From The Complete Supplement Guide
Which supplement categories hold up, and which don’t
147 entries · 9 categories · 4 grades
Every entry in the guide carries a grade. Laid out by category, the pattern is hard to miss: the aisles with the loudest marketing have the thinnest evidence behind them.
The full index of all 147 entries is public, and The Overhyped Ten is free to read.
The full guide →
The distribution
How 143 graded entries fall across nine categories
I graded 147 entries in The Complete Supplement Guide against the clinical literature. Strong where the human evidence is consistent and replicated. Moderate where it is real but qualified. Emerging where the direction is promising and the trials are not there yet. Overhyped where the marketing substantially exceeds the research.
143 of those entries sit in one of nine categories. Here is how the grades fall.
| Category | Entries | Strong | Moderate | Emerging | Overhyped | % Strong |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundational Health | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 71% |
| Performance & Strength | 14 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 57% |
| Gut Health & Digestion | 16 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 25% |
| Recovery & Joint Health | 16 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 19% |
| Cognitive Function & Focus | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 18% |
| Sleep, Stress & Cortisol | 13 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 15% |
| Fat Metabolism & Body Composition | 16 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6% |
| Longevity & Immune Resilience | 21 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 5% |
| Hormonal Support & Vitality | 19 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 0% |
| All nine categories | 143 | 33 | 73 | 26 | 11 | 23% |
What the numbers show
The money and the evidence point in opposite directions
Hormonal support and vitality — testosterone boosters, libido products, the aisle with the loudest claims — produced zero Strong grades across nineteen entries. Fat metabolism produced one across sixteen. Between them, those two categories hold ten of the eleven Overhyped grades in the entire guide.
Foundational health is the mirror image. Twelve of seventeen entries graded Strong, and not one Overhyped. Vitamin D, magnesium, omega-3, creatine. The compounds with the best evidence behind them are the cheapest ones, and the ones nobody runs ads for.
A low Strong count does not always mean the same thing. Longevity and immune resilience came in at one Strong out of twenty-one, but with zero Overhyped and seven Emerging. That category is early, not dishonest. Hormonal support, at zero Strong and five Overhyped, is a different problem.
Method
How the grading works
One reviewer, grading against published human trials, with dose and form recorded for every entry. Grades reflect the state of the evidence, not personal experience. The four cross-reference entries that span multiple compounds sit outside the nine categories, which is why the category table totals 143.
Full reasoning for every entry is in the guide. The complete index of all 147 entries is public, and The Overhyped Ten is free to read.
The rest of the guide
The Complete Supplement Guide covers 147 entries across nine categories, each graded Strong, Moderate, Emerging or Overhyped against the actual clinical literature — with dosing, optimal form, bioavailability, purity red flags, what to stack it with, what to avoid it with, and the food-first alternative where one exists. 177 pages.
Read the full guide →Instant download. Thirty-day refund, no questions asked.
Medical disclaimer. Daniel Edlund is not a licensed physician, registered dietitian, or licensed healthcare provider, and is not authorized to practice medicine or to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or medical condition. This page is provided for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice or a substitute for consultation with a qualified healthcare professional. Dose ranges given here are general figures drawn from publicly available research, not personalized recommendations, and they are not adjusted for your bodyweight, age, medication or health status. If you have an existing health condition, are pregnant or nursing, are scheduled for surgery, or are taking prescription medication, consult your physician before beginning, changing or discontinuing any supplement. Statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.