Before an article goes online, its claims are checked against sources we consider dependable for general health information. These notes explain what that means in practice. They are meant to help you judge our work, and also to give you a few tools for judging any health page you come across.
Sources we lean on
- Public health bodies and national health services. Government health agencies and official patient-information services publish guidance written for the public and update it as evidence changes. They are usually our starting point.
- Professional and patient organisations. Associations of dentists, doctors or pharmacists, and established charities focused on a particular condition, often provide clear, practical information.
- Clinical guidelines. Guidance written for professionals helps us understand how care is generally organised, even though we never present it as instructions for an individual.
- Reviews of research. Where we touch on what research shows, we prefer summaries that look at many studies together over single studies that made headlines.
- Medicine leaflets and official product information. For anything involving medicines or nicotine products, the official information is checked before we describe how they are generally used.
Sources we treat with caution
- single small studies, especially early or preliminary ones;
- press releases and news stories about research, which can overstate results;
- material from companies selling the product being discussed;
- forums, testimonials and social media posts, which can describe real experiences but cannot show what works in general.
These may help us understand what readers are hearing about, but they are not used on their own to support a health claim.
The questions every article must pass
- Can each factual statement be traced to a dependable source? If not, it is removed or reworded as an open question.
- Is it general enough? Anything that only applies to some people is labelled that way.
- Are the cautions in place? Medicines, nicotine, pregnancy, children and mental health always get a clear note about speaking to a professional.
- Are there invented specifics? We do not publish made-up statistics, quotes, studies or expert credentials. If we cannot point to a figure, we leave it out.
- Would a reader know when to seek help? Articles about symptoms say which signs need prompt attention.
Why you will not see many numbers
Some readers notice that our articles rarely quote percentages or precise targets. That is a choice. Figures often depend on age, health and country, and a number stripped of that context can mislead. Where a general rule of thumb is widely shared, we may mention it with a reminder that your own clinician may set a different target for you.
When checks fail
No process is perfect. If you find something that does not hold up, our Corrections Policy explains how to tell us and what happens next. For the wider principles behind the site, see The Idea Behind It.
Behind each article
What our checking is built on
A few principles that apply before anything is published.
Public health bodies and official patient information are our first port of call.
Claims that only apply to some people are labelled as such.
A single new study is never enough to change what an article recommends.
We leave out figures we cannot trace rather than estimate them.
Pages about medicines, nicotine and mental health always point readers to professional help.
Using information well
From a question to a better conversation
A simple sequence that works whether you are reading our guides or anyone else's.
Notice
Pin down what is actually bothering you and since when, in a sentence or two.
Read widely, then narrow
Start with a general, dependable source, then look only at what seems to apply to you.
Write it down
Turn what you learned into short questions, not conclusions.
Ask a professional
Take the questions to a doctor, dentist or pharmacist and listen for what is specific to you.
Follow up
Check what the next step is, when to come back and what should prompt you to return sooner.