1. Who we are

AliveAndKicking Health Media ("we", "our", "us") operates this website. If you have questions about this policy or how your data is handled, you can reach us through the contact information on our About page.

2. What data we collect

Data you give us

You don't need to create an account, subscribe, or give us any personal information to read articles. We don't run comment sections, email capture forms, or user registration for readers.

Data your browser creates automatically

When you visit the site, our hosting provider (Netlify) logs the following in line with standard internet practice:

• Your IP address
• Your browser type and version (user-agent string)
• The pages you requested and the time of the request
• The referring website, if any

These logs are kept by Netlify for a limited period for security and performance purposes. We do not read or analyse these logs ourselves.

Data stored in your browser

We use your browser's localStorage — which functions similarly to cookies — to store a small amount of data locally on your device:

• Article cache (ak_local_articles, ak_local_nextid) — a copy of the articles list, so the site loads quickly and works offline. Strictly necessary for site function.
• Cookie consent (ak_cookie_consent) — records your choice on the cookie banner, so we don't show it repeatedly.

This data stays on your device. It is never sent to us or to any third party.

3. Third-party services we use

Typography

The fonts used on this site (Playfair Display and Source Sans 3) are self-hosted from our own server. No third-party font service receives requests from your browser. Both fonts are licensed under the SIL Open Font License.

Google AdSense

If you consent to "Accept all" cookies, this site displays advertisements served by Google AdSense. AdSense uses cookies and similar technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this site or other websites. You can opt out of personalized advertising at any time by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also use the "Essential only" option in our cookie banner, which blocks all AdSense code from loading. More information about how Google uses data from advertising is available at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Netlify (hosting)

Our site is hosted on Netlify. Their privacy practices are documented at netlify.com/privacy.

4. What we do not do

• We do not use Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, or any other analytics or tracking service
• We do not show advertising to users who choose "Essential only" cookies
• We do not sell, rent, or share your data with anyone for marketing purposes
• We do not use fingerprinting or any technique to identify you across sessions beyond what you explicitly consent to

5. Your rights under GDPR

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have the following rights regarding any personal data we hold:

• Right of access — ask for a copy of the data we hold about you
• Right to rectification — correct inaccurate data
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") — ask us to delete your data
• Right to restrict processing — limit how we use your data
• Right to data portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Right to object — object to certain types of processing
• Right to withdraw consent — change your cookie preferences at any time (see section 7)
• Right to lodge a complaint — file a complaint with your national data protection authority.

Since we collect almost no personal data directly, most of these rights are satisfied by you simply clearing your browser's site data. For anything else, contact us.

6. Children's privacy

Our content is intended for a general adult audience. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with data, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it.

7. Changing your cookie preferences

You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the button below. This will clear your previous choice and re-show the consent banner.

Change cookie preferences

8. Data retention

Browser storage persists until you clear it or withdraw consent. Netlify's server logs are retained according to their policy. We do not maintain separate databases of reader data.

9. International transfers

Our hosting provider (Netlify) may process data in jurisdictions outside the EEA, including the United States. Netlify participates in appropriate data transfer frameworks such as the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and uses Standard Contractual Clauses where applicable. If you consent to AdSense, Google may also process data in such jurisdictions on the same basis.

10. Changes to this policy

If we update this policy, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top. For significant changes, we may re-show the consent banner.

11. Contact

For any privacy-related questions or to exercise your rights, please reach out via the contact details on our Contact page.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing and using AliveAndKicking Health ("the Site"), you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use the Site.

2. Use of Content

All articles, images, graphics, and other content on this Site are protected by copyright and are the property of AliveAndKicking Health Media unless otherwise noted. You may read and share links to our articles freely. You may not republish, redistribute, or reproduce our content in whole or in substantial part without prior written permission.

3. Medical Disclaimer

AliveAndKicking Health, its authors, editors, and affiliates are not liable for any actions taken based on information found on this Site. Reliance on any information provided here is solely at your own risk.

