Editorial Standards

How The Healthspan Memo decides what to publish. Last updated August 24, 2026.

We have one job: translate published longevity research into plain English without inflating it. Everything below is the standard we hold ourselves to, written down so you can hold us to it too.

We name the source in the post itself: author, year, and journal. Never “studies show.”

We say what kind of study it was. A randomized controlled trial, an observational cohort, and a mouse study are three different strengths of evidence, and we label which one we are describing.

We do not convert an animal result into a human claim. If the work was done in mice, the brief says mice.

We report the size of an effect, not just its direction. “Lowered it” is not information.

When the evidence is thin or contested, we say so instead of picking the tidier answer.

No disease claims. We never say a supplement treats, cures, or prevents a disease.

No invented experience. If a brief says someone tried something, a real person tried it. We do not write fictional first-person results, and we do not invent a persona to sell a product.

No miracle framing. No secret, no one weird trick, no thing doctors will not tell you.

No bought reach. We do not buy followers, views, or engagement. Our numbers are our numbers.

Almost every brief leads with the free intervention, because that is usually where the evidence is strongest. Sleep timing, training, sunlight, and what you eat outrank anything in a capsule. When we mention a supplement, it comes after the behavior, and it is framed as the optional route rather than the answer.

Topic first, product second. We choose what to write about from the research, then ask whether a product is genuinely relevant. When one is, we tell you what actually matters on the label, the dose and the form studied, so you could ignore our link entirely and still buy the right thing. Plenty of briefs end with no product at all.

We get things wrong sometimes. When we do, we fix it in place and say what changed and when, rather than quietly editing the record. If you spot an error, email healthspanmemo@gmail.com and we would rather hear it from you than not hear it.

Affiliate commissions, funded by brands and labeled every time. Commission rates never decide what we cover or how we describe it. The full explanation is on our Affiliate Disclosure page.

We are writers who read research carefully. We are not doctors, we have not examined you, and nothing here is a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Talk to a clinician who knows your history before starting or stopping anything, especially if you take prescription medication or are pregnant.