Each documented effect is rated on a 4-point scale based on the quality and consistency of human-trial evidence:

We show the studied dosage range, the doses actually used in the trials that demonstrated the effect, rather than a generic intake figure. The amount that produces a benefit is often very different from the amount that merely avoids a shortfall, and that difference matters.

We also show the Upper Limit (UL) where one is established, so you can see the safe ceiling alongside the studied range.

Two products listing "magnesium 400 mg" can deliver 40 mg or 280 mg of usable magnesium depending on the form (oxide vs glycinate). Our forms table flags absorption tier and surfaces the best-in-class option for every ingredient.

Behind every claim is a tier-graded source, and the tiers rank independent science above regulators. Tier S is independent peer-reviewed evidence: Cochrane reviews, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, peer-reviewed primary studies (PubMed and top-decile journals like NEJM, BMJ, JAMA and the Lancet), pharmacopoeia monographs, and the scientific risk assessments of WHO/JECFA, IARC and EFSA. Tier A is government nutrition institutes and clinical guidelines (NIH ODS, ICMR-NIN, NICE / USPSTF, AHRQ). Tier B is the supporting layer: reputable secondary curation, civil-society lab investigations, and national regulators used as a compliance qualifier.

The audit (internal) tracks every source against a 5-dimension rubric, Authority, Methodology, Independence, Currency, Verifiability, so we can't silently inflate a citation.

A food regulator declaring an ingredient permitted is a legal status, not proof that it works, or that it's safe at the dose printed on the label. Permitted-lists lag the science by years, and several regulators have documented gaps in enforcement and independence.

So FSSAI, the US FDA, Health Canada and the TGA feed our regulatory cross-check, is the ingredient banned, restricted, recalled, or permitted across jurisdictions, but they no longer lift an ingredient's evidence grade. They sit at Tier B as a qualifier; the trials and syntheses do the grading.

One distinction we do keep: the scientific assessment bodies, WHO/JECFA, IARC and EFSA's panels, sit at Tier S, because their carcinogenicity reviews and toxicology opinions are structured evidence synthesis, not market-permitting decisions, and they're often the best evidence that exists for long-term safety questions no trial can answer. We weigh them as synthesis, not as infallible: these panels can carry their own conflicts and have been known to read the same data differently, so a regulatory opinion informs a verdict, it doesn't end the argument.

No medical advice. Everything here is descriptive of the evaluation, not a recommendation to consume. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before changing your supplement routine.

No brand affiliations. We don't sell, recommend, or affiliate-link any product or brand.