https://ingredientfiles.org/en/ We verify the effects of supplement ingredients against research and institutional evidence and organize them by grade. This is not marketing of efficacy but the evidence status exactly as it stands. en-US Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ingredientfiles.org/en/ashwagandha/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/ashwagandha/ Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a herb from Indian Ayurveda, now a flagship 'adaptogen' supplement sold for stress, sleep, and testosterone. The evidence is best summed up as 'there is a signal, but the quality is weak.' For stress and anxiety, a meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials (1,002 peop https://ingredientfiles.org/en/vitamin-e/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/vitamin-e/ Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Vitamin E (tocopherol) is a fat-soluble antioxidant nutrient that protects cell membranes, long sold as high-dose supplements under an 'antioxidant equals heart, anti-aging, immunity' image. First, to be clear: vitamin E is an essential nutrient and deficiency is serious, but it is very rare outside https://ingredientfiles.org/en/creatine/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/creatine/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Creatine is one of the rare supplements that genuinely works. Combined with resistance training, it steadily increases high-intensity performance such as strength and power, and muscle mass - a result shown consistently across some 60 randomized trials (the effect size is not dramatic, but it is rel https://ingredientfiles.org/en/curcumin/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/curcumin/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Curcumin is the yellow active compound of turmeric, sold as a natural anti-inflammatory and catch-all. But it has two big pitfalls. The first is bioavailability - taken as is, it is barely absorbed and is rapidly broken down and excreted, giving very low blood levels, which is why many products use https://ingredientfiles.org/en/collagen/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/collagen/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Collagen (hydrolyzed collagen, collagen peptides) is sold for skin beauty and joints. The evidence sits between 'nothing at all' and 'proven' - it leans positive but rests on weak reliability. For skin, a meta-analysis of 19 RCTs showed favorable results versus placebo for elasticity, hydration, and https://ingredientfiles.org/en/berberine/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/berberine/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Berberine is a yellow alkaloid found in the roots of plants like Coptis and barberry, recently popular on social media as a 'natural Ozempic' supplement for blood sugar and weight. Unlike many ingredients, its evidence on metabolic markers is real - in meta-analyses of type 2 diabetes patients, berb https://ingredientfiles.org/en/folate/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/folate/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Folate's most solid effect is preventing fetal neural tube defects (spina bifida, anencephaly) when taken around the time of conception - the evidence is very strong (grade A). By contrast, the hope that it 'cleans the blood and wards off heart disease' does not match reality. Folate reliably lowers https://ingredientfiles.org/en/glucosamine/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/glucosamine/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Glucosamine is sold widely as a joint supplement, but its report card from large independent trials is thin. In the US government-funded GAIT trial (1,583 people), glucosamine did not reduce knee pain meaningfully more than placebo in the overall group, and a network meta-analysis pooling ten large https://ingredientfiles.org/en/iron/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/iron/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Iron is a mineral where the whole question is who is actually deficient. When iron deficiency is genuinely present, the benefit is clear - iron raises hemoglobin and replenishes iron stores to correct iron-deficiency anemia, and it substantially reduces maternal anemia and iron deficiency in pregnan https://ingredientfiles.org/en/lutein/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/lutein/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Lutein (and its partner zeaxanthin) are carotenoids that make up the macular pigment accumulating in the central retina, and are widely sold as 'eye supplements.' The evidence splits by use. The solid side is macular degeneration (AMD) - in a large trial for people at risk of progression (AREDS2), l https://ingredientfiles.org/en/coenzyme-q10/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/coenzyme-q10/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone) helps produce energy in mitochondria and acts as an antioxidant, and is sold for 'vitality, heart, and anti-aging.' The evidence splits sharply by use. The solid side is heart failure - a randomized trial (Q-SYMBIO) found that patients with moderate-to-severe heart failure https://ingredientfiles.org/en/melatonin/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/melatonin/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Melatonin is a hormone secreted at night by the brain's pineal gland to regulate the body's 24-hour (circadian) rhythm, and it is also widely sold as a supplement. Unlike many ingredients, it is on the 'actually works' side, but knowing the size and the use of that effect matters. The clearest case https://ingredientfiles.org/en/milk-thistle/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/milk-thistle/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Milk thistle (silymarin, extracted from the seeds of the Silybum marianum plant) is the classic 'liver supplement,' widely sold to take around drinking or when liver numbers are a worry. But the evidence for actual liver disease is far weaker than the belief. The firmest check, a Cochrane review, fo https://ingredientfiles.org/en/probiotics/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/probiotics/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Probiotics are not a one-size-fits-all fix for gut health; the evidence splits by use. The most solid effect is reducing the diarrhea that comes with antibiotics: there is moderate (B) evidence for preventing antibiotic-associated diarrhea and Clostridioides difficile infectious diarrhea (though the https://ingredientfiles.org/en/vitamin-c/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/vitamin-c/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Vitamin C is an essential nutrient you cannot do without - a prolonged lack causes scurvy (bleeding gums, bruising, slow wound healing), and there is no dispute that filling that deficiency works. The problem is the belief that vitamin C fights colds and that more is better. In a Cochrane review of https://ingredientfiles.org/en/vitamin-b12/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/vitamin-b12/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is an essential nutrient required for making red blood cells and for nerve function, and it is also widely sold as an 'energy and fatigue' supplement. The evidence splits sharply by who takes it. The certain side is deficiency - a lack of B12 causes megaloblastic anemia (pern https://ingredientfiles.org/en/zinc/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/zinc/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The evidence for zinc splits by purpose. Its most famous use - the common cold - is a half-truth: zinc lozenges may modestly shorten a cold you already have (only if the form, dose, and timing are right, and the latest Cochrane rates the certainty as low), but they do not prevent you from catching o https://ingredientfiles.org/en/omega-3/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/omega-3/ Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The most solid effect of omega-3 is lowering triglycerides (greater at higher doses). By contrast, a healthy person taking low-dose fish oil to ward off heart disease saw no clear benefit in large trials (VITAL and ASCEND) or in the Cochrane review. There may be a very small reduction on the coronar https://ingredientfiles.org/en/vitamin-d/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/vitamin-d/ Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT For people with low blood levels, vitamin D has solid evidence for correcting the shortfall, but the broad disease-prevention benefits many people hope for rest mostly on weak evidence. Taken with calcium it helps bone health in older and postmenopausal women, yet in healthy people who are not defic https://ingredientfiles.org/en/magnesium/ https://ingredientfiles.org/en/magnesium/ Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT For easing constipation and preventing migraine, the evidence is moderate (grade B). For constipation, however, polyethylene glycol (PEG) is the standard first-line option and magnesium plays only a supporting role. Blood pressure falls just slightly, and only in people who are hypertensive or short