler.

But pills are not joyful to me. I can’t sit with a capsule and feel sunlight, breath, or ritual.

I can sit with my Daily Bite, sip my coffee, and have a moment that feels like nourishment, not optimization.

That’s the spirit of this series.

I understand the tension of writing to you about trust while also inviting you to buy seaweed from us. It is a little weird — I feel it too.

Here’s the truth: advisors have told me many times to put seaweed in a pill. It would be cheaper, cleaner, and easier to scale. It would also make my life — and my team’s life — a whole lot simpler.

But pills are not joyful to me. I can’t sit with a capsule and feel sunlight, breath, or ritual.

I can sit with my Daily Bite, sip my coffee, and have a moment that feels like nourishment, not optimization.

That’s the spirit of this series.

I’m exploring a new philosophy called biotending — because, jeez, I don’t want to hack my bio. I want to befriend it, listen to it, tend to it, and learn from others doing the same.

Next up: Food as Medicine — Part I. Why your body will always respond better to real food than any supplement.

I hope you’ll come along. And truly, I LOVE dialogue, so write back if you feel moved.

Tell me one small thing you commit to every day that gives you a little joy… because I bet that habit is doing more for your body than you’re giving it credit for.

With warmth (and a little mischief),

I’m exploring a new philosophy called biotending — because, jeez, I don’t want to hack my bio. I want to befriend it, listen to it, tend to it, and learn from others doing the same.

Next up: Food as Medicine — Part I. Why your body will always respond better to real food than any supplement.

I hope you’ll come along. And truly, I LOVE dialogue, so write back if you feel moved.

Tell me one small thing you commit to every day that gives you a little joy… because I bet that habit is doing more for your body than you’re giving it credit for.

With warmth (and a little mischief),