How We Handle Health Evidence

The rules this site follows when sourcing, summarizing, labeling, and correcting health evidence.

Source Hierarchy

Not all sources carry the same weight. When evaluating evidence, sources are prioritized in this order: (1) government health agencies, (2) major public-health bodies, (3) clinical practice guidelines from recognized professional organizations, (4) systematic reviews and meta-analyses, (5) peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials, (6) high-quality observational research, (7) academic medical-center educational material, and (8) other clearly identified secondary sources. A single small observational study is never presented with the same confidence as a government guideline or a large meta-analysis.

Evidence-Strength Methodology

Every evidence record carries one of six strength labels: Strong, Moderate, Emerging, Mixed, Limited, or Insufficient. The label reflects the consistency of findings across independent studies, the study designs involved (randomized trials and large meta-analyses rate higher than single observational studies), the size and quality of the evidence base, and whether major reviews of the same question agree or disagree. The label is never decorative; each evidence record explains, in its own words, why that label was assigned.

Citation Standards

Every meaningful health claim is traceable to a named source: title, publisher or journal, publication date, and a link or identifier (DOI or PMID) where one exists. We do not fabricate a DOI, PMID, author list, review status, or publication date. If a detail cannot be verified, it is left out rather than guessed at.

Evidence Language

We avoid proven when evidence is not conclusive, cures unless supported by an appropriate authoritative standard, prevents when the evidence only supports lower risk, and any guarantee, miracle, or unsupported detox language. We use language such as is associated with, may reduce risk, evidence suggests, evidence is mixed, and the study cannot establish causation because that is what the underlying research actually supports.

Update Standards

Every evidence record shows a reviewed date and, where applicable, a modified date and revision history. Records are revisited when new major evidence, such as an updated systematic review or a changed clinical guideline, materially affects the summary or the strength label.

Corrections

Material corrections, changes that affect the substance of a claim, a citation, or an evidence-strength label, are logged publicly on the Corrections page with the date, the affected page, what changed, and why. Silent typo or formatting cleanup does not require a correction entry.

AI-Assisted Workflow Disclosure

AI tools assist with summarization, organizing findings, entity extraction, citation formatting, comparing multiple sources, and improving readability. AI is not treated as the source of a medical claim, and it does not generate citations that are not independently checked against the original source. A human editor is responsible for what is published.

Medical Limitations

This site provides educational information, not individualized medical advice. Pages dealing with potentially urgent symptoms do not invent or substitute their own triage system; they route readers to appropriate professional or emergency resources. A medical disclaimer appears sitewide in the footer and prominently on every evidence record.

Conflicts and Commercial Influence

HealthIsCalling.org does not accept payment to influence an evidence-strength label, a citation, or a conclusion. The site does not run affiliate supplement or product links. Where a funding or commercial relationship is ever relevant to a topic, it will be disclosed directly on the page in question.