The Healthspan Map
Sources that were removed
Every link in the Map was opened and checked. These 35 did not meet the evidence standard, or had gone dead. All were removed and replaced. They are listed here so the record survives even though the links are gone.
| # | Nutrient / lever | Target | THE SOURCE THAT WAS REMOVED | The dead or barred link | WHY IT WAS REMOVED | What replaced it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Total Fiber | Blood / Hematologic | Fiber/phytate literature | https://www.boxrox.com/the-importance-of-fiber-and-how-to-eat-more/ | SUPERSEDED. A barred domain under §7 (predatory publisher, vendor blog, content farm, AI search engine) or a dead link. It was replaced; this row records what was removed. | NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — Iron |
| 2 | Added Sugars | Digestive / Gastrointestinal | WHO / IADR-AADOCR | https://www.iadr.org/SSBpolicy | SUPERSEDED. A barred domain under §7 (predatory publisher, vendor blog, content farm, AI search engine) or a dead link. It was replaced; this row records what was removed. | WHO — Guideline: Sugars intake for adults and children; Effect on caries of restricting sugars intake: systematic review to inform WHO guidelines, J Dent Res 2014 |
| 3 | Trans fat | Cardiovascular | WHO / FDA trans-fat elimination | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5492032/ | KNOWN WRONG — NOT YET FIXED. This row carries the boilerplate reason and it does not fit: the link is on pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, which is not on the §7.3 blocklist, and a scan of all 2,508 live targets against all fifteen blocklisted domains returns zero. Only the “or a dead link” half can apply. The replacement in the next column did happen and is correct; it is this reason that is wrong. Pending the next Map update. | Effects of dietary fatty acids and carbohydrates on the ratio of serum total to HDL cholesterol: a meta-analysis of 60 controlled trials, Am J Clin Nutr 2003 |
| 4 | Vitamin B12 | Anxiety | High-dose cyanocobalamin toxicity (case report) | https://consensus.app/questions/vitamin-b12-overdose-symptoms/ | SUPERSEDED. A barred domain under §7 (predatory publisher, vendor blog, content farm, AI search engine) or a dead link. It was replaced; this row records what was removed. | Cleveland Clinic — High B12 Levels (symptoms include anxiety) |
| 5 | Pantothenic acid (B5) | Insomnia / poor sleep | Cortisol & sleep literature | https://integrativepro.com/blogs/articles/cortisol-and-sleep | SUPERSEDED. A barred domain under §7 (predatory publisher, vendor blog, content farm, AI search engine) or a dead link. It was replaced; this row records what was removed. | (link removed from the map — no replacement) |
| 6 | Iron | Anemia | Iron-deficiency anemia | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12943217/ | MISATTRIBUTION FIXED. The old link resolved to "Unusual Micronutrient Deficiencies as Causes of Anemia" — a paper about the UNUSUAL causes, the opposite of this claim. Replaced with WHO and NIH ODS, both opened and confirmed this session. ●●● stands on the hallmark clause (§4). | WHO — Anaemia fact sheet; NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — Iron |
| 7 | Calcium | Anemia | Calcium inhibits iron absorption | https://www.shop.bottegadelsarto.com/feed/common-vitamin-side-effects-digestive-system-414751 | SUPERSEDED. A barred domain under §7 (predatory publisher, vendor blog, content farm, AI search engine) or a dead link. It was replaced; this row records what was removed. | NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — Calcium; Calcium and iron absorption - mechanisms and public health relevance, Int J Vitam Nutr Res 2010 |
| 8 | Magnesium | Digestive discomfort | Magnesium osmotic diarrhoea | https://www.rupahealth.com/post/top-micronutrient-imbalances-that-can-cause-diarrhea | BARRED SOURCE REMOVED (§7). Was rupahealth.com — a commercial lab-testing company's blog, and the page is a SOFT-404 (returns HTTP 200 while saying the content is gone). Replaced with NIH ODS Magnesium, opened this session and confirmed to document diarrhoea and the laxative effect. | NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — Magnesium |
