Editorial Standards
The rules we write by, published so you can hold us to them.
Health Density covers subjects where bad information has real consequences. This page sets out exactly how we decide what to publish, what we refuse to do, and how you can challenge us when we get it wrong.
- Every claim sourced
- No sponsored content
- Corrections published
Six principles
These are not aspirations. They are the checks an article has to pass before it goes live, and the standard you can measure us against.
Evidence before opinion
Claims are grounded in published research, and how confidently we state something reflects how strong that research actually is. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses outrank single studies. Human trials outrank animal work.
Plain language, not dumbed down
We explain mechanisms and numbers without jargon. We do not simplify to the point of being wrong, and we do not hide behind clinical vocabulary to sound authoritative.
Useful by the last line
Every article should leave you knowing what to do next: a habit to change, a test to ask for, or a conversation to have with your doctor. Interesting but unusable is a failure.
No hype, no scare tactics
We do not inflate risks to drive clicks or inflate benefits to drive sales. If the honest answer is “probably not” or “it depends,” that is the answer we publish.
Sources you can check
Every article ends with its sources, linked out so you can read the original rather than take our word for it. If a claim is not sourced, we should not have made it.
Independent of anyone selling
Our assessment of whether something works is never influenced by whether we could earn from it. The site currently runs no advertising, no sponsorship and no affiliate links.
What we will not do
A standards page is only meaningful if it rules things out. These are commitments, not preferences.
Recommend a supplement because it is popular
A large share of our supplement coverage concludes that the product in question is not worth buying. Testosterone boosters, fat burners and greens powders all get that verdict, because that is where the evidence lands. Popularity is not a reason to recommend something.
Publish a claim we cannot source
If we cannot point to published research or guidance from a recognised medical body, the sentence does not run. Where we are describing a mechanism that is plausible but unproven, we label it as such rather than stating it as fact.
Present ourselves as your doctor
We are a publication, not a medical service. Nothing here diagnoses you or replaces a consultation with someone who knows your history. Our job is to help you understand a topic well enough to ask better questions.
See our medical disclaimer for the full position.
Quietly change an article after publication
Substantive corrections are noted on the article, not silently edited away. Our corrections and updates policy sets out what counts as substantive and how quickly we act.
Take payment to influence a verdict
We do not accept payment, product or partnership in exchange for coverage or for a favourable assessment. If that ever changes, it will be disclosed on the page where it appears and on our funding page, before you read the article.
Use scare-driven headlines to earn clicks
Men’s health is a field where fear sells easily. We write headlines that describe what the article actually establishes, including when the answer is reassuring or boring.
Who writes and who checks
Articles are researched and written by the Health Density editorial team. Nutrition, fitness and supplement content is reviewed by Laiqa Sami, BSc (Hons) Food Science and Human Nutrition, a certified fitness coach, who checks it against her training and practical coaching experience.
We want to be precise about the limits of that. Health Density does not have a physician on staff, and we do not claim clinical review of medical topics. Where a subject crosses into diagnosis, medication or treatment decisions, we write from published clinical guidance and then tell you plainly to take it to your doctor. Pretending otherwise would be the easiest way to lose your trust.
How this page is maintained. This policy is reviewed at least annually and whenever our process changes. If you believe we have broken one of these commitments in a specific article, tell us and we will publish the outcome.
Found something we got wrong?
Corrections are one of the few reliable signals that a publication is honest. We would rather hear it from you than leave it standing.