Knowledge Is Power. Here's How To Apply It To Your Health.

A curated list of informative websites, articles, books and online tools, by Dr. Mariana Calleja M.D., to help you embrace and improve your health, lifestyle and wellbeing.

Jun 19, 2024

‘Scientia potentia est.’ (“Knowledge is power.”)

This well-known phrase was attributed to Sir Francis Bacon in 1597 from his work Meditationes Sacrae, then published by Thomas Hobbes, one of Bacon’s apprentices, later in 1668. Sir Bacon is best known for his contributions to the development of the scientific method, and often regarded as one of the founders of modern science and empiricism. (Source: The Collector)

**“Aphorism I.” From Bacon’s** **Novum organum** **(1620). The statement is the foundation of his scientific approach to acquiring knowledge. Source: Princeton Library**

It’s clear to me that if we apply this phrase to health, knowledge becomes indeed a powerful tool, not only for practitioners but for patients too.

“Today, scientific knowledge is shared through publications that not only inform, but have the capacity to influence decision making.” ~ Prof. Leonard Azamfirei, MD, PhD, National Library of Medicine.

Knowledge is power, and self-knowledge is self-empowerment.

I always encourage my patients to read and search, to be curious, to observe and learn about themselves, whether physically or emotionally. I also remind them that having access (or a copy, depending on their provider) to their medical reports and test results is important. It’s your right as a patient, and a key part in your self-knowledge health process.

Helping a patient is team work. I know the theory, you know your body, and together we can investigate and find answers to your ailments.

And accessing reliable sources of medical advice is vitally important. Patients need clarity, empathy and jargon-free content, which sadly is not easy to find on the internet these days, especially with the introduction of garbled AI-powered search results.

It’s entirely possible that the era of search engines (particularly Google) giving us coherent, reliable and safe search-query information is drawing to a close - in which case it’s more important than ever that you’re careful about the original source of that information, and you ensure to fact-check everything using websites with a strong reputation for accuracy and for citing credible research.

For this reason, I’ve created a detailed list of websites, articles, online tools, books and more, on relevant health topics. I tend to be quite picky and careful about the sources I share. Most of these resources explain things from the patient’s perspective, making it all very comprehensive and easy to understand for non-medical people.

(Disclaimer: None of these links are sponsored or affiliates. It’s simply content I have personally researched and selected according to my professional knowledge and values, as a way to provide tools and guidance for your wellbeing.)

These resources have helped my patients numerous times. I trust you’ll find them helpful too!

I’ll keep growing and updating this Resources section as I go. ;)

Much love,
Dr. Mariana

Medical Websites to Get Well Informed

Raise your hand if you have Googled symptoms and diagnosed yourself at 3:00 a.m. only to find out that you’re going to die soon? Yes, we’ve all been there…

I always suggest my patients to read reliable medical sites to get well informed - and prevent those unnecessary midnight anxiety attacks. ;)

My recommended go-to medical sites are:

Cleveland Clinic
NIH
NHS
WebMD
Mayo Clinic
Healthline
MedlinePlus
Harvard Health
John Hopkins
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
AAPMR