Helvy
How we work
Health information is only worth reading if you can see how it was made. Here is exactly how every Helvy guide is researched, written, checked and kept current — including where we use tools and where a person always has the final say.
Last reviewed July 2026.
The seven steps behind every guide
Every guide starts from a real question people are asking about a biomarker, a symptom or a test — sourced from search demand, not invented.
We gather the current UK clinical guidance (NICE, NHS, the relevant Royal College or specialist society) and peer-reviewed literature before a word is written, and we work from those primary sources rather than from other blogs.
Our research team drafts the guide. We use AI tooling to help assemble and structure evidence, but every factual claim is checked by a person against the source it cites — the tool never has the last word.
A second pass verifies each claim, number and range against its named source, and confirms the guide does not describe any Helvy test as containing a marker it does not.
We check the guide against UK advertising and health-claim rules: wellness framing, no diagnosis, and a clear route to see a GP for anything that warrants it. An automated claims linter blocks banned language before anything is published.
Guidance is checked by a qualified clinician before it goes live. We name clinical roles, not individuals, until a reviewer has agreed to be credited publicly — we would rather be honest about that than print a name we have not earned the right to print.
Guides carry a last-reviewed date and are re-checked as the science and the guidelines move. When we get something wrong, we fix it and update the date.
Who writes and checks this
The Helvy research team
Health writers and researchers who read the primary guidance and literature and turn it into plain English. They are the byline on our guides.
A qualified clinician
Guidance is checked by a qualified clinician before publication. We do not claim GP or doctor review, and we do not print a clinician's name until they have agreed to be credited — an honest signal is worth more than an impressive-looking one.
An automated compliance linter
Before any guide ships, an automated check blocks diagnostic language, over-claims and any statement that a test contains a marker it does not. It runs on every publish.
Helvy content is wellness education to help you understand your own data. It is not a diagnosis and not a substitute for advice from your GP or another qualified healthcare professional.
How we source claims
Primary sources first
We cite UK clinical guidelines (NICE, NHS and specialist societies) and peer-reviewed research, and link them so you can check them yourself. See our evidence hub for the guidelines behind each panel.
Reference ranges from accredited labs
Your results are measured in UKAS-accredited UK laboratories to ISO 15189 — the same standard NHS pathology is held to — against validated reference ranges.
We show the limits
Every guide is clear that a blood test is a snapshot, that out-of-range is not a diagnosis, and that some things blood cannot see.
When we get it wrong
We would rather you tell us than not. If you spot an error in a Helvy guide — a wrong number, an out-of-date guideline, a claim that reads too strongly — email hello@helvy.co.uk. We check every report, correct what needs correcting, and update the guide's last-reviewed date so you can see it changed.
How we pay for all of this matters too — read how we're funded.
Ready when you are
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