4. Accuracy of Information

We strive to provide accurate, up-to-date, and well-researched content. However, medical and health research evolves constantly, and we cannot guarantee that every article reflects the absolute latest consensus. If you spot an error, please let us know via the Contact page.

5. Third-Party Links

Our articles may contain links to third-party websites. We do not endorse, control, or take responsibility for the content or practices of these external sites. Visiting them is at your own discretion.

6. Advertising

The Site may display advertisements served by Google AdSense or similar networks. We do not endorse the products or services advertised. Advertiser relationships are disclosed in our Privacy Policy.

7. User Conduct

You agree not to use the Site in any way that:

• Violates any applicable law or regulation
• Attempts to gain unauthorized access to our systems or accounts
• Interferes with the normal operation of the Site
• Scrapes or bulk-downloads our content for commercial use without permission

8. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, AliveAndKicking Health Media and its contributors shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of or inability to use the Site.

9. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top indicates the most recent revision. Continued use of the Site after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

10. Contact

For questions about these Terms, please reach out via our Contact page.

1. Medical Disclaimer

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call your local emergency number or visit the nearest emergency department immediately. Do not use this site to seek help for an urgent or life-threatening situation.

2. No Professional Relationship

Reading articles on AliveAndKicking Health does not create a doctor-patient, therapist-client, or any other professional relationship between you and the site, its contributors, or anyone associated with it. We are journalists writing about health research, not licensed clinicians providing care. We cannot assess your individual circumstances, examine you, review your medical history, or prescribe anything.

3. Accuracy and Currency of Content

We do our best to provide accurate, well-sourced, and current information. Every article cites peer-reviewed research, official health guidelines, or other primary sources, and we link to those sources at the bottom of each piece so you can verify the underlying evidence.

That said, medical and scientific understanding evolves continuously. New research can change what is considered best practice, sometimes within months. While we aim to update articles as significant new evidence emerges, we cannot guarantee that every article reflects the absolute latest consensus at the moment you read it. When making decisions that affect your health, please verify with a qualified professional and check whether more recent research has emerged.

If you spot an error, please contact us — we publish corrections promptly with a dated note.

4. Third-Party Links and Citations

Our articles link to external sources — peer-reviewed studies, news outlets, health organizations, and similar resources — to allow readers to verify our claims. Linking to a source does not constitute a general endorsement of that source's other content, services, or commercial offerings. We endorse only the specific information cited, in the context cited.

We have no control over external websites and cannot guarantee that linked content remains accurate, available, or unchanged after we publish.

5. Advertising

This site may display advertisements served by third-party advertising networks (currently Google AdSense, when enabled). Advertisements are clearly distinguished from editorial content. We do not endorse or vouch for products or services advertised on the site, and we do not have editorial control over which ads are shown to individual readers — ads are served by Google's network based on its own targeting.

We do not accept payment in exchange for editorial coverage. Articles are not influenced by advertiser relationships.

6. Commentary on Commercial Products

Our articles sometimes evaluate commercial products — supplements, diets, devices, treatments, or wellness services — based on the available scientific evidence. These evaluations are editorial opinions grounded in cited research. They are not personal recommendations for you specifically. A product we describe as well-supported by evidence may still be inappropriate for your individual circumstances; a product we describe as overhyped may still have niche legitimate uses. Always discuss specific products with a qualified professional before using them, especially if you have existing health conditions or take medications.

7. Reader Responsibility

You are responsible for your own health decisions. Information from this site is one input among many that should inform those decisions, alongside guidance from your healthcare providers, your knowledge of your own body, and other reliable sources.

8. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, AliveAndKicking Health Media, its contributors, editors, and affiliates are not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of, or reliance on, information published on this site. Reliance on any content is solely at your own risk.

This disclaimer is intended to operate alongside the limitation of liability set out in our Terms of Use, not in place of it.

