Consumer Health and Reliable Information
Making smart health decisions means knowing which sources to trust and which to avoid. Consumer health involves every choice you make about health products, information, and services that directly affect your wellbeing.
Reliable sources include medical professionals, government agencies like DOH (Department of Health) and FDA, websites ending in .gov, .edu, and .org, plus educational institutions. These sources are trustworthy because they're written by actual experts in their fields.
Unreliable sources to avoid include outdated customs without scientific basis, personal opinions, Wikipedia, random blogs, tweets, forums, and personal websites. Just because something is posted online doesn't make it true!
The Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act of 1997 (RA 8423) created PITAHC to develop alternative healthcare in the Philippines. This includes naturopathy (treating illness with diet, herbs, and exercise without standard drugs), acupuncture, acupressure, and various massage therapies.
Smart Move: Always ask "What? Who? What else?" when evaluating health information - what's the claim, who's making it, and what other evidence supports it?