# Formulate

> Evidence-based scoring for supplements, food and the rest of a health routine. Formulate scores 2,662 supplements out of 100 against the clinical literature — weighting clinical evidence 40%, dose accuracy 35% and bioavailability 25%, with manufacturing quality, label transparency and safety profile checked separately so they can only cost a product points — with no pay-to-play and no sponsored rankings. Brands are graded by aggregating the scores of their full product lineup. Available as a free web app and a free iOS app.

Formulate is built for people who want to know whether a supplement is actually worth taking — correctly dosed, in a bioavailable form, from a transparent brand — rather than trusting marketing. Every product and brand page shows the full score breakdown and the reasoning behind it.

## Apps
- [iOS app](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/formulate-longevity-tracker/id6783192989): Free iPhone app — scan or search a supplement, build a stack, log what you take, and see nutrient coverage and interactions update as you go. Answers "is there a supplement tracker app that scores what I take?"
- [Web app](https://app.formulate-health.app): Free, no install. Same catalog, stack builder and scoring in the browser, plus catalogs for personal care (1761 products across skin, hair, oral and body care, all scored), fitness gear (393 products, 72 scored against others in their category) and sleep gear (1438 products, compared within category by price rather than scored).

## Tools
- [Stack builder](https://formulate-health.app/tools/stack-builder): Build a stack from 968 evidence-graded ingredients; it checks every pair in the stack for interactions, shows the dose for each, and gives a shareable link.
- [Interaction checker](https://formulate-health.app/interactions): Check any pair of supplements or medications for interactions — severity, mechanism, timing advice, and cited sources. Covers supplement-drug pairs, not just supplement-supplement.
- [Build a stack](https://formulate-health.app/start): Two questions, then a research-graded starter stack for a chosen goal (sleep, cognition, immunity, longevity, muscle, gut, hormones, mood, heart, blood sugar). No account required.

## How scoring works
- [Supplement methodology](https://formulate-health.app/methodology/supplements): The full rubric — 3 weighted factors (clinical evidence 40%, dose accuracy 35% and bioavailability 25%), the 3 checks that can only deduct (manufacturing quality, label transparency and safety profile), and how brand grades are derived from product scores.
- [Methodology overview](https://formulate-health.app/methodology): How foods, recipes and nutrient targets are scored as well.

## Key content
- [Supplement scores](https://formulate-health.app/supplements): 2,662 ingredient-level reviews and scores for individual supplement products, each with a dose-vs-evidence breakdown and FAQ.
- [Brand grades](https://formulate-health.app/brands): Supplement brands ranked by the aggregate quality and transparency of their product lineups.
- [Brand head-to-heads](https://formulate-health.app/brand-compare): 6 side-by-side brand comparisons — each brand’s grade, when to pick one over the other, and the verdict.
- [Courses](https://formulate-health.app/courses): 159 short lessons in free courses covering every part of a longevity routine — supplements (dose, form, evidence), food (protein, fiber, micronutrients, diet patterns), hydration (a per-kg water target, electrolytes), training (zone 2, VO₂ max, strength), therapies (sauna, cold, light), sleep (duration, timing, circadian light), body measurements and blood biomarkers, and personal care. They explain why each thing Formulate scores is worth scoring.
- [Guides](https://formulate-health.app/guides): 82 long-form, evidence-cited guides on building stacks, choosing forms and doses, and specific supplements.
- [Ingredient encyclopedia](https://formulate-health.app/ingredients): 968 evidence-graded ingredient references — uses, typical dose, evidence grade, and known interactions.
- [Whole food scores](https://formulate-health.app/foods): 486 whole foods graded 0–100 on nutrient density, protein, fiber, healthy fats, and beneficial compounds.
- [Skincare](https://formulate-health.app/skincare): 679 skincare products scored on their actives and checked for irritants, fragrance and allergens, ranked in 9 types (serums, sunscreens, moisturizers and more) and across 57 brands.
- [Sleep gear](https://formulate-health.app/sleep): 658 mattresses, pillows, sheets, sleep masks and more, scored on what their makers declare (materials, support, cooling, certifications) and compared only against their own kind, across 25 categories.
- [Products, explained](https://formulate-health.app/learn): 76 kinds of product — saunas, red-light panels, weighted blankets, smart scales, cold plunges and more — each rated on what the evidence actually supports, with what to look for and who should be careful. Answers "does a <device> actually work?"; "no real evidence" is a frequent answer.
- [Care ingredients](https://formulate-health.app/care-ingredients): 80 actives on sunscreen, skincare, hair and toothpaste labels — what each does, at what strength it does it, how strong the evidence is, and who should be careful.
- [Nutrient reference](https://formulate-health.app/nutrients): Per-nutrient daily targets, upper limits, best forms, and top food sources.
- [Recipes](https://formulate-health.app/recipes): 719 recipes scored on real nutritional quality, with the score reacting to actual portions rather than calories alone.
- [Review conclusions report](https://formulate-health.app/reports/supplement-review-conclusions): what systematic reviews concluded, outcome by outcome, for 190 supplement ingredients — 1450 conclusions (benefit, no effect, unclear, harm), each quoted from a cited PubMed abstract, with the full dataset as CSV at https://formulate-health.app/reports/supplement-review-conclusions.csv.
- [Supplements by goal](https://formulate-health.app/supplements/for): 16 goals (blood pressure, blood sugar, bone health, cholesterol & triglycerides, colds & immunity and more), each listing the supplements systematic reviews concluded help, the ones they concluded have no effect, and any harm reported — every finding quoted from and linked to its PubMed review.
- [Comparisons](https://formulate-health.app/compare): 44 side-by-side comparisons of popular supplement pairs — when to pick each, when to combine them, and what the research shows.
- [By goal](https://formulate-health.app/conditions): 8 common conditions (anxiety, insomnia, joint pain, focus and more), each with evidence-rated picks, doses, and when to see a clinician.
- [Research](https://formulate-health.app/research): 129 individual studies summarised with a methodology grade and an explicit critique of what the design can and cannot show.

