MedSysEvidence-graded reference

Medical reference that tells you how much to trust it

Most health writing online has one register and one confidence level. This site has three registers and four confidence levels, because the answer to "should I do this?" is usually "that depends on how sure we are, and on who you are".

Every claim here carries an evidence grade. Some of what follows rests on decades of randomised trials and settled genetics. Some rests on a plausible mechanism and a handful of small studies. Both are worth knowing about; treating them the same is what makes health advice useless. Where experts genuinely disagree, this site says so rather than picking a side and sounding certain.

This website is not medical advice but a reference library of compiled medical research for assistance in clinical assessment. Nothing here diagnoses, treats or prescribes. Never start, stop or change a prescribed medicine without speaking to your GP or specialist — and if you are at high cardiovascular risk, treatment should not be delayed while you try lifestyle changes.

It’s happening now

straight to the page, no menu All 31 chapters →

Topics

10 of 10 published · the colour is the topic, everywhere

Heart & cholesterol

Lipid panels, apoB and Lp(a), plaque imaging, and which markers actually predict risk.

19 chapters

Brain health

Cognitive decline is not simply a matter of time passing — around 45% of dementia is associated with things that can be changed. What those are, in order of size, and what the supplement claims are actually worth.

Eating for the heart

The plate, portions, a 12-day starter plan, gluten-free routes and easy swaps.

9 chapters

Food & product safety

Which product to actually buy: 256 UK brands ranked against ten criteria, aisle-by-aisle picks, gluten-free certification, and where plastic gets into food.

6 chapters

Fibromyalgia

A disorder of how the nervous system processes pain — and since July 2026, one with robust genetic evidence behind that rather than an inference from ruling other things out. What changed, what did not, and what actually helps.

2 chapters

Life health checks

What is worth checking in each decade, what the NHS already owes you and most people do not claim, and the tests that sound thorough but do more harm than good. A per-decade checklist with the reasoning attached.

2 chapters

Eyes & sight

Glaucoma takes the vision you will not notice losing and none of it comes back; macular degeneration takes the middle and one form of it moves in weeks. Who gets a free sight test, what changed in 2022, and what the supplements are worth.

Longevity & exposures

Sixteen graded household and environmental exposures, from non-stick pans to night noise.

9 chapters

Emergencies & first aid

Every chapter covers adults and children together — vital signs, resuscitation, choking, bleeding, collapse, sepsis, injury and anaphylaxis. What people most often get wrong.

31 chapters

Vaping & second-hand vapour

What is actually in the aerosol, who it harms and how much, what a bystander in the room really breathes, and what changed in UK law in 2025.

8 chapters

Calculators and tools

What each one is for →
Heart & cholesterolCholesterol & risk calculator Eating for the heartFood scores — 267 foods Eating for the heartBuild the plate, portions by height LongevityLongevity supplements Food & product safetyBrand safety database Food & product safetyPlastic ingress guide VapingVape exposure estimator Heart & cholesterolIs your BP treatment working? Heart & cholesterolBlood pressure measurement Heart & cholesterolBody composition calculator Emergencies & first aidDipstick UTI interpreter Heart & cholesterolCGM 14-day protocol

For clinicians

  1. Phase 1 Baseline panel One blood draw
  2. Phase 2 Imaging triage If Phase 1 abnormal
  3. Phase 3 Definitive imaging Is plaque present?
  4. Phase 4 Specialist workup Rarely needed

Each phase is triggered by what the last one revealed, so most patients never reach Phase 3. Open the pathway

How we grade evidence

The full grading page →