Candidate research is found using ingredient names and major aliases. Not every candidate becomes part of a Goal Tier; unclear ingredient attribution or goal relevance is excluded or kept as separate context.

Research is separated into Core direct evidence for a Goal Tier, Context evidence limited to a specific disease, population, or clinical setting, Indirect evidence that does not directly answer the consumer goal, and Excluded evidence. Animal and cell findings are not mixed with direct human evidence.

A Goal Tier is a quick summary of the accumulation and consistency of verified direct human evidence for one ingredient and one goal. S requires at least 10 Core studies, a positive-result ratio of at least 0.67, and no harmful results; A requires at least 5 Core studies and a ratio of at least 0.67; B requires at least 3 and a ratio of at least 0.50; other nonzero Core evidence is C. No tier is assigned when Core evidence is absent or only Context evidence is available.

Human evidence depth groups Core counts into 0 not yet confirmed, 1–2 limited, 3–5 some accumulation, and 6 or more sufficiently accumulated. The positive-result ratio is the share of Core studies classified as positive, not an individual's chance of benefit. The underlying positive, no-clear-difference, mixed, and negative counts remain important.

Research intake is an observed range from verifiable Core studies. It is not a recommended dose or an upper safety limit, and many studies do not report a verifiable intake in the available source.

Side-effect and combination information is a literature signal kept separate from Goal Tier calculations. It is not a comprehensive safety grade, and the absence of a displayed signal does not prove safety.

Technical terms are translated into user-friendly language without adding conclusions that were not present in the papers. We prefer wording such as “studies observed this signal” over “this works.”