How Suppie scores supplements
Suppie evaluates a supplement the way a nutritionist reading the label would — ingredient by ingredient, dose by dose — against published research. Every product runs through the same rubric. No product is exempt, promoted, or downgraded for any reason outside the criteria below.
What Suppie does and does not do
Suppie analyzes declared formulation: the complete ingredient list, active and inactive components, and dosages, evaluated against published scientific literature.
Suppie does not perform laboratory assays and does not verify that a bottle's physical contents match its label. Purity and label-accuracy verification requires third-party lab testing, which is a separate discipline. Suppie is a formulation analysis tool, not a testing laboratory.
The overall grade
| Grade | Label | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| A | Very Clean | No artificial fillers. Considered clean. |
| B | Moderately Clean | Some fillers, not harmful in small amounts. |
| C | Not Clean | Multiple additives some may find undesirable or potentially harmful. |
| D | Very Unclean | Many additives, some potentially dangerous. |
The three component scores
Cleanliness. Starts at 100, with deductions for fillers and additives based on risk classification. Beneficial ingredients do not reduce the score. Capsule shells and coatings are excluded from the calculation.
Efficacy. Reflects the quality, consistency, and relevance of the clinical evidence supporting the product's stated claims. Higher scores indicate stronger evidence — not stronger marketing.
Safety. Derived from documented adverse effects, interactions, allergenicity, and dosing considerations. A higher risk rating indicates greater likelihood or severity of adverse outcomes.
Suppie Score. Integrates Cleanliness, Efficacy, and Safety into a single number. Weighting can shift in response to product-specific risk signals, so the most clinically relevant dimension carries the most influence for that product. A product with a serious safety signal will not score well on the strength of a clean filler profile.
Every ingredient, rated individually
Each ingredient is classified as active, inactive, or unknown, with its dosage where declared, and assigned a risk rating:
- Beneficial — supports the product's purpose
- Low risk — no meaningful concern at typical doses
- Medium risk — worth knowing about; may matter for some people
- High risk — significant documented concern
Each ingredient also carries a detail view covering what it does, other names it appears under on labels, upper safe intake where established, documented side effects, and the supporting research.
Evidence strength on benefits
Claimed benefits are rated by the strength of the evidence behind them, on a five-point scale: Slight, Mild, Moderate, Strong, Very strong. A claim with weak supporting literature is labeled as such rather than repeated at face value.
Safety analysis
Every report separates four safety dimensions:
- Side effects — documented adverse effects
- Interactions — with medications and with other supplements
- Allergens — screened against 12 common allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy, sesame, sulfites, gluten, and corn
- Overview — dosing considerations and general safety notes
Users can also set personal filters so reports flag toxic inactives, artificial ingredients, fillers, preservatives, banned substances, and heavy metals against their own thresholds.
Sources
Every analysis cites the research behind it. Sources include peer-reviewed literature indexed in PubMed, the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, and comparable published clinical references. Citations appear in every report so any conclusion can be traced back and checked.
Independence
Suppie is funded by user subscriptions. Supplement brands cannot pay to be included, to raise a grade, or to change a score. Every product is run through the rubric on this page and nothing else. Suppie earns affiliate commission on some retailer links; that commission is paid by the retailer, not by supplement brands, and has no bearing on any score.
Not medical advice
Suppie provides information about supplement formulations and the research behind them. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, and it is not a substitute for advice from a qualified healthcare professional. Anyone taking prescription medication, pregnant or nursing, or managing a health condition should consult a doctor or pharmacist before changing a supplement routine.
Grade any supplement in seconds
Every ingredient rated, dosages checked, interactions and allergens flagged, with the research behind it — on iPhone.
