MDS Labs Evidence Lab
New to supplements? Begin with the questions, not the products.
Pick what brings you here and we will suggest a reading path. This is a reading list, not advice about what to take. For anything about your own health, a doctor or pharmacist who knows your history is the right person to ask.
I'm completely new to supplements
Start with what supplements are and how we know whether they work. You will be able to read any label or claim more critically by the end.
- What are dietary supplements, really?What the category includes and how it is regulated.
- When supplements are clearly worth itThe cases where the evidence is strong, and what they have in common.
- Understanding scientific evidenceWhy a study is not the same as proof.
- Bioavailability, half-life and durationWhy swallowing something is not the same as it reaching your tissues.
- Explore by goalSee how the evidence looks for a topic you care about.
- Supplement safety and unexpected risksWhy natural does not mean harmless.
- Test what you knowTwenty questions. Get them all right for a certificate.
I want to judge a product I'm considering
Learn to separate what a label says, what a study tested and what a product actually contains.
- Formulation ExplainerWork out how much active compound a capsule really holds.
- Understanding scientific evidenceCheck whether a cited study supports the claim being made.
- Research to RealitySee where a claim sits between mechanism and proven benefit.
- Turmeric and curcumin profileA worked example of reading the evidence for one ingredient.
- Label DecoderLine-by-line help with a real label.
I'm curious how supplements work in the body
Follow a compound from the capsule to the bloodstream to the tissue, and see where most of them fall short.
- Bioavailability, half-life and durationThe core ideas of pharmacokinetics in plain language.
- Pharmacokinetics VisualizerChange absorption and half-life and watch exposure change.
- Turmeric and curcumin profileA compound that is active in the lab and poorly absorbed in people.
- Nutrition versus pharmacologyCorrecting a shortfall versus acting like a drug.
I'm interested in aging and longevity research
Longevity science is moving fast and is easy to oversell. These pages show what is established, what is promising and what is speculation.
I care most about safety
Biologically active substances can cause unwanted effects, and product quality varies. Start with real examples.
- Turmeric and curcumin profileA rising cause of liver injury, and why absorption enhancers matter.
- Sleep and circadian biologyWhat testing found inside melatonin products.
- Learn about the Evidence LabHow we grade evidence, handle our commercial interest, and where education ends and medical advice begins.
- Supplement safety and unexpected risksLiver, interactions, contamination and vulnerable groups.
Test what you know
Twenty questions. How many can you get?
Built from the most surprising findings in the Evidence Lab, from what is really inside melatonin supplements to which products can hurt the liver. Get all 20 right and we will email you a certificate.
Index
Everything in the Evidence Lab.
Guides
Topics by goal
Disclosure. The Evidence Lab is published by MDS Labs, which sells dietary supplements. Lab pages do not link to products, and product pages do not cite the Lab as proof. How we handle this.