9. Changes to This Disclaimer

We may update this disclaimer from time to time as our content, services, or applicable best practices change. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the most recent revision was made. We encourage readers to review this page periodically.

10. Contact

If you have questions about anything on this page, please reach out through our Contact page.

1. Who We Are and What We Do

AliveAndKicking Health is an independent health journalism site. Our role is to read health and medical research, summarise what it actually shows, and link out to the original sources so readers can verify the claims themselves. Where the evidence is uncertain or contested, we say that. Where the science is settled, we say that too.

We are not a medical publication. None of our editors are practicing clinicians, and we do not provide diagnosis, treatment, or personalized medical advice. Articles on this site are journalism, not medicine — they are intended to inform conversations with qualified healthcare providers, not replace them.

2. Topic Selection

We choose article topics based on three criteria:

• Reader curiosity. Questions readers are actively asking — visible in search trends, news cycles, and conversations about emerging health topics.
• Meaningful evidence. A topic earns coverage when there is a body of peer-reviewed evidence substantial enough to write something useful, even if that "useful" sometimes means "the evidence is weaker than the marketing suggests."
• Where mainstream coverage is thin or overheated. We prefer to write about topics where the popular framing is either missing important nuance or running ahead of the research.

We do not select topics based on advertiser preferences, affiliate revenue potential, or sponsor relationships. We have no advertisers or sponsors with editorial influence over which topics we cover.

3. Source Hierarchy

Every article is built on cited sources. Our preferred source hierarchy, in descending order:

• Peer-reviewed studies and meta-analyses published in established medical and scientific journals.
• Systematic reviews and consensus statements from professional medical societies (such as the American Heart Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians).
• Official guidance documents from established public health bodies (World Health Organization, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Food and Drug Administration, UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, European Medicines Agency, and equivalents).
• Reputable scientific journalism from established outlets with their own editorial standards (Nature News, Science News, STAT, MIT Technology Review, the science desks of major newspapers).

We avoid the following as primary sources: wellness blogs, supplement-industry websites, content farms, self-published health books, anecdotal reports, social media posts, and press releases not backed by published research. Where we reference any of these, we do so explicitly and as the subject of the article, not as evidence supporting a claim.

4. How an Article Gets Published

1. Research before drafting. Before any article is written, we collect the primary sources we will rely on. Articles are written from current literature, not memory — we do not write from general impressions and add citations afterward.
2. Drafting against sources. Articles are drafted with the source material open. Inline citations (the [1], [2] markers you see throughout each article) are placed after the specific claim each source supports, not at the end of a paragraph as a catch-all.
3. Numbers over generalities. Where studies report effect sizes, study populations, confidence intervals, or relative-risk figures, we report them. "A 14 percent increase in all-cause mortality" is more useful than "a meaningful increase."
4. Honest hedging. Where evidence is mixed, we say so. Where mechanisms are plausible but unproven, we label them as such. Where consensus shifts over time, we report the current state and note the uncertainty.
5. Review against cited sources. Before publication, each article is reviewed against its cited sources to confirm that every quantitative claim and every attributed finding is actually supported by the source.
6. Publication. Articles are published with a visible date and a Further Reading section listing every source. Sources are clickable links readers can use to verify claims directly.

5. Use of AI Tools

We use AI assistance for parts of the editorial process — including initial research synthesis, draft generation, and copy editing. Every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication, with particular attention to:

• Source verification. Every cited study, statistic, and attributed finding is checked against the actual source. AI tools can fabricate citations; we treat any unverified attribution as broken until confirmed.
• Factual accuracy. Quantitative claims, study designs, and clinical specifics are verified before publication.
• Editorial judgment. Topic framing, what to include and omit, how to characterize uncertainty, and tone are human decisions, not AI outputs.

We are transparent about this because we think the alternative — using AI tools but pretending otherwise — is the more concerning practice. AI assistance does not change the standard articles must meet before publication; it just changes some of the workflow used to get there.

