How we score
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, and none is exempt, promoted or downgraded for any reason outside the criteria below.
The overall grade
The Suppie Score runs from 0 to 100 and maps to a grade and a plain verdict.
88+Keep taking it
72+Keep taking it
55+Consider upgrading
Under 55Look for a better option
Three scores behind every grade
Efficacy
0–100The quality, consistency and relevance of the clinical evidence for what the product claims, and whether each dose and form matches what was studied. Higher means stronger evidence, not stronger marketing.
Safety
High · Medium · LowDocumented adverse effects, interactions, allergenicity and dosing. High is safest. If safety is low, the verdict becomes “Check with your GP first”, whatever the grade.
Cleanliness
0–100Starts at 100, with deductions for fillers and additives based on their risk. Beneficial ingredients don’t reduce it, and capsule shells and coatings are excluded.
The Suppie Score combines the three into one number. Weighting shifts with product-specific risk signals, so the most clinically relevant dimension carries the most influence for that product. A product with a serious safety signal won’t 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 dose where declared, and given a risk rating.
- Beneficialsupports the product’s purpose
- Low riskno meaningful concern at typical doses
- Medium riskworth knowing about; may matter for some people
- High risksignificant documented concern
Each ingredient also opens into a detail view: what it does, other names it appears under on labels, the upper safe intake where one is established, documented side effects, and the supporting research.
What Suppie does and doesn’t do
Suppie analyses the declared formulation: the complete ingredient list, active and inactive components and their doses. It researches each product live, comparing those doses and forms with the formulations used in published studies, which is why it works on any supplement rather than a fixed database.
Suppie does not run laboratory assays or verify that a bottle’s physical contents match its label. That needs third-party lab testing, which is a separate discipline. Suppie is a formulation analysis tool, not a testing laboratory.
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 labelled 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.
You can also set personal filters so reports flag toxic inactives, artificial ingredients, fillers, preservatives, banned substances and heavy metals against your own thresholds.
Sources
Every analysis cites the research behind it, including 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 subscriptions. Supplement brands can’t pay to be included, to raise a grade or to change a score, and Suppie isn’t paid by the brands or retailers behind the products it grades. Every product runs through the rubric on this page and nothing else.
Not medical advice
Suppie provides information about supplement formulations and the research behind them. It doesn’t diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and it isn’t a substitute for advice from a qualified healthcare professional. If you take prescription medication, are pregnant or nursing, or manage a health condition, check with a doctor or pharmacist before changing your supplement routine.
Grade any supplement in seconds.
Every ingredient rated, doses checked, interactions and allergens flagged, with the research behind it.