How we source and review

Every claim on CareDoctor should be traceable to a named government source. Here is exactly how each page is built.

The evidence spine

Our primary sources, in order, are the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) fact sheets; the National Academies Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for RDA, AI and Tolerable Upper Intake Level figures; and, where those are silent, other US authorities such as the FDA, CDC, NIH NCCIH and MedlinePlus. Every reference page lists the exact documents it relied on, with links.

Numbers are quoted, never invented

Recommended intakes and upper limits are quoted from the DRI tables and ODS fact sheets with their units, sex and life stage. Where no value is established, we say so rather than estimate.

Evidence, graded honestly

We label the strength of evidence behind each claimed benefit as Strong, Moderate, Limited or Insufficient, mirroring the caution in the source. We never turn "may be associated with" into "helps", and we never describe a supplement as treating, curing or preventing a disease.

AI assistance, under human editing

Our reference pages are drafted with the help of AI tools and then checked and edited by a human editor against the cited primary sources before publishing. Being open about this is safer than hiding it.

Corrections and dates

Each page shows when it was last reviewed. When a source updates, we re-check and re-date. Spotted an error? Tell us on the contact page and we will investigate and correct it.