Evidence & transparency

Check the claim.
Then check the source.

A useful supplement page should help you judge one specific claim, show where it comes from, and explain what remains uncertain.

Five checks before trusting a claim

01

Define the claim

What outcome, for which people?

Treat each claim separately. Evidence for correcting a diagnosed deficiency does not automatically support improving mood, preventing disease, or helping someone with adequate intake.

02

Find human evidence

Can I open the research behind it?

Start with current clinical guidance and systematic reviews, then examine the relevant trials. Animal, cell, and mechanism studies can explain a hypothesis; they cannot establish a benefit in people.

03

Assess the result

How large and how certain is the benefit?

Check study size, duration, comparison group, bias, funding, and consistency. A systematic review can still contain weak studies. A statistically significant result can be too small to matter in everyday life.

04

Check the match

Does the research resemble my situation and this label?

Compare age, health status, baseline intake, ingredient form, active dose, and duration. A studied dose is a description of a trial, not a personal recommendation. Higher intake can increase risk.

05

Check harms and quality

What does the evidence leave unanswered?

Look for adverse effects, interactions, and uncertainty about longer use. A quality certificate can address contents or contaminants within its stated scope; it does not prove that a supplement works or is safe for everyone.

How to read evidence labels

Labels such as “consistent”, “moderate”, or “preliminary” are a starting point for reading. They are not a formal GRADE assessment, a quality certificate, or a guarantee of benefit.

Consistent

A claim would need broadly consistent results from relevant human research. Check whether the cited studies support the specific outcome, population, and size of benefit.

Moderate / mixed

Human findings may be limited or inconsistent. Look for small samples, different preparations, short studies, or a benefit that only appears in a particular group.

Preliminary / insufficient

The evidence may consist of small pilot studies, animal or cell work, or no adequate human trials. A plausible mechanism is a reason for research, not a reason to expect a result.

If a page has no claim-specific sources, treat its evidence label as unverified. An ingredient can have strong evidence for one use and insufficient evidence for another.

A practical example

Read the active amount, not the headline.

A fish-oil label may say “1,000 mg fish oil” while listing 180 mg EPA and 120 mg DHA per serving. That serving supplies 300 mg combined EPA + DHA, not 1,000 mg. If the serving is two capsules, each capsule supplies half that amount.

For minerals, look for the elemental amount on the nutrition or supplement facts panel. The mass of magnesium glycinate is different from the amount of elemental magnesium. Compare like units and the same serving size.

These calculations help you understand a label. They do not tell you to take extra capsules or identify the right dose for you.

What a score cannot tell you

Migaku does not currently publish a reproducible, validated formula for legacy product ratings. A five-star rating or a number out of 100 cannot tell you your chance of benefit, the certainty of a clinical claim, or whether a batch is free of contaminants.

Before using a ranking, require the actual comparison criteria, dated labels, source links, and verification of any testing claim. An absorption difference alone does not prove a better health outcome, and “no known interactions” does not mean all interactions have been excluded.

A source audit you can do yourself

  1. Copy the exact claim, including the outcome, dose, and population.
  2. Open the cited source. Check its title, authors, date, DOI or PMID, and any correction or retraction.
  3. Confirm that the source actually supports the claim. Distinguish an abstract summary from full study details.
  4. Check a current authoritative reference for safety and intake limits. Do not assume a missing warning means a product is safe.
  5. If the source is missing or the conclusion overstates it, leave the claim unresolved and use the published contact page to report the page URL, sentence, and supporting source.

NIH Office of Dietary Supplements

Ingredient fact sheets, intake reference values, upper limits, and interactions. Check which population and which source of intake a limit covers.

NCCIH: Using Dietary Supplements Wisely

How to evaluate supplement information, safety questions, and practical steps before use.

PubMed

Find the original study by title, DOI, or PMID. Read the design and population; a database listing is not an endorsement of a claim.

Cochrane Evidence

Plain-language summaries of systematic reviews that assess benefits, harms, and the certainty of evidence for specific questions.

These are independent reference resources. Their inclusion does not mean they endorse Migaku or have reviewed our pages.

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