You need to feel confident in the choices you make about your health—which is why, here at Verywell Health, we take our duty to provide accurate, useful, up-to-date information very seriously. This is equally true when we’re reporting on the newest health research or sharing product recommendations. Either way, you deserve information you can trust. We take caution and care with every single product we research, rigorously test, and ultimately recommend.
Our product recommendation process starts with market research, trend-spotting, and interviews with medical professionals and industry experts. We then test many of these products in both our Manhattan-based Verywell Testing Lab and at home. Once we've vetted and thoroughly tested the products, each piece of content receives rounds of editing and fact-checking, plus review by medical, nutrition, and certified health professionals on the Verywell Health Medical Expert Board . While we do receive affiliate commissions on some of the products purchased through our content, our recommendations are curated based on expert input, performance, value, test results, and hands-on experience.
How We Make Money We receive an affiliate commission on some, but not all, of the products we recommend, which means the retailer pays us a percentage of your purchase. But that only happens if you decide to click through to the retailer's site and make a purchase. We only recommend retailers that we trust and have a proven track record for service and dependability. And we will still recommend products we have tested and love, even if we don’t make a commission.
How We Find Deals Good health is priceless—but the tools you need to maintain your health aren’t. We evaluate (and recommend) products from the higher and lower ends of the price scale, with the understanding that a splurge might be appropriate for you in some cases, but not in others. When we evaluate a product’s value, we consider its features, durability, and its service to you—not to mention how it stacks up to other, comparable items.
Of course, we also love a good bargain. During big sale periods, like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Prime Day, we get up at the crack of dawn to scour the internet to see if some of the items we already love have been marked down.
Our Testing Process We cover all kinds of health-related products, from mattresses to supplements to blood pressure monitors, and we change our testing approach based on how best to glean insights that help you. We also stay on top of health trends and new technology by monitoring social media, attending trade shows, reviewing press releases, and communicating with top brands. For many categories, we test products constantly throughout the year, so you’ll find fresh insights on the items you’re most curious about.
Our testing process starts with a lot of research: We review what products are available on the market, and interview experts (including doctors, registered dietitians, therapists, and trainers) to determine what makes a good product, including the materials or ingredients, design, and durability. We use this information to choose what products to test, and determine how to test a product to ensure it'll function in the real world, when you need it.
We pay special attention to certifications—for instance, when selecting blood pressure monitors to test in our Verywell Testing Lab, we decided to exclusively test devices that were vetted and approved by the US Blood Pressure Validated Device Listing. While we may receive some products for free, we purchase many of the products that we test.
Verywell Health / Nick Kova
Beyond the objective testing results, we also note qualitative insights: How did the blood pressure monitor cuff feel around your arm? How easy is it to see previous readings? Was it easy to use? Can people with different body sizes and different levels of ability use this device confidently?
We take it upon ourselves to editorialize and contextualize the performance data in order to provide easy-to-understand reasons you can trust our recommendations. We highlight the pros and cons of a product so you can weigh the most important details for your lifestyle and needs and make the most informed decision.
Verywell Health / Simone Scully
How We Test Products in the Lab Our Verywell Testing Lab, located in Manhattan, NY, has over 7,000 square feet and two test kitchens. We test everything from blood pressure monitors to bathroom scales to thermometers side by side to see how they directly compare to one another. With each test, we capture unboxing, ease of use, and comments from our testers through photos, videos, and written content in order to create the most comprehensive and transparent testing process so you know exactly how the products hold up.
In The Verywell Testing Lab, our editors, writers, staff, and other testers evaluate products alongside and under the guidance of certified medical professionals and experts (for instance, we had a nurse on-site to test the accuracy of blood pressure monitors compared to those used in medical settings) using the detailed and medically reviewed methodologies. And we get creative with our tests, too. When testing bathroom scales, we're not simply stepping on and off scales—we're adding dumbbells and stepping on them with wet feet to test for things like accuracy and safety.
Verywell Health / Nick Kova
How We Test Products at Home All of the products we recommend have real-world applications, which is why it's so important to test products at home, too—plus, some data can only be collected in a real-life situation. Our at-home testing process allows us to vet things like delivery and setup, as well as monitor how well things function over time: Do the best mattresses for back pain maintain their firmness? How do our weighted blanket picks fare after repeated washing and drying?
Just like in The Verywell Testing Lab, the editors, writers, and experts testing the products follow our detailed and medically approved methodologies. Each tester fills out surveys, rates each product for key attributes, and captures photos and videos of how the products work and perform on a daily basis.
Verywell Health / Sarah Bradley
The product recommendations from Verywell Health are purely editorial. We will occasionally receive products to test and review for free, but we purchase the overwhelming majority of the products we test. And while we do receive affiliate commission on some of the products we recommend, we never let retailers, public relations firms, or salespeople dictate our content and product coverage.
Before we begin a test, we conduct thorough and extensive market research—from reading the latest studies on product safety and interviewing experts (including doctors, licensed therapists, registered dietitians, and more) for best practices, frequently asked questions, and the most important things to look for in a given product.
