Most supplement "reviews" online are really advertisements. A product gets five stars, a big "buy now" button and a list of benefits copied from the brand's website. We wanted SuppScout to be different, so we use the same checklist every time we look at a product. We are sharing it here for two reasons: so you know how we work, and so you can use it yourself in the store aisle.
Step 1: What is actually in it?
We start with the Supplement Facts panel on the back of the bottle, not the front of the package. The front is marketing. The back is the part regulated by law.
We look for:
- The exact form of each ingredient. "Magnesium" could mean magnesium oxide, citrate or glycinate, and they behave differently. See our magnesium forms page.
- The amount per serving, and how many capsules or scoops a serving is. A bottle that looks cheap can turn out to need four capsules a day.
- Proprietary blends. If a label lists a blend with one total weight and no amounts for each ingredient, we flag it. You cannot know how much of anything you are getting. We explain why in proprietary blends explained.
- Other ingredients, such as sugars, sweeteners, colors and fillers.
Our guide to reading a supplement label walks through this step by step.
Step 2: Does the dose match the research?
An ingredient can be well studied and still be useless if the product contains too little of it. We compare the amount per serving with the amounts used in published studies. For creatine, for example, research uses 3 to 5 grams a day. A gummy with 1 gram is not the same thing.
We also check the other direction. Some products contain far more than the safe upper limit set by health authorities, which is a concern rather than a selling point.
Step 3: What does the evidence actually say?
We read the research summaries from neutral sources such as the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements and peer-reviewed studies, not the brand's own claims. We try to answer three questions:
- Has this ingredient been tested in people, or only in animals and lab dishes?
- Were the people in the studies similar to the people buying the product?
- Were the results meaningful, or just statistically detectable?
We sort evidence into plain categories such as strong, moderate, mixed, limited or insufficient, and we say which one applies. Our article on manufacturer claims vs evidence shows what this looks like in practice.
Step 4: Is it tested by someone other than the company?
In the United States, supplements do not need FDA approval before they are sold. That makes outside testing important. We look for seals from programs such as USP, NSF and Informed Sport, and we check that the seal is real by looking the product up on the certifier's own website. Learn more in what third-party tested means.
If a company only says its products are "lab tested" without naming the lab or showing results, we treat that as a claim, not a verification, and we label it that way.
Step 5: What does it really cost?
We work out the price per serving and, more usefully, the price per standard dose of the active ingredient. Two bottles at the same price can differ by three times in what you actually get. Our cost per serving guide shows the math.
Step 6: Who should be careful?
We note common side effects, drug interactions and groups who should talk to a doctor first, such as people who are pregnant, take blood thinners or have kidney disease.
What we do not do
- We do not rank brands as "best" based on who pays us.
- We do not describe a product as treating or preventing a disease.
- We do not hide affiliate relationships. When we earn a commission from a link, we say so. Read our affiliate disclosure and editorial policy for the full details.
Use the checklist yourself
Next time you are comparing two bottles, run through the six steps: ingredients, dose, evidence, testing, cost and cautions. It takes a few minutes and it will save you from most of the bad purchases out there. You can also read more about our approach on how SuppScout works.