6. Corrections Policy

We treat factual errors seriously. If we publish something inaccurate, we want to know — and we publish corrections promptly.

To request a correction, send an email to contact@aliveandkickinghealth.com or use the Contact form. Include:

• The article title and URL.
• The specific passage you believe is incorrect.
• Where possible, your source for the correct information (a link to a study, guidelines document, or other primary source is most helpful).

Timing. Material errors — factual mistakes, misstated statistics, miscited sources, broken attributions — are reviewed within 2 business days and corrected within 5 business days of confirmation. Minor errors (typos, formatting, broken links) are corrected silently as we find them.

How corrections are shown. For material corrections, we append a dated note at the bottom of the affected article describing what was changed and when. The original error is not silently overwritten — readers should be able to see that an article was updated and why.

If the entire article is wrong. In rare cases where the central premise of an article turns out to be unsupportable, we either issue a substantial revision (with a clear note explaining what changed) or retract the article entirely. Retracted articles are replaced with a page explaining the retraction; the URL is not silently repurposed.

7. Editorial Independence

We do not accept payment in exchange for editorial coverage. We do not write sponsored articles, sponsored sections, or "native advertising" disguised as editorial content. We do not allow advertisers, affiliates, or commercial partners to review, shape, or veto editorial content before publication.

Where the site displays advertisements (currently through Google AdSense, when enabled), those advertisements are served by Google's network based on its own targeting and are clearly distinguished from editorial content. We have no editorial relationship with the products or services advertised on the site. We do not endorse advertised products, and the appearance of an ad on a page does not mean the product is recommended in the accompanying article.

If we ever publish content with a commercial relationship behind it — for example, a sponsored partnership or paid placement — that relationship will be clearly disclosed at the top of the affected article. As of the date of this policy, no such relationships exist.

8. Conflicts of Interest

Our editorial team does not hold financial positions in companies whose products are evaluated in our articles. Where an editor has a personal connection to a topic that could reasonably be seen as a conflict, they do not write about that topic, or the conflict is disclosed at the top of the article.

We do not accept free products, paid trips, or other benefits from companies in exchange for coverage. Where we evaluate commercial products (supplements, devices, diets, services), the evaluation is based on the published evidence, not on access provided by the manufacturer.

9. Use of External Links and Citations

Our articles link to external sources to allow readers to verify our claims directly. Linking to a source does not constitute a general endorsement of that source's other content, commercial offerings, or unrelated views. We endorse only the specific information cited, in the context cited.

We have no control over external websites and cannot guarantee that linked content remains accurate, available, or unchanged after we publish. If a link breaks, please let us know via the Contact page.

10. Reader Feedback and Contact

We welcome reader feedback, particularly on factual accuracy, source quality, and topics readers think we should cover. Editorial inquiries, corrections, and topic suggestions can be sent to contact@aliveandkickinghealth.com or submitted through the Contact page. We aim to respond within 5 business days.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this editorial policy from time to time as our processes evolve. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the most recent revision was made. Significant changes to editorial standards, source policy, or corrections handling will be noted in a brief changelog at the bottom of this page when they occur.

Get in touch

For editorial inquiries, content corrections, partnership proposals, or general questions, please use the following contact methods:

Email

For inquiries: contact@aliveandkickinghealth.com

Response time

We aim to respond to all inquiries within 5 business days.

Corrections policy

If you find a factual error in any of our articles, please reach out with:

• The article title and URL
• The specific passage you believe is incorrect
• Your source for the correct information (if available)

We review every correction request and publish updates with a dated revision note at the end of the affected article.

Editorial guidelines

We are a small team committed to evidence-based, accurate, and accessible health information. All medical claims are reviewed against peer-reviewed research, guidelines from reputable health authorities, and current clinical consensus. We do not accept payment in exchange for editorial coverage.