| 9 | Vitamin C | Digestive discomfort | Vitamin C bowel tolerance | https://www.rupahealth.com/post/top-micronutrient-imbalances-that-can-cause-diarrhea | BARRED SOURCE REMOVED (§7). Same rupahealth.com soft-404. Replaced with NIH ODS Vitamin C, confirmed to document osmotic diarrhoea and GI effects. | NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — Vitamin C |
| 10 | Zinc | Digestive discomfort | Zinc GI upset | https://www.rupahealth.com/post/top-micronutrient-imbalances-that-can-cause-diarrhea | BARRED SOURCE REMOVED (§7). Same rupahealth.com soft-404. Replaced with NIH ODS Zinc, confirmed to document nausea and vomiting. | NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — Zinc |
| 11 | Calcium | Digestive discomfort | Calcium & constipation | https://www.shop.bottegadelsarto.com/feed/common-vitamin-side-effects-digestive-system-414751 | SUPERSEDED. A barred domain under §7 (predatory publisher, vendor blog, content farm, AI search engine) or a dead link. It was replaced; this row records what was removed. | NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — Calcium |
| 12 | Vitamin D | Digestive discomfort | Vitamin D excess & GI | https://healthcareconsultantsusa.com/which-vitamins-can-induce-diarrhea.html | BARRED SOURCE REMOVED (§7). Was healthcareconsultantsusa.com — a consultancy marketing site, not a health authority. Replaced with NIH ODS Vitamin D, confirmed to document nausea and vomiting from hypercalcaemia. | NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — Vitamin D |
| 13 | Added Sugars | Weak immunity & chronic inflammation | Added sugar & inflammation | https://biologyinsights.com/what-is-an-anti-inflammatory-diet-foods-and-benefits/ | BARRED SOURCE REMOVED (§7). Was biologyinsights.com — a content farm. This is the same domain that carried the direction-reversed zinc claim at row 636. | "The association between sugar-sweetened beverages intake, body mass index, and inflammation in US adults", Int J Public Health 2020 |
| 14 | EPA/DHA (omega-3) | Skin, hair, nails & wound healing | Omega-3 & skin barrier | https://integrishealth.org/resources/on-your-health/2023/december/the-role-of-nutrition-in-skin-health | BARRED SOURCE REMOVED (§7). Was integrishealth.org — a hospital marketing blog, not a research source. | "Diet and Skin Aging - From the Perspective of Food Nutrition", Nutrients 2020 |
| 15 | Added Sugars | Skin, hair, nails & wound healing | Added sugar, AGEs & skin ageing | https://www.skintherapyletter.com/aging-skin/glycation/ | DEAD SOURCE REMOVED. skintherapyletter.com responds but the page body is essentially EMPTY (191 bytes) — a dead link wearing a live status code. Replaced with a peer-reviewed review (Nutrients 2020, 114 citations) that covers glycation, AGEs and dietary sugar directly. | "Diet and Skin Aging - From the Perspective of Food Nutrition", Nutrients 2020 |
| 16 | Zinc | Skin, hair, nails & wound healing | Excess zinc & hair | https://biologyinsights.com/what-vitamins-cause-hair-loss-when-taken-in-excess/ | SUPERSEDED. A barred domain under §7 (predatory publisher, vendor blog, content farm, AI search engine) or a dead link. It was replaced; this row records what was removed. | NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — Zinc |
| 17 | Total Sugars | Skin, hair, nails & wound healing | High sugar load & glycation | https://www.skintherapyletter.com/aging-skin/glycation/ | DEAD SOURCE REMOVED. Same empty skintherapyletter.com page (191 bytes). | "Diet and Skin Aging - From the Perspective of Food Nutrition", Nutrients 2020 |
| 18 | Body Roundness Index | Endocrine & Metabolic | Body Roundness Index / visceral-fat literature | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12375492/ | MISATTRIBUTION FIXED. The old link resolved to a WAIST-TO-HEIGHT RATIO mortality cohort — the wrong index and the wrong outcome for a Body Roundness Index claim. Replaced with a paper that actually studies BRI and cardiometabolic risk. | "Body Roundness Index Associated With Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity and Mortality: A Multistate Analysis", Obesity 2025 |
