Verdicts
Does vitamin C stop you catching colds?
Decades of Cochrane trials find no meaningful drop in cold risk for ordinary adults, only a modest shortening of colds once they start.
EBy Eleanor Voss · 28 July 2026 · 2 min read
Eleanor Voss
Editor · Bristol
Eleanor reviews nutrition and prevention claims. She specialises in separating headline numbers from the actual effect sizes reported in trials.
Articles
Verdicts
Methods
How we weigh the evidence
Every claim we assess carries the same two marks: how strong the evidence is, and which way it points. This is the method behind them, and the reason we sometimes say "we don't know."
EBy Eleanor Voss · 27 July 2026 · 6 min read
Methods
The evidence pyramid: why not all studies are equal
"A study found" tells you almost nothing until you know what kind of study it was. A quick tour from anecdote to meta-analysis.
EBy Eleanor Voss · 25 July 2026 · 5 min read
Methods
Relative vs absolute risk: the trick behind scary headlines
"Doubles your risk" and "raises it from 1 in 10,000 to 2 in 10,000" can describe the exact same finding. One sells papers; the other tells you what to do.
EBy Eleanor Voss · 23 July 2026 · 4 min read
Consensus
What scientists mean by "consensus"
A scientific consensus is not a vote, and not a demand for silence. It is what remains standing after decades of people trying to knock it down.
EBy Eleanor Voss · 21 July 2026 · 5 min read
Verdicts
How a single study becomes a myth
The pipeline from a modest finding to a confident health myth is short, well-worn, and easy to spot once you know the stations it passes through.
EBy Eleanor Voss · 19 July 2026 · 5 min read
Verdicts
Does sugar make children hyperactive?
It is one of the most confidently repeated claims in parenting. It is also one of the most thoroughly tested, and the tests do not support it.
EBy Eleanor Voss · 17 July 2026 · 4 min read
Verdicts
Do you need eight glasses of water a day?
The famous rule is everywhere. A clear scientific basis for it is not.
EBy Eleanor Voss · 15 July 2026 · 4 min read
Evidence
Where the evidence stands: physical activity
On a subject where much is contested, this one is not: across an enormous body of research, regular movement is among the best-supported things you can do for your health.
EBy Eleanor Voss · 13 July 2026 · 5 min read