Wellbeing Family Health Encyclopaedia review

Put together by a team of medical experts, nutritionists and natural therapists, this database aims to provide well-rounded advice for the treatment and prevention of health problems through conventional medicine, complementary therapies and dietary recommendations.

The Encyclopaedia has been created using JavaScript, a language used to create some Web pages. This means that it requires your Web browser program to work. While Internet Explorer users should have no problems running it, Netscape Navigator or Mozilla users may experience difficulties with the search facility. This can be rectified manually by opening the program in Internet Explorer instead. You'll also need to turn off any pop-up blocking features as the program uses pop-up windows. Unfortunately, you're left to discover this as the Help section doesn't cover troubleshooting.

The Body Key on the program's homepage lets you click on each part of the human body to find out how it works. You can also browse the list of disorders, choose from one of the healthy eating plans or look up a medical helpline from the directory.

The Body Key takes you through the functions of the skin, muscles, bones and organs and cross-references these descriptions with any relevant disorders in the Encyclopaedia. Disorders are listed alphabetically, and each listing includes advice on preventing or managing the condition, such as foods to avoid, a table of suggested nutritional supplements and alternative therapies. Also interesting is the diet section, which lists a variety of eating plans for weight loss and health, plus general nutritional information including how the medicines you take can deplete your stores of nutrients.

A health database combining advice from medical, nutritional and natural therapy practitioners will appeal to many. This one would benefit greatly from more interactive features such as downloadable updates for the helpline numbers, or articles on how the recommended supplements actually work as well as any potential side-effects that they might cause.