How We Review Supplements and Health Claims

Last updated: September 2026

Every product review and evidence article on this site follows the same process. Here it is, including its limits.

The short version

  1. We read the real label on the official page behind the exact link we use.
  2. We check each ingredient against published research in people.
  3. We compare the doses with the doses that were tested, when the label publishes them.
  4. We check the marketing story behind the product.
  5. We rate the product from 1 to 5 on the evidence, and show that rating on the page.

1. Read the real label

We open the official product page behind the exact link we use, not a summary of it or a similarly named product on another site. Products with the same name sold on different sites can have different formulas. We record every listed ingredient and, when published, its dose. If a dose isn’t published, we write “not disclosed” rather than guess.

2. Check each ingredient against the research

For each ingredient we look for evidence in people for the specific use the product claims. In order of weight:

  • Systematic reviews, such as Cochrane reviews, that pool many trials.
  • Randomized controlled trials in people.
  • Official guidance from the National Eye Institute (NEI), the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements.

Lab and animal studies are mentioned as such when relevant, but we don’t count them as support for a health claim.

3. Compare the doses

When a label lists doses, we compare them with the doses used in the studies and point out gaps. When it doesn’t, we say so, and we make clear that the evidence applies to the ingredient, not necessarily to that product.

4. Check the marketing story

Many supplements in this category are sold with a “hidden root cause” story, such as a “gut-eye connection” or “plaque” clogging the eyes. We check whether the mechanism is supported by research and say plainly when it isn’t.

5. Rate and recommend

Each product gets a rating from 1 to 5 based on how many of its ingredients have relevant evidence in people, whether the doses are disclosed and match what was tested, the quality of that evidence, and how accurate the product’s claims are. The same number appears on the page and in the page’s structured data.

Products with little or no relevant evidence are marked Not Recommended. They get no buy button; we link the official page plainly for readers who want to check it themselves, and point to better-supported options.

What we don’t do

  • We don’t lab-test products, and we don’t take them ourselves and report personal results.
  • We don’t publish testimonials or star averages we can’t verify.
  • We don’t let affiliate commissions change a rating.

Prices and updates

Prices and guarantees are copied from the official page and dated with the month we checked them, because they change. Each article shows when it was last updated, and we revise pages when the evidence or the product page changes.

Sources we rely on most