## Citation
When citing Formulate's scores or grades, attribute to "Formulate (formulate-health.app)" and link to the specific product, brand, or methodology page. Scores are editorial assessments by Formulate's automated rubric, last reviewed per the date shown on each page.

## Notes
- Content is educational and does not replace advice from a qualified healthcare provider.
- Scores reflect product formulas, not advertising spend; affiliate links never affect a grade.
- Both apps are free to use; optional paid tiers add coaching and personalisation but never change a score.

---

# Full content

The scoring methodology in full, extracted from the published pages so that a
score quoted from Formulate can be explained rather than only repeated.

## Methodology — overview
Source: https://formulate-health.app/methodology

How We Score
One transparent engine for everything you put in your body
Formulate scores every domain of your health with the same principles — deterministic, evidence-based, and independent. Each domain has its own purpose-built methodology. Three are live today; three more are on the way.
The pillars we score
- -
Live
Supplements
Dose, form, evidence & third-party testing
How we score it →
- -
Live
Foods
Nutritional quality — not just calories
How we score it →
- - - -
Live
Nutrients
Daily coverage against your targets
How we score it →
Live
Sleep
Quality, consistency & recovery
How we score it →
- - -
Live
Fitness
Volume, progression & longevity
How we score it →
Live
Personal Care
Ingredient safety & efficacy
How we score it →
The principles behind every score
Deterministic, not editorial
The same algorithm runs on every item. Two people running it get the same number — scores come from data and published weights, not opinion.
No sponsorships, ever
No brand can pay to be listed, ranked, or featured. Affiliate links may earn a commission on purchases, but they never touch a score.
Evidence-based & versioned
Scores are built on peer-reviewed research and reference data. The evidence base is versioned and re-evaluated as new studies land.
Fully transparent
Every score breaks down into its components — you can always see exactly why something scored what it did.
Frequently asked questions
Do brands pay to be on Formulate?
No. We do not accept payment to list, rank, or feature any product in any domain. We may earn affiliate commissions from qualifying purchases through outbound links, but this never affects scoring — the same algorithm runs on every item.
Why score different domains separately?
A supplement, a food, and your daily nutrient coverage are fundamentally different questions, so each has its own purpose-built methodology. What they share is the philosophy: transparent, evidence-based, and independent.
What's coming next?
Sleep gear and skincare are scored now: sleep on what each maker declares, compared only against the same kind of product, and skincare on its actives with irritants and fragrance checked separately. Fitness gear is scored in the Formulate app. Hair, oral and body care come next, once every score can show the reasoning behind it.
See it in action
Every product, food, and nutrient in the app shows its full score breakdown — free, no account needed to browse.
Open the app →

