Because his early childhood was plagued with numerous personal health problems Michael Mooney began looking into natural health care and "health foods" at the age of 14.

His health improved rapidly and Michael's growing passion for nutrition attracted the attention of his biochemist father. Under his father's mentorship Michael began to investigate progressive nutrition and nutritional therapies, and in 1977 they co-founded an organization to research nutrition and dietary supplements, lifestyle, and exercise as tools to improve health and extend human lifespan.

Because of his upbringing in a family of activists, although he is HIV-negative, Michael responded to the AIDS crisis when it first appeared in the early 1980's by helping HIV-positive friends research information about alternative medicine and nutrition for long-term survival. Michael lost his best friend to AIDS-related wasting disease early in the AIDS crisis (he died in a hospital at 80 pounds), and this has been a prime motivation for Michael's HIV/AIDS work.

In the 1980's Michael also provided nutritional consultation, lectured and worked in the field helping natural and "synthetic" bodybuilders improve their performance and stay healthy. What he learned working in the fitness community set the stage for his research related to bodybuilding and anabolic steroids as wellness tools for HIV/AIDS therapy. During this time Michael wrote a column for Hardgainer, a consummate natural bodybuilding magazine.

Activism
In 1993, in an effort to help the HIV public gain more understanding of alternative AIDS therapies, Michael attempted to produce a free public forum at the West Hollywood Community Auditorium. When the forum drew an audience of over 200 people and resulted in a two-page story in Los Angeles' New Times newspaper, Michael realized his calling as an AIDS treatment advocate.   

After being asked about anabolic steroid use for HIV therapy by HIV-positive friends, Michael began investigating potential medical applications for anabolic steroids in 1994. In 1995, Michael met Nelson Vergel by introduction from internationally recognized hormone therapy expert Mauro DiPasquale, M.D.  

Nelson, a resident of Houston, was HIV-positive himself and already using anabolic steroids and progressive nutrition as parts of his personal wellness program. Nelson was practicing what Michael had been studying far away in Los Angeles. Their commonality as treatment advocates yielded Michael a role as the voluntary Director of Research for Nelson's new non-profit organization, Program For Wellness Restoration (PoWeR). PoWeR is a non-profit research and educational organization that focuses on a comprehensive approach to HIV/AIDS wasting and body composition problems utilizing nutrition, exercise, and hormonal intervention.

Journalism
During the time that Michael and Nelson became friends and co-workers Michael began writing regularly for Muscle Media magazine. Michael's two years of exposure to Muscle Media's 300,000 readers helped PoWeR spread the word around the United States and the world that anabolic steroids could help improve HIV health.

Consulting and Lecturing
Because of Michael's love for science and the medical literature he has become a consultant to medical doctors, dietitians and the HIV public regarding hormonal and nutritional therapies and exercise for HIV/AIDS. Michael has given over 150 lectures to the general public and the HIV community and their doctors, dietitians and caseworkers since 1992. Topics have included progressive nutritional topics, The PoWeR Guidelines for HIV, anabolic hormone therapy, exercise, and politics related to natural health care.

Publications
Michael's publications and presentations include PoWeR's nutritional, hormonal and exercise research data, which he co-authored, at the XI International AIDS Conference in Vancouver in July, 1996 (Mooney et al. Abstract We.B.3271); a co-authored paper on the combined therapeutic application of nutrition, anabolic steroids and exercise for HIV that was presented at the XII International AIDS Conference in Geneva (Vergel et al), two co-authored papers on anabolic steroid therapy for HIV (Pharo, et al, Second International Conference on Nutrition and HIV Infection, Cannes, France - 1997, and Salvato, et al, Second International Conference on Nutrition and HIV Infection, Cannes, France, 1997). He is the Editor and Publisher of Medibolics, the PoWeR newsletter as a web site and in its former printed form, and has had over 60 articles published in magazines, and newsletters, including Muscle Media, POZ, Positively Aware, European AIDS Treatment News, Ironman, and Current Medical News.

Michael was a consultant to National Institutes of Health researcher Fred Sattler, M.D. of USC-LA, for Dr. Sattler's study, Effects of Pharmacological Doses of Nandrolone Decanoate and Progressive Resistance Training in Immunodeficient Patients Infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus. J Clin Endo Metabol, 84(4):1268-1276, 1999. (See study acknowledgements.)

Michael continued to break new ground when he published the first hypothesis that insulin resistance was involved in lipodystrophy, one of the most problematic side effects of HIV anti-viral medications like protease inhibitors. His article, with suggestions to reduce lipodystrophy, first appeared in Medibolics (November, 1997) and then European AIDS Treatment News (Summer, 1998). Click here to read it.

In December, 1999, Michael Mooney and Nelson Vergel released their book Built To Survive: A Comprehensive Guide to the Medical Use of Anabolic Steroids, Nutrition and Exercise for HIV(+) Men and Women. At 174 pages, Built To Survive provides details that serve the needs of the patient and doctor alike, as it is written in easily understandable language, while it contains 346 medical journal references. Built To Survive has thirteen 5-star consumer's reviews and three medical doctor's reviews on Amazon.com. 

The University of Illinois AIDS Book Review Journal says, "It is a book for the individual, but also a highly recommended book for all medical, academic, and public libraries."  

Michael and Nelson donate all book profits to help fund non-profit HIV research and educational organizations.

Policital Activism
Michael's activism extends into politics, and has served eight terms as the Political Committee Chairperson or Co-Chairperson of the Northern California (NORCAL) chapter of the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA), and has served on the national legislative committee of the NNFA. Michael co-founded the San Francisco branch of Citizens For Health, a national grass-roots lobbying organization in 1993, to help pass the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), opposing the Food and Drug Administration's unsuccessful attempt to begin regulating dietary supplements as prescription items. Successful political activism, including his involvement in the largest letter-writing campaign to Congress in history, which generated over one million letters, yielded four awards for Michael's work towards the passage of DSHEA, including Activist of the Year from Citizens For Health. (Citizen's For Health was the second largest lobbying organization in the USA in 1994.)

Media 
Michael's media exposure includes over 40 television and radio interviews, including ABC-TV and NBC-TV (Los Angeles), FOX-TV (Los Angeles), KPFA Radio (Berkeley) and The Suzanne Sommers Show, covering nutrition, politics or hormonal therapies; an interview in Sports Illustrated, where he was described as an "authority on anabolic hormones;" and being referenced on this subject on ABC-TV's Good Morning America. 

Michael's currently spends much of his time producing Fact Versus Fiction documents that demystify natural health care and the progressive use of nutritional supplements for longevity and optimum health for his family business SuperNutrition. Michael is also in the process of creating his own information web site, www.michaelmooney.net

Michael continues his own personal progressive health program, which includes aggressively exercising for optimal body composition and longevity employing weight-training and his current new interest in the study of grappling and mixed martial arts. He travels throughout the United States on a continuous basis for work and for fun.

For more information about Michael Mooney, his co-authored book, or his seminars, please fax him at: (310) 659-1597, or email him at: mmooney@medibolics.com

Address: 836 N. La Cienega Boulevard, PMB #333, West Hollywood, California 90069