The label says
"antioxidant support"
on 9,283 bottles
What you'd notice
Nothing you'd feel. It describes a process in your cells.
The universe of supplement marketing
A shelf full of promises.
4 in 10 promises are backed by research.
We counted the ones you'd actually feel. We checked them against the trials on what's really in the bottle.
01 · The loudest promises
1 in 15 promises on the shelf says "immune support."
Labels print 221,587 promises. They use 6,749 different phrases. A handful do most of the talking.
- immune support 14,344 bottles
- antioxidant support 9,283 bottles
- energy 9,236 bottles
- heart health 5,455 bottles
- digestive health 5,216 bottles
- bone health 5,022 bottles
- muscle growth 4,272 bottles
- muscle recovery 4,120 bottles
02 · What the words mean
Some promises describe chemistry, not how you'll feel.
About 1 in 7 promises names a process inside your body. Here's what the common ones mean in plain words.
The label says
"energy production"
on 4,061 bottles
What you'd notice
Feel less tired every day.
The label says
"collagen formation"
on 733 bottles
What you'd notice
Move with less stiffness.
The label says
"protein synthesis"
on 722 bottles
What you'd notice
Get stronger.
The label says
"fat metabolism"
on 528 bottles
What you'd notice
Use more fat for energy.
The label says
"red blood cell formation"
on 324 bottles
What you'd notice
Build healthy red blood cells.
"antioxidant support" is on 9,283 bottles. It's a real process in your body. But you can't feel it working.
03 · Does the research back it?
Line up 100 bottles.
We checked each promise against the trials we've read. We only counted the ingredients in that bottle. Each bottle shows its best answer.
- 34 have a promise backed by trials on their ingredients
- 12 have only an early signal behind them
- 5 were tested and showed no clear benefit
- 11 promise things no trial we've read has measured
- 2 promise nothing you'd feel
- 36 don't say what they're for
Promise by promise
4 in 10.
That's the share of promises backed by research. We only counted promises you'd feel. The trials had to test what's really in the bottle.
Usually backed
- heart health 9 in 10 bottles
- fat burning 8 in 10 bottles
- cardiovascular health 8 in 10 bottles
- joint mobility 8 in 10 bottles
Usually no trial we've read
- nail health Nearly 10 in 10 bottles
- hair health 6 in 10 bottles
- skin health 5 in 10 bottles
- muscle recovery 4 in 10 bottles
04 · Sold for, studied for
What an ingredient is sold for isn't always what it's good for.
Here are four familiar ingredients. Each label promise sits beside what the trials show.
Melatonin
On the label
"sleep support"
on 9 in 10 of its bottles
The trials back it up.
What its trials do show
- Better sleep quality
- More hours of sleep
- Falling asleep sooner
Biotin
On the label
"hair health"
on 7 in 10 of its bottles
No trial we've read has measured it for this.
What its trials do show
No benefit you'd notice, in any trial we've read.
Vitamin C
On the label
"immune support"
on 6 in 10 of its bottles
In the trials we've read, it showed no clear benefit for this.
What its trials do show
- Fewer infections
- Less body-wide inflammation
- Faster illness recovery
Vitamin D
On the label
"bone health"
on 7 in 10 of its bottles
In the trials we've read, it showed no clear benefit for this.
What its trials do show
- Lower COVID-19 infection risk
- Less body-wide inflammation
- Lose weight
05 · Your turn
How to read the next label you pick up.
-
1
Find the promise you'd feel.
"Sleep support" is something you'd notice. "Antioxidant support" isn't. Decide what change you're actually hoping for.
-
2
Read the back, not the front.
A promise is only as good as what's inside. Find the ingredient meant to do the job.
-
3
Match the ingredient to its research.
Look it up and check its trials. Melatonin for sleep support is a match. The trials we've read don't back biotin for hair health.
-
4
Let the label earn it.
Plenty of promises hold up. Heart health, fat burning, cardiovascular health usually do. Buy the bottles that have done the work.
How we counted
We read every supplement on the market in our label catalog: 136,848 products, built on the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. We read every ingredient, blends included. Each printed purpose was matched to the claims it makes about your body. The match uses a vocabulary of 6,749 label phrases.
Only promises you could notice yourself count. Lab markers don't count. Trials in people with a diagnosed disease don't count either.
The research is the scored evidence our app publishes: 885 ingredients, as of September 29, 2026. A specific form of an ingredient reads its parent's trials when its own are thin. "Backed" means a result that clears the bar our app uses before it says what a supplement is for. An early signal falls below that bar. This counts ingredients, not doses. Each product page judges the dose. How we score the evidence.