Medical disclaimer

What this site is

General health, nutrition and exercise information, written for a non-clinical audience and sourced to published national guidance. It is intended to help you understand what the guidance says and what a number means.

What this site is not

• A diagnosis. Nothing here can tell you what is wrong with you.
• A prescription. We do not recommend medicines, doses or supplement regimes for individuals.
• A treatment plan. Any condition-specific decision belongs with your clinician.
• A replacement for care you are already receiving. Do not stop or change treatment based on an article.

Speak to a professional before you start

Get individual advice before making significant changes to diet or exercise if any of the following apply to you:

• You have a diagnosed heart, lung, kidney or liver condition.
• You have diabetes, high blood pressure or a metabolic condition.
• You are pregnant, trying to conceive, or recently gave birth.
• You are recovering from surgery, an injury, or a period of illness.
• You take prescription medication — including anything that affects blood sugar, blood pressure or blood clotting.
• You have a history of an eating disorder or disordered eating.
• You are under 18 or over 65 and starting something substantially new.

Stop and seek advice if

During exercise: chest pain or pressure, severe breathlessness out of proportion to the effort, dizziness or fainting, an irregular or racing heartbeat at rest, or pain that is sharp, sudden and localised rather than general muscular effort.

More generally: unexplained weight loss, persistent fatigue, numbness or weakness in a limb, pain that wakes you from sleep, or any symptom that is new, persistent and worrying you. These deserve a clinician, not a search engine.

Individual variation

Guidelines describe populations. They are the right starting point and the wrong finishing point. Your age, medical history, medication, genetics, training history and circumstances all change what is appropriate for you, and no article can account for that.

Accuracy and currency

Articles are checked for accuracy, sourcing, clarity and editorial standards before publication. Higher-risk health topics may receive additional subject-specific review where appropriate. That is not a named clinical review of every page.

We check figures against their sources at the time of publication. Guidance does change. If you are making a decision that matters, confirm the current position with your GP, pharmacist or clinician, or with the source we have linked.

Where to get help

• UK: your GP surgery, NHS 111, or nhs.uk . Community pharmacists can advise on many issues without an appointment.
• US: your primary care provider, a nurse line offered by your insurer, or a community health centre. cdc.gov publishes the underlying federal guidance.
• Mental health, UK: Samaritans on 116 123, free, 24 hours a day.
• Mental health, US: the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, by call or text.

By using this site you accept that you do so for general information only, and that decisions about your health remain between you and your clinician.