Methodology

How we score the evidence.

Same three pillars, one layer deeper. Ingredients · Scientific Research · Brands — the opinionated stack we use to build your routine.

Pillar I · Ingredients

The 35-ingredient corpus.

Grouped by what they help with. We don't recommend all 35 to everyone — we recommend exactly what your goals + safety profile justify.

immunity

  • Vitamin D3
  • Zinc
  • Vitamin C

sleep

  • Magnesium glycinate
  • Melatonin
  • Glycine

heart

  • Omega-3 (EPA+DHA)
  • CoQ10 (ubiquinol)
  • Algal Omega-3 (DHA)
  • Vitamin K2 (MK-7)
  • Taurine
  • Berberine

energy

  • Creatine monohydrate
  • Vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin)
  • Iron (bisglycinate)
  • Folate (L-5-MTHF)
  • Iodine
  • B-complex (methylated)
  • L-carnitine
  • Guarana

stress

  • Ashwagandha (KSM-66)
  • Rhodiola rosea
  • DHA (algal, prenatal)
  • Saffron (Affron)

focus

  • L-theanine
  • Choline
  • Caffeine
  • Theacrine

gut

  • Probiotic (multi-strain)

general

  • Curcumin (with piperine)
  • Calcium
  • NAC
  • Lutein + Zeaxanthin
  • Green tea extract (EGCG)
  • Glucosamine sulfate
  • Chondroitin sulfate

skin

  • Collagen peptides

Pillar II · Scientific Research

Four tiers, transparently applied.

Same heuristic for every ingredient × goal. If we'd say 'Insufficient', we just don't recommend it.

Strong
≥1 meta-analysis + corroborating RCTs
Promising
Systematic review(s) or ≥3 RCTs
Preliminary
At least one well-designed RCT
Insufficient
Observational or preclinical only — not recommended
0
Ingredients
0
Evidence records
0
Verified sources
0+
Safety rules

The research we draw from is published by

The Lancet
NEJM
Cell Press
Cochrane
Mayo Clinic
Harvard

Worked example

Ashwagandha → stress

We pull every PubMed citation tagged Withania (the MeSH heading for Ashwagandha) plus completed ClinicalTrials.gov interventions. After de-duplication and verification, we count meta-analyses + RCTs, weight by recency, and assign a tier.

3 meta-analyses (verified)12+ RCTs (since 2018)Tier · Promising

The actual record:graded/ashwagandha-ksm-66/stress.json

Pillar III · Brands

We don't make our own product.

Independence beats vertical integration. We pick the best on the shelf for your specific goals.

We pick from the brands you'd actually take

Thorne
Thorne
Pure Encapsulations
Pure Encapsulations
Ritual
Ritual
Seed
Seed
AG1
AG1
Solgar
Solgar
Garden of Life
Garden of Life
Vital Proteins
Vital Proteins
HUM Nutrition
HUM Nutrition
Nordic Naturals
Nordic Naturals
LMNT
LMNT
OLLY
OLLY

Form

Capsule, softgel, powder, liquid — we pick the format that delivers the active dose with no surprises.

Why: a tincture at 200 mcg can't deliver a 1000 IU vitamin D dose.

Dose

Within the evidence-backed range from our corpus. Underdosed marketing tinctures get filtered out automatically.

Why: a 50 mg ashwagandha capsule wouldn't pass our floor for stress.

Quality

Third-party tested when available, USP/NSF preferred, clear labels with no proprietary blends.

Why: you should know what's in the bottle, exactly.

We screen every routine for interactions before you see it. This is wellness guidance, not medical advice — talk to your clinician for medical decisions.