Healthy Living: Reliable Websites¹

Linda B. Bobroff and Leigh Ann Martin²

Did you know that the Internet has millions of websites? It may be hard to imagine, but it’s true, and the number of websites is growing every day. Unfortunately, there are no regulations to ensure that the information you find on websites is accurate. In fact, there are many websites that do NOT provide reliable information.

So how can you choose websites wisely?

Focus on government and education sites—look for website addresses (URLs) that end in .gov or .edu. Many organizations (.org sites) also provide sound information. Be aware that commercial (.com) sites may promote products or services, and their information may or may not be reliable or unbiased.

Here is a list of a few trustworthy Internet sources related to nutrition, health, food safety, and resources for older persons. Many of them provide links to additional websites.

Nutrition and Health

National Agricultural Library/U.S. Department of Agriculture http://www.nutrition.gov (Nutrition and health resources, including food assistance; link to government nutrition and health websites)

National Library of Medicine http://medlineplus.gov (Health, drugs, supplements, medical terms, provider directories; information in over 40 languages)

U.S. Department of Agriculture http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/ (Nutrition education for adults and children/youth, including MyPlate, Dietary Guidelines, nutrient content of foods, and more)

Food Safety

National Food Safety Database http://foodsafety.ifas.ufl.edu/indexNFSDB.htm (Consumer, food industry, and educator resources)

U.S. Government http://www.foodsafety.gov (Food Safety news, advice, regulations, gateway to government food safety information)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety (Food safety materials in English and Spanish)

Disease Management and Reducing Risk

National Diabetes Education Program http://ndep.nih.gov (Prevention, treatment and research; materials in English and Spanish)

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov (High blood pressure, cholesterol, sleep concerns, healthy recipes and more)

The National Osteoporosis Foundation http://www.nof.org (Prevention, treatment and research)

General Interest for Older Adults

National Institute on Aging http://www.nia.nih.gov/ (Publications related to care giving, healthy aging, medications, and more; in English and Spanish)

FirstGov for Seniors http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Seniors.shtml (Resources, laws and regulations, consumer information, and more; English and Spanish)

Administration on Aging http://www.aoa.gov (Statistics, programs, benefits, and more)

Florida Department of Elder Affairs http://elderaffairs.state.fl.us (Information, resources, programs in Florida; English and Spanish)

To see if programs of interest to you are being offered in your county, call your county Extension office. Check the blue pages of your telephone book for the number. In Florida, you can find your local Extension office online: http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/map/index.html.

Footnotes

This document is FCS8587, one of a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, IFAS, University of Florida. Published: March 2000. Last major revision: July 2009. Reviewed with minor revision, August 2011. La versión en español de este documento es Vida Saludable: Sitios Web Confiables (FCS8587-Span). Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

Linda B. Bobroff, PhD, RD, LD/N, professor, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611; Leigh Ann Martin, former ENAFS project coordinator.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.