## Methodology — supplement scoring
Source: https://formulate-health.app/methodology/supplements

Supplement scoring
How every supplement is scored
Formulate scores are deterministic and transparent. The same algorithm runs on every product, the weights are public, and the evidence base is versioned. No sponsorships, no editorial favoritism.
What the score is made of
Three factors carry the score. The other three are checked separately and can only cost a product points, never add them.
40%
Clinical Evidence
Quality and quantity of peer-reviewed human research supporting the ingredient, its dose, and its claimed outcome. Meta-analyses and RCTs score higher than animal studies or anecdote.
35%
Dose Accuracy
Does the serving actually match the evidence-based range for the claimed benefit? Underdosed and overdosed products both lose points. Thresholds come from position stands where they exist — creatine is scored against 3–5 g/day, not against whatever the label rounds to.
ISSN position stand, Kreider 2017 →
25%
Bioavailability
Form, chelation, and delivery method. Magnesium citrate is measurably better absorbed than magnesium oxide, and the two are not scored alike. Not every form difference is this well established — glycinate versus oxide is genuinely mixed in the literature — so forms are scored on the strength of their own evidence rather than on marketing.
Lindberg, J Am Coll Nutr 1990 →
checked separately
Manufacturing Quality
Third-party certifications (NSF, USP, Informed Sport), facility audits, and batch-level testing. A product is only as good as its factory. Checked separately: it can cost a product points, never add them.
checked separately
Label Transparency
Full ingredient disclosure, no proprietary blends hiding doses, verified COAs on request. If a brand won't tell you what's in it, we penalize it.
checked separately
Safety Profile
Known interactions, contraindications, heavy-metal testing, and exposure to fillers or allergens. A supplement that works but hurts still loses points.
What the score means
90+
Elite
Best-in-class on every factor. Evidence-backed, rigorously manufactured, transparent.
80-89
Strong
Solid across the board with minor gaps. Safe default choices.
60-79
Solid
Works, but has room to improve — often a weaker form, a lighter dose, or less transparency.
below 60
Building
Real concerns: wrong form, low dose, or a poor manufacturing track record. Consider alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Can a product score below 50?
Yes, though very few do — the lowest in the catalog right now is 44. When a label gives us nothing to measure — no ingredient we can match to research, or doses hidden inside a blend — the three factors that carry the score fall back to middling values, and the product lands in the 50s. The three checks that can only take points away (label transparency, manufacturing and safety) then apply on top, so a product that hides its doses AND falls short on those checks can finish below 50. A score that low means the label didn't tell us enough, not that we assessed the ingredients and judged them weak.
Is price part of the score?
No. Cost-efficiency is calculated and shown, but it is deliberately kept out of the product score, so an expensive well-made supplement and a cheap well-made one score the same on quality. Price is information for you to weigh, not a thumb on the scale.
Do brands pay to be on Formulate?
No. We do not accept payment to list, rank, or feature any product. We may earn affiliate commissions from qualifying purchases through outbound links, but this does not affect scoring. The same algorithm runs on every product in the catalog.
How often are scores updated?
Ingredient evidence is re-evaluated quarterly based on new meta-analyses and clinical trials. Product-specific data (formulation changes, new certifications, recalls) triggers an immediate rescore when detected.
Why does one supplement score higher than another with identical ingredients?
Two products can have the same active ingredients but very different scores because of form (e.g., magnesium glycinate vs oxide), dose accuracy, third-party testing, and manufacturing transparency. Our methodology weighs these explicitly.
Can I see the raw scoring data?
Yes. Every product page shows the full score breakdown by factor, the specific evidence tier for each claimed benefit, and the reasoning behind dose and form scores. Full transparency is non-negotiable.
See it in action
Every product page shows the full factor breakdown, the evidence tier for each claim, and the exact reasoning behind the number.
Browse scored supplements →