Once written, every one of our articles is fact checked for accuracy and is vetted by a medical professional on the Verywell Health Medical Expert Board . However, you should consult your healthcare team to determine if a specific product—especially a product, supplement, or medical device—is right for you. Read more about our editorial process .
After we publish an article, we don’t just forget about it. Our team is relentless when it comes to updating and keeping our existing recommendations fresh, accurate, and helpful. We also know how frustrating it can be to do your research on a product only to add it to your cart and see that it’s out of stock, so we try to mitigate this by having dedicated editors check availability daily to provide you with the best user experience possible.
We are dedicated to ensuring that our content reflects the diversity of our audience. To do this, we make a point to research brands and products founded by people who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and other minority groups whenever possible. Read our full commitment to anti-racism for more information.
Editing, Fact-Checking, and Medical Review Board Our editorial team has decades of experience in health journalism. Our staff has many different certifications and areas of expertise, from Registered Dietitian to Certified Personal Trainer.
Before publishing, each story is sent to a member of our Medical Review Board. This is comprised of doctors and experts in all sorts of specialties, from family medicine to pharmacology. We always send a story to an expert in the field, so a dermatologist will review a story on skincare, while a podiatrist will review a piece on footwear.
We also rely on our team of qualified and experienced fact-checkers to provide a critical step in our commitment to content integrity. Fact-checkers rigorously review articles for accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. We use only the most current and reputable primary references, including peer-reviewed medical journals, government organizations, academic institutions, and advocacy associations. Read more about this program in our Editorial Policy .
Safety and Product Recalls Please note that all products, including those we review and recommend, may from time to time be subject to recalls or revised use recommendations. Therefore, we urge you to monitor any official announcements from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that may be related to products you purchase. It is always best to register your purchases with the manufacturer so you can get an alert if a recall is issued.
Why Trust Verywell Health The product recommendations from Verywell Health are purely editorial. While we do sometimes receive products to test for free, we compile our list of products to test based on what is best for you, the reader, not what we can get for free—and we buy a great many products outright. And while we do receive affiliate commissions on some of the products we recommend, we never let retailers, public relations firms, or salespeople dictate our content and product coverage.
Expert input informs everything we do. Before we order a single product, or determine how we’ll test, we conduct interviews and do research. We keep an eye on the latest research, which is why you’ll spot citations throughout our copy. In addition, we stay in touch with brands to get their latest products before anyone else, so we’re ready when you have questions. And we keep our content fresh: In the event a product is recalled, we update our stories quickly, so you know what is safe to buy.
Once written, every article is extensively edited and fact-checked for accuracy, and is vetted by a medical professional on the Verywell Health Medical Expert Board . However, you should consult your healthcare team to determine if a specific product—especially a product, supplement, or medical device—is right for you. Read more about our editorial process .
After we publish an article, we don’t just forget about it. We update our lists constantly to remove products that are out of stock or unavailable, and account for new products on the market.
We are dedicated to ensuring that our content reflects the diversity of our audience. To do this, we make a point to research brands and products founded by people who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and other minority groups whenever possible. Read our full commitment to anti-racism for more information. We also make sure the products we test work for all kinds of bodies, and for people at different levels of cognitive or physical ability.
Meet Us Ashleigh Morley Director of Commerce, Health Group
Ashleigh is the director of commerce for the Health Group at Dotdash Meredith where she oversees health, fitness, family, and mind content.
Her work has appeared in Men's Health, Women's Health, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, InStyle, and more.
Ashleigh received her B.A. in Journalism from Baylor University.
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Cecily McAndrews Commerce Editorial Director
Cecily's desire to cut through marketing and misinformation informs her work as Commerce Editorial Director, Health Group, where she helps readers choose the best products for their needs.
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Jessica Fleming Senior Commerce Editor, Health Group
Jessica Wozinsky Fleming is the Senior Commerce Editor for the Health Group at Dotdash Meredith. She has more than 15 years of experience writing about health, fitness, and nutrition. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, and the New York Times.
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Holly Klamer, MS, RDN Nutrition Commerce Editor
Holly Klamer, MS, RDN, is a registered dietitian-nutritionist with her master's degrees in nutrition and exercise science from Colorado State University. She has experience teaching nutrition to university students as well as community members with Kalamazoo Valley Community College community culinary and nutrition program. Holly has written online content in the nutrition and wellness space since 2009.
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Loren Brutsch Associate Commerce Editor
Combining her love of wellness and her love of writing—Loren specializes in creating content that promotes healthy living.
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Jaylyn Pruitt Commerce Producer
She studied anthropology and linguistics at the University of Florida and has a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida.
She has a background in information access research.
She started working with Dotdash Meredith in May 2019.
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We want to make sure we’re providing you with the most unbiased feedback that we can.
Contact Us If you have questions, comments, or opinions you’d like to share with our team of editors, please feel free to email us at [email protected]