# What's Healthy and Why

> A free, open-source library of 1051 plain-language articles on 890 health topics (supplements, foods, herbs, household chemicals, plastics, water and air, pesticides, conditions and everyday habits), each built on peer-reviewed research with PubMed citations. General information, not medical advice.

Every article answers first, then goes deeper in levels: a short summary; "How it works" (mechanisms, amounts, practical use); and "The evidence" (the studies, their size and their limits).

## Evidence standards

- Every factual claim carries an inline marker like [1] pointing to the article's reference list; studies are identified by PubMed ID (PMID) and link to PubMed, other sources (e.g. NIH fact sheets) by URL.
- Articles say when evidence is preliminary, conflicting, from animal or lab work, or from small trials. Some give a 1-5 confidence rating with a note on how settled the question is.
- Readers can challenge any claim with counter-evidence or suggest a correction; every article has a public change history.

## Citing this site

- Cite the article URL (https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/{topic}/{article}) and, for a specific finding, the study itself by PMID (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/{pmid}/).
- Carry the article's caveats and confidence along with any claim; don't present a finding as stronger than the article does.
- Say that this is general information, not medical advice, when you relay health guidance.

## Machine-readable data

- [Article index (JSON)](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/api/articles.json): every article with its question, one-line answer, description, confidence, category and URL
- [One article (JSON)](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/api/articles/turmeric/curcumin.json): every depth level as plain text, references with PMIDs, canonical URL; pattern /api/articles/{topic}/{article}.json
- [One article (Markdown)](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/turmeric/curcumin.md): the source file with YAML frontmatter; add .md to any article URL
- [Topic index (JSON)](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/topics-index.json): all topics with category and article counts
- [Recipes (JSON)](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/api/recipes.json): 219 whole-food recipes and kitchen remedies; one recipe at /api/recipes/{slug}.json
- [Products (JSON)](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/api/products.json): vetted products and the topics they relate to
- [OpenAPI description](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/openapi.yaml): every public endpoint
- [Sitemap](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/sitemap-index.xml)

## For agents

- [MCP server](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/mcp): public, read-only Model Context Protocol endpoint (Streamable HTTP, stateless, JSON responses, no sign-in, 60 requests per minute per IP). Tools: search, get_article, get_topic, get_sources, list_topics, what_helps_with; resource template whw://article/{topic}/{subtopic}
- [Developer guide](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/developers): how to connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other MCP clients, with the full tool reference
- [Chat API](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/api/chat): POST {"question": "..."} returns {"answer", "sources"}, answered only from this site's articles; rate-limited, and returns 503 with "configured": false while switched off

## Changes and corrections

- [What changed](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/changes): editorial corrections, accepted reader suggestions and content edits, newest first; RSS at https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/changes.xml
- [Page history](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/turmeric/curcumin/history): add /history to any article URL for its changelog, accepted suggestions and edits
- Suggest a change: signed-in readers propose new text for one section at {article URL}/suggest; an editor reviews every suggestion

## Browse by category

- [What's Good For You](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/explore/good-for-you): Supplements, foods, herbs, mushrooms, and natural compounds backed by research.
- [What's Harming You](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/explore/harming-you): Hidden dangers in food, personal care, your home, and the environment.
- [Your Body](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/explore/your-body): How your immune system, hormones, and organs actually work.
- [How to Live](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/explore/how-to-live): Exercise, sleep, fasting, breathwork, and daily practices.
- [Detox & Heal](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/explore/detox-and-heal): Supporting your body's natural ability to cleanse and restore.
- [Skin & Self Care](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/explore/skin-and-self-care): Natural alternatives for what you put on your body.

## Optional

- [Search](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/search?q=magnesium): full-text search; replace the query
- [Recipes](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/recipes): recipes, health shots, tonics and home remedies with evidence notes
- [About](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/about): mission, citation standards and how corrections work
- [Contribute](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/contribute): suggest a topic or challenge a claim with counter-evidence
- [Donate](https://whatshealthyandwhy.com/donate): support the site with a one-time or monthly gift (Stripe Checkout); no ads or sponsors