Can You Trust Supplement Reviews? Spotting Bias

How Commercial Pressure Skews Reviews

The usual setup is simple. The site is paid when readers buy through its links, and some products pay it more than others. That pushes it to flatter what it sells. Watch for these warning signs: nearly every product gets a near-perfect score or star rating, criticism is thin, 'who should avoid it' sections are missing, studies are named without links, and the affiliate disclosure sits in small print at the bottom.

What a Trustworthy Review Looks Like

• A stated method: The criteria are written out, so you can see what each verdict rests on
• Sources you can open: Statements about trials and doses link to the studies, and the review says when the product itself has never been tested
• 'Who should avoid it' sections: A fair review lists cautions and drug interactions
• Drawbacks admitted: Every product has some, even the ones a site recommends
• Disclosure up front: It appears before the recommendation, not after
• A genuine About page: It tells you who runs the site and how reviews get done

How We Try to Hold Ourselves to This

We earn affiliate commissions, and every page says so. We only cover products from brands we have affiliate relationships with, so our top picks are the best of the products we cover, not of every product on the market. For each product we look at the current formula and doses, whether the product itself has been through a published trial, what research on the ingredients shows, the guarantee conditions and the safety cautions. We link the main sources. We weigh ingredients, evidence, transparency, safety and value in our assessment. We don't use numeric scores. Each review instead gives a plain-language verdict and says who the product suits best, and when the evidence is weak we say that.

Your questions, answered