How We Research and Cite

Who writes this site

The Overlap Hub is run by Elizabeth and Michael, a married couple who lived through mold illness and its overlapping conditions with our family. We’re patients and caregivers, not doctors. We don’t claim any medical credentials, and nothing here is medical advice. Our story is on the Our Story page.

Because we aren’t clinicians, we try to show you where each piece of information comes from so you can judge it yourself and take it to a licensed clinician.

Where our information comes from

In our condition guides and blog articles, medical claims are cited to sources we have opened and read: research indexed in PubMed, government health agencies such as the NIH, MedlinePlus, the CDC and the EPA, clinical guidelines, and position statements from professional societies. Numbers in brackets link to the full source list at the bottom of each page, with links you can follow. An AI assistant helps us find research, draft pages and format citations; every source is opened and checked against what we cite before anything is published.

When we can’t find a reliable source for something, we leave it out or say plainly that we didn’t find evidence. Some sources are written by people who promote a particular approach; when that matters, we say so in the text.

Mainstream view first, then the functional view

Each condition guide starts with the mainstream medical view: what guidelines and major medical bodies say, and what research does and doesn’t show. After that, a clearly marked section describes how functional and integrative practitioners see the topic. We name who holds each view (“ISEAI says…”, “Dr. Shoemaker proposes…”) rather than presenting it as settled fact, and we note where mainstream bodies disagree.

What our “Evidence:” labels mean

Where an approach is debated, especially in functional sections, we add a short italic label describing the kind of evidence behind it. The wording is specific to each claim rather than a fixed scale, but you’ll see patterns like these:

• Evidence: public health guidance or general indoor-air guidance: advice from health agencies, usually not tested in trials for the specific condition.
• Evidence: small studies or observational: some research exists, but it’s limited or can’t show cause and effect.
• Evidence: clinical observation, practitioner reports only or a professional society’s position: based on clinicians’ experience, not controlled research.
• Evidence: a theory or untested: a proposed model that hasn’t been tested.
• Evidence: we found no controlled trials: we looked and didn’t find them. That doesn’t prove something doesn’t work; it means it hasn’t been shown to.

How we check quotes and facts

Before a page goes up, we check each direct quote word for word against the original source and confirm that each number and claim matches what the cited source actually says. We list the date we accessed web pages, and we recheck links when we update a page.

What we keep out of medical content

Our condition guides and blog articles don’t recommend product brands, supplement or medication doses, or specific testing labs, and they contain no affiliate links. We use the word “detox” only in quotation marks, as a term some practitioners use, because it isn’t a defined medical treatment.

Separately, some product links and discount codes elsewhere on the site, such as product boxes on our homepage, are affiliate links or codes. They are disclosed where they appear and in our privacy policy, and they don’t influence what our medical pages say.

Not a diagnosis

We can’t diagnose anyone, and our pages aren’t written to tell you what you have. Our checklists and prep sheets help you organize what you notice and what to ask. Please work with a licensed clinician for diagnosis and treatment, and call 911 (in the US) or your local emergency number in an emergency.

Dates and updates

Condition guides and blog articles show a “Last reviewed” date near the top. When guidance changes or we find a mistake, we update the page and its date.

Found an error?

We’d be grateful to hear about it. Use the contact form on our homepage and tell us the page, what looks wrong, and a source if you have one. We review every report and correct mistakes we can confirm.