The 12-Step Lab-Test Methodology

Why we built a 12-step methodology

The US supplements industry is the wild west. The 1994 DSHEA act lets brands sell almost anything without pre-market FDA approval. Independent testing in 2018-2024 (NSF, ConsumerLab, Labdoor) found 30-50% of randomly purchased supplements either contain less of the active ingredient than the label claims, or contain undeclared contaminants like heavy metals, banned substances, or fillers.

This methodology is our way of cutting through that. Every product on this site passes all 12 steps below, or it gets removed - even if it pays the best commission.

The 12 steps

1. 01

   NSF Certified for Sport check

   Cross-reference brand and SKU in NSF Certified for Sport public list 2026. If absent, downgrade to Informed Sport tier.

2. 02

   Informed Sport batch lookup

   Verify batch number on tub matches Informed Sport database. No batch match = automatic rejection.

3. 03

   Third-party HPLC sourcing

   Pull most recent HPLC result from independent lab (Eurofins, NSF, LGC). Compare protein g/100 g vs label. Tolerance under 5%.

4. 04

   Heavy metals scan

   Confirm ICP-MS results for lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium below FDA action limits.

5. 05

   Banned-substance screen

   WADA banned-substance free required. Auto-fail if positive on prohormones, stimulants, diuretics.

6. 06

   Per-serving protein math

   Compute actual protein per serving via HPLC g/100 g times serving size. Feeds the true $/g protein calc.

7. 07

   True $/g protein calc

   Total price divided by total grams of actual protein (not powder). Single most honest value metric.

8. 08

   Cookie duration audit

   Affiliate cookie duration over 30 days preferred. Anything below 14 days flagged as buyer-hostile.

9. 09

   Commission disclosure

   Public commission rate. We refuse partnerships hiding rates from publishers.

10. 10

    Home-gym stress test

    Olivia uses each product 30 days minimum in her Brooklyn home gym. Real performance journal kept.

11. 11

    Recovery and GI tolerance

    Daily log of HRV, GI tolerance, mixability, taste. Anything below 6/10 GI tolerance disqualified.

12. 12

    Final verdict and rank

    Score = cert tier 35 + true $/g 25 + home-gym results 25 + buyer-friendly cookie 15.

Auto-disqualifiers

A product is automatically cut from the shortlist if any of the following are true:

• No published third-party HPLC test result.
• No NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport certification.
• Heavy metals (lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium) exceed FDA action limits.
• Cookie duration under 14 days (buyer-hostile affiliate setup).
• Brand refuses to publish manufacturing facility location.
• Any banned substance flagged on WADA list 2026.

How rankings are computed

Composite score 0-100 :

• Cert tier (35 points) - NSF Certified for Sport > Informed Sport > Third-Party HPLC only.
• True $/g protein (25 points) - lower = more points, normalized to category.
• Home-gym results (25 points) - Olivia's 30-day journal, GI tolerance, mixability, taste.
• Buyer-friendly cookie (15 points) - 30+ days = full points, 14-29 = half, under 14 = zero.

Conflicts of interest

We disclose every affiliate commission publicly on the affiliate disclosure page. We do not accept free product in exchange for ranking - all tested products are purchased at retail price.