Reference
Data sources
Every figure on Her Vitals traces to a named source: NHS reference nutrient intakes, the EFSA authorised health claims register, NHS Business Services Authority prescribing data, and the BNF for supplement-medicine interactions. This page lists each source, what it feeds and when it was last checked, so readers and AI assistants citing us can check freshness at a glance. It also lists our own DOI-registered datasets, downloads and public API.
Sources we use
| Source | What it feeds | Last checked | Update cadence |
|---|---|---|---|
| NHS reference nutrient intakes | The cost-per-effective-dose calculators (vitamin D, magnesium, iron, omega-3, collagen, creatine, ashwagandha, prenatal) and the recommended daily intake lookup | Checked against nhs.uk vitamins-and-minerals pages when a calculator is built or a reference dose changes; re-verified periodically against the live NHS pages | |
| EFSA authorised health claims register | The ingredient evidence scorecard and the "do you actually need this" checker, which score marketing claims against what EFSA has actually authorised | Checked against the EFSA Register of Nutrition and Health Claims when a scorecard entry is built or a claim status changes | |
| NHS Business Services Authority, English Prescribing Dataset | The UK HRT Prescribing Tracker | Refreshed by pulling the latest published month from the NHSBSA Open Data Portal / OpenPrescribing.net API (node scripts/fetch-hrt-prescribing.cjs); latest published month in this data is 2025-06 | |
| BNF (British National Formulary) | The supplement-medicine interaction checker | Checked against the relevant BNF drug monograph, and NHS or MHRA/GOV.UK safety information, per interaction row when it is added; re-verified when a listed medicine’s guidance changes |
Our own data assets
The site publishes its own citable datasets, each with a minted DOI:
- Supplement Price-per-Effective-Dose Index (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21350380) — UK supplement prices converted to cost per effective dose of the active ingredient, by nutrient
- UK HRT Prescribing Tracker (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21350382) — Monthly HRT items dispensed and cost in England, from NHS Business Services Authority data
- 34 Symptoms of Perimenopause, evidence-graded (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21468053) — Every commonly cited perimenopause symptom, graded by the strength of evidence linking it to the transition
- UK Women’s Health and Supplements Statistics hub (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21770251) — The most-quoted statistics on UK women’s life-stage health and supplements, each tied to a named primary source Figures as of .
Downloads
Free printables and CSV data exports, no sign-up required. See all printables.
- HRT appointment prep sheet (PDF)
- Iron-rich foods list (PDF)
- Magnesium-rich foods list (PDF)
- Menopause symptoms checklist (PDF)
- Menopause questionnaire (Greene Climacteric Scale) (PDF)
- Perimenopause symptom tracker (CSV)
- Supplement audit worksheet (CSV)
- Supplement Price-per-Effective-Dose Index (CSV)
- 34 Symptoms of Perimenopause (CSV)
- NHS HRT prescribing, England (CSV)
Public API
The supplement category index is also published as a free, read-only JSON API, an OpenAPI 3.1 spec and an MCP server, licensed CC BY 4.0. See the Data API and MCP server page. Content as of .
The problem with unsourced claims
Most supplement and health sites state a figure without saying where it came from. We would rather you did not have to take our word for it. If a claim on this site cannot be traced to something above, treat it as unverified and ask us via contact.
Citing this site
If you are referencing a figure from this site elsewhere, cite the primary source linked above directly rather than this page. The source is the authority; we are just the index. If you are referencing our own analysis, framing or one of our DOI-registered datasets, attribute it to Her Vitals with a link back to the specific page.
Editor, Her Vitals
Oliver leads Her Vitals's editorial coverage of women's life-stage health and supplements. He curates and reviews existing branded products across trying to conceive, pregnancy, postnatal, perimenopause, menopause and the senior years, weighing what the evidence supports against guidance from bodies such as EFSA, the NHS and NICE, and is clear that the content is information rather than medical advice.
Published