How grading works
Every product is graded against the published scientific record — not marketing, not opinion. We connect each ingredient to the NobleBlocks research database of 350M+ papers and report how strongly the evidence supports what's on the label.
The letter grades
Two ways an ingredient is graded
- 1. Debated ingredients (research-graded.) For ingredients whose benefits are still actively studied (e.g. ashwagandha, CoQ10), the grade reflects the weight, direction, and quality of the published research at a typical effective dose. More high-quality studies pointing the same way → a higher grade.
- 2. Essential nutrients (dose-graded.) For established vitamins and minerals — whose functions are already settled science — we don't re-litigate whether they work. Instead the grade reflects how much of the Daily Value the product delivers.
Grades do not account for how ingredients interact in combination, and they are not medical advice.
Formulation & quality is separate
Alongside the evidence grade we describe how a product is made — vegan/vegetarian status, organic or third-party tested labels, and any fillers, artificial colors, sweeteners, or additives. This is informational: most additives are generally recognized as safe. We surface them so you can compare products at a glance and apply your own preferences.
Where the data comes from
- · Research evidence: the NobleBlocks search database (350M+ peer-reviewed papers), with every score traceable back to its sources.
- · Supplement labels: the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD), a public-domain U.S. government resource.
- · Food & nutrition data: the USDA FoodData Central database, the U.S. government's public reference for foods and packaged products.
- · Barcodes & packaged goods: Open Food Facts and Open Beauty Facts — open, community-maintained databases of foods, cosmetics, and personal-care products.
- · Community contributions: products and labels added by NobleBlocks users when a barcode isn't yet in a public database.
When you scan a barcode we look it up across these sources in order, then grade whatever ingredients we find against the research database.
Our independence
- · We take no payment from supplement brands to influence a grade.
- · We don't sell the products we score, and there are no “sponsored” results.
- · We report the strength of the evidence — we never declare a product good, bad, or its marketing false.
- · Grades update automatically as new research is published.
- · Your scans and preferences stay on your device; we don't require an account.