Sources and Methodology

Institutional sources are the backbone of our methodology because they are stable, transparent, and easier for readers to verify. For food values, our preferred source is USDA FoodData Central. For nutrient reference values, we rely on the National Academies, NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, and NCBI Bookshelf.

For medication-adjacent topics such as GLP-1 use, we prefer FDA labels, DailyMed, PubMed-indexed studies, and clinician-facing institutional guidance before using general wellness articles.

Trusted medical sites and professional organizations are useful when they explain how evidence applies to patients or everyday food choices. These may include Mayo Clinic, National Kidney Foundation, American Diabetes Association, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American College of Sports Medicine, and similar bodies.

We treat these as supporting resources unless the page is quoting an official guideline, consensus statement, or patient standard from that organization.

Protein calculator ranges are based on body weight, activity, goal, and life stage. General targets start from Dietary Reference Intakes, then move higher for muscle gain, fat loss, athletic training, older adults, and other contexts where peer-reviewed sources support a higher intake range.

Calculator outputs are estimates. They are intended to start a nutrition decision, not finish it. Readers with kidney disease, diabetes medication changes, pregnancy, lactation, appetite loss, or complex medical histories should use clinician guidance.

If sources disagree, we prefer the more recent, higher-quality, population-matched source. A sports nutrition target for trained lifters should not override kidney disease guidance, and a general nutrition article should not override a medication label or condition-specific clinical source.

Where evidence is not strong enough for precision, the page should use ranges, explain uncertainty, and avoid absolute language.