| 19 | Blood oxygen (SpO2) | Cardiovascular | Hypoxemia / OSA-cardiovascular literature | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11642485/ | MISATTRIBUTION FIXED. The old link resolved to "Clinical Validation of Respiratory RATE Estimation Using Acoustic Signals from a Wearable Device" — a wearable-device validation paper, nothing to do with hypoxaemia or the heart. Replaced with a systematic review and meta-analysis of obstructive sleep apnoea and cardiovascular risk, opened and read this session. | "Association Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis", Medicina 2025 |
| 20 | Belonging (groups / third place) | General / Whole-body Energy | Holt-Lunstad et al., PLoS Medicine 2010 (meta-analysis) | https://scispace.com/papers/social-relationships-and-mortality-risk-a-meta-analytic-2ghmxi4ksm | SUPERSEDED. A barred domain under §7 (predatory publisher, vendor blog, content farm, AI search engine) or a dead link. It was replaced; this row records what was removed. | Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review, PLoS Med 2010 |
| 21 | Inner circle (close ties) | General / Whole-body Energy | Holt-Lunstad et al., PLoS Medicine 2010 (148 studies, 308,849 people) | https://scispace.com/papers/social-relationships-and-mortality-risk-a-meta-analytic-2ghmxi4ksm | SUPERSEDED. A barred domain under §7 (predatory publisher, vendor blog, content farm, AI search engine) or a dead link. It was replaced; this row records what was removed. | Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review, PLoS Med 2010 |
| 22 | Tobacco / vaping — quit | Respiratory | Cancer Prevention Study II (Thun et al.) | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3226505/ | MISATTRIBUTION FIXED. The Source field named "Cancer Prevention Study II (Thun et al.)" but the link resolved to a paper on ambient AIR POLLUTION — a different exposure entirely. Now linked to the real Thun paper (NEJM 2013, 810 citations) plus the Surgeon General report. ●●● stands under §4: "Guideline-level causal harm = 3 (e.g. tobacco)." | Thun et al., "50-year trends in smoking-related mortality in the United States"; US Surgeon General — The Health Consequences of Smoking |
| 23 | Anchor foods | Insomnia / poor sleep | Diet & sleep literature | https://www.longdom.org/open-access/the-role-of-nutrition-in-sleep-109306.html | BARRED SOURCE REMOVED (§7). Was longdom.org — a predatory publisher (the article carries a "Roald Dahl" byline). This cell uses the SAME link as rows 277/278/280, which were replaced earlier; these two were missed on that pass and are caught here. | St-Onge et al., "Effects of Diet on Sleep Quality", Adv Nutr 2016 |
| 24 | Ultra-processed food — cut back | Insomnia / poor sleep | Diet & sleep literature | https://www.longdom.org/open-access/the-role-of-nutrition-in-sleep-109306.html | BARRED SOURCE REMOVED (§7). Same predatory longdom.org link as L-0281 — missed on the first replacement pass. | St-Onge et al., "Effects of Diet on Sleep Quality", Adv Nutr 2016 |
| 25 | Sugary drinks & snacks — cut back | Insomnia / poor sleep | Diet & sleep literature | https://www.longdom.org/open-access/the-role-of-nutrition-in-sleep-109306.html | SUPERSEDED. A barred domain under §7 (predatory publisher, vendor blog, content farm, AI search engine) or a dead link. It was replaced; this row records what was removed. | Effects of Diet on Sleep Quality, Adv Nutr 2016; Effects of Diet on Sleep Quality, Adv Nutr 2016; Effects of Diet on Sleep Quality, Adv Nutr 2016 |
| 26 | Sleep regularity | Obesity / weight gain | Social jetlag & obesity meta | https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376400765_Social_jetlag_and_obesity_A_systematic_review_and_meta-analysis | BARRED SOURCE REMOVED (§7). Was researchgate.net — a repository, not a publisher; it is not an authoritative citation. Replaced with the peer-reviewed meta-analysis itself. | "Association Between Social Jetlag and Components of Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis", 2024 |
