How We Write at the FitCal Blog: Our Sourcing Method — and Why We Sometimes Say "We Don't Know"

In a world full of health claims, you deserve to know how what you're reading was written — and when you should doubt us.

Our six rules

1. Every number has a reference: any percentage or statistic in our articles is tied to a published source, with a direct link you can open and verify yourself.
2. We prefer the highest tiers of evidence: umbrella reviews, then systematic reviews and meta-analyses, then randomised controlled trials, then observational studies. We name the study type so you can weigh it.
3. We say "we don't know" when we don't: see spot reduction, self-weighing frequency or eggs and cholesterol — three articles that end by saying the evidence conflicts, because it does.
4. We report a study's limitations: when the sample is small, the duration short, or the funding comes from an interested party, we say so — as in meal replacements.
5. We separate correlation from causation: an observational study shows an association, not a cause — a distinction that dismantles many popular claims, as in the breakfast myth.
6. We don't sell you anything inside an article: no supplements, no programmes. When we mention FitCal, we mention it as a logging tool, not a magic fix — in fact we wrote a whole article on the limits of calorie-number accuracy, and we are a calorie app.

What we don't do

• We don't diagnose or prescribe — our content is educational, and medical decisions belong to your doctor.
• We don't write "a study proves" — science weighs and estimates; it rarely "proves".
• We don't publish what we can't source — which is why we deleted articles we had already written once they drifted outside calories and fitness.

How to check us

1. Open the reference: every article ends with a numbered list of sources and direct links.
2. Look at the study type: "a meta-analysis of 34 trials" carries far more weight than "a study of 20 people".
3. Watch effect size, not just significance: "statistically significant" can mean half a kilo in a year — as in green tea.
4. And write to us if you find an error — we will correct it and thank you.

Why all this?

Because Arabic health content is full of numbers without sources and promises without evidence. And because we are building an app that asks people to trust it with their bodies — and trust begins with telling you the truth even when it doesn't serve us.