01. Pull the claim

We start with exactly what the label and the marketing promise, nothing more generous than that. If a product claims to “support” something vague, we note that it’s a supplement claim, not a medical one, and treat it accordingly.

02. Check the dose

This is where most products quietly fail. We compare the actual dose on the label to the dose used in the clinical research behind the ingredient. A product can contain a “clinically studied” ingredient at a fraction of the dose that was actually studied — that’s a Caution or an Avoid, not an Approved, no matter how well-known the brand is.

03. Verify third-party testing

We check whether the product (or, at minimum, the manufacturing facility) carries independent verification — NSF Certified for Sport, USP Verified, Informed Sport/Choice, or IFOS for fish oil — using each certifier’s own public database, not the brand’s own claim on the label. “Third-party tested” and “GMP facility” are different things, and we don’t treat them the same.

04. Stamp the verdict

Approved, Caution, or Avoid, with the reasoning shown next to the stamp, not hidden behind a 4.3-star average. A Caution usually means the core idea is sound but something about the dose, the formula, or the pricing keeps it from a clean Approved.

Where our research comes from today

We’re a new site. Our current verdicts are built from published clinical research, ingredient dosing studies, and the certifiers’ own public databases, not yet from us physically testing every bottle ourselves. We call that “researched,” not “tested,” and we’ll keep that distinction honest in our copy. Direct testing and independently pulled Certificates of Analysis are on the roadmap for our top picks as the site grows.

Disclosure

Some links on this site are Amazon Associate links, and we may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Verdicts are decided before we know whether a link will convert.