| 27 | Waist-to-height ratio | Type 2 diabetes & metabolic syndrome | Waist circumference & T2D risk | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11478357/ | MISATTRIBUTION FIXED, THEN GRADED AS AN AUTHOR EXCEPTION. The old link resolved to "Effects of 12-Week Supplementation with Coffee Diterpene Cafestol" — a COFFEE TRIAL, on a ●●● cell. It is now pointed at the same Lancet review that carries its three sibling cells (L-0328 BMI, L-0329 Body Roundness Index, L-0331 waist-to-hip), which make the same claim about the same family of measures. || AUTHOR EXCEPTION: ●●● KEPT by the author's decision, consistent with those siblings. NOTE FOR THE RECORD: the Lancet review is narrative, which §9.2 item 9 does not admit for a 3; and no waist-to-height / T2D-incidence meta-analysis appears to exist. This is a documented exception, not rule-following. | Prevention and management of type 2 diabetes: dietary components and nutritional strategies (Lancet) |
| 28 | BMI | High blood pressure | Non-drug BP management | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8933807/ | MISATTRIBUTION FIXED — caught by the abstract text-check, not by the title. This ●●● cell (BMI -> high blood pressure) was linked to "Device- and Nondevice-Guided SLOW BREATHING to Reduce Blood Pressure". Its abstract mentions BMI: no. Body mass: no. Obesity: no. Weight: no. A breathing paper on a body-weight cell. The Source field read "Non-drug BP management", a label generic enough to hide it. Replaced with a meta-analysis of weight loss and blood pressure, which also earns the ●●● on its own merits. | "Effect of weight loss on blood pressure changes in overweight patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis", J Clin Hypertens 2023 |
| 29 | Supplement discipline | Digestive discomfort | Supplement GI side effects | https://www.rupahealth.com/post/top-micronutrient-imbalances-that-can-cause-diarrhea | BARRED SOURCE REMOVED (§7). Same rupahealth.com soft-404. Replaced with NIH ODS, which documents the GI effects of excess supplementation. | NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — Magnesium |
| 30 | Colours a day | Weak immunity & chronic inflammation | Polyphenols/antioxidants | https://biologyinsights.com/what-is-an-anti-inflammatory-diet-foods-and-benefits/ | SUPERSEDED. A barred domain under §7 (predatory publisher, vendor blog, content farm, AI search engine) or a dead link. It was replaced; this row records what was removed. | Effect of Polyphenol-Rich Interventions on Gut Microbiota and Inflammatory or Oxidative Stress Markers, Nutrients 2025 |
| 31 | Falling & staying asleep | Weak immunity & chronic inflammation | Insomnia & vaccine response | https://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/online/monograph/clinical-immunology-immune-wellness/sleep-immunity.htm | SUPERSEDED. A barred domain under §7 (predatory publisher, vendor blog, content farm, AI search engine) or a dead link. It was replaced; this row records what was removed. | The Sleep-Immune Crosstalk in Health and Disease, Physiol Rev 2019 |
| 32 | Ultra-processed food — cut back | Skin, hair, nails & wound healing | Ultra-processed food & skin | https://integrishealth.org/resources/on-your-health/2023/december/the-role-of-nutrition-in-skin-health | BARRED SOURCE REMOVED (§7). Was integrishealth.org — a hospital marketing blog. | "Diet and Skin Aging - From the Perspective of Food Nutrition", Nutrients 2020 |
| 33 | Sugary drinks & snacks — cut back | Skin, hair, nails & wound healing | Sugar, glycation & "sugar sag" | https://www.skintherapyletter.com/aging-skin/glycation/ | DEAD SOURCE REMOVED. Same empty skintherapyletter.com page (191 bytes). | "Diet and Skin Aging - From the Perspective of Food Nutrition", Nutrients 2020 |
| 34 | Cook real food | Skin, hair, nails & wound healing | Cooking method & dietary AGEs | https://www.skintherapyletter.com/aging-skin/glycation/ | DEAD SOURCE REMOVED. Same empty skintherapyletter.com page. The replacement covers cooking method and preformed dietary AGEs, which is this cell's actual claim. | "Diet and Skin Aging - From the Perspective of Food Nutrition", Nutrients 2020 |
| 35 | Morning daylight | Vision problems | Digital devices & outdoor light review (2025) | https://www.thesmartadvice.com/2025/12/impact-of-digital-devices-on-eye-health.html | BARRED SOURCE REMOVED (§7). Was thesmartadvice.com — an anonymous blog. Replaced with a systematic review and meta-analysis of outdoor interventions for myopia. | "Efficacy of outdoor interventions for myopia in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis", Front Public Health 2024 |