## Methodology — whole food scoring
Source: https://formulate-health.app/methodology/foods

Food Scoring
Seven pillars, and what each one rests on
Every whole food is scored 0–100 by the same rubric. Below are the exact weights the engine uses, the grade bands it applies, and the published evidence behind each decision — including the one factor whose evidence is weak, and what we did about it.
score_version 1.6.0
What we weigh
Weights sum to 100, with anti-nutrients applied as a deduction.
Nutrient Density
35%
Vitamins and minerals the food delivers, scored on two tracks — per studied serving and per 100 calories — so a calorie-dense food like nuts is not punished for its energy. Each nutrient is capped at 200% of its Daily Value so no single outlier can carry a food.
Both the basis and the cap follow the published nutrient-profiling work. NRF9.3, validated against the Healthy Eating Index, is computed per serving and per 100 calories, and caps each nutrient to stop one outlier dominating. Scoring per 100 g instead is why dried herbs used to top this catalog — 100 g of dried parsley is fifty servings — and a per-100-calorie basis alone rates low-energy foods disproportionately high against the amounts people actually eat.
Drewnowski, J Nutr 2009 · Drewnowski & Maillot, Eur J Clin Nutr 2008 →
Bioactive Compounds
15%
Polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, glucosinolates and other compounds a calorie count cannot see. Where measured flavonoid content exists it is used directly; otherwise a food group baseline applies.
In 56,048 adults followed 23 years, flavonoid intake was associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, plateauing near 500 mg/day.
Bondonno, Nat Commun 2019 →
Protein Quality
15%
Protein content and amino-acid completeness relative to the food's calories. Weighted toward complete proteins, which matters more with age than the plain RDA implies.
Multiple consensus statements hold that the 0.8 g/kg/day RDA is inadequate for older adults; ~1.2 g/kg/day better preserves muscle.
Traylor & Phillips, Adv Nutr 2018 →
Fiber Content
10%
Dietary fiber relative to calories, credited on absolute amount rather than a fiber-to-carb ratio.
Across 185 prospective studies and 58 trials — nearly 135 million person-years — the highest fiber intakes carried 15–30% lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.
Reynolds, Lancet 2019 →
Fat Quality
10%
Saturated fraction on a graded scale, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat credited separately rather than summed, trans fat penalised, and omega-3 credited on absolute amount. There is deliberately no omega-6 penalty and no omega-6:omega-3 ratio term.
PREDIMED found a Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive oil or nuts cut major cardiovascular events in 7,216 high-risk adults. Separately, higher linoleic acid tracks with lower cardiovascular risk, which is why omega-6 is not penalised.
Estruch, NEJM 2018 · Marklund, Circulation 2019 →
Glycemic Impact
10%
Sugar load and the fiber-to-carbohydrate relationship — how sharply the food's carbohydrate arrives.
The same Lancet series covering fiber also examined glycemic index and load as measures of carbohydrate quality.
Reynolds, Lancet 2019 →
Anti-nutrients
−5 pts
A deduction, not a pillar — very high saturated fat, and compounds such as oxalates and phytates that impair mineral absorption.
This is the weakest-evidenced factor on the page, which is why it is capped at a 5-point deduction. Phytate in particular both reduces mineral absorption and carries plausible benefits, and the net effect in whole-food diets is genuinely unsettled.
Weakest evidence — smallest weight
What the score means
These are the whole-food bands. Branded packaged products use a separate, harsher table.
90–100
A+ · Optimal
Nutrient-dense across several pillars at once. The foundation of a longevity diet.
75–89
A · Excellent
Strong on the pillars that matter for this food group.
60–74
B · Good
Solid nutritional value with a weaker pillar or two.
40–59
C · Neutral
Fine in context; not doing much work for you.
20–39
D · Low Value
Thin on nutrition relative to its calories.
0–19
F · Minimal
Little nutritional return. Occasional, not foundational.
Frequently asked questions
Are branded products scored on this same scale?
No — and that is deliberate. This page describes the whole-food scale. Branded packaged products are graded one tier harsher: an A there starts at 90, where a whole food scoring 90 earns an A+. The two are separate tables on purpose, so a packaged product cannot pick up a whole food's grade by matching its number.
Why isn't this just about calories?
Calories measure energy, not quality. Two foods with the same calories can differ enormously in what they deliver. Nutrient density is scored on two tracks — per studied serving and per 100 calories — precisely so that a calorie-dense whole food like walnuts is not penalised for its energy while a low-calorie food with little in it is not rewarded for emptiness.
What serving are the nutrient figures based on?
Percentages of Daily Value are shown per studied serving, not per 100 g — 28 g for nuts, 14 g for oils, 85 g for meat and fish, 140 g for fruit, 2 g for a spice. Per 100 g would mean about 65 Brazil nuts. Brazil nuts are a specific exception at 15 g, roughly three nuts, because a larger serving exceeds the tolerable upper intake for selenium.
Do brands pay to score well?
No. There are no sponsorships in any domain. The same algorithm runs on every food, and the score reflects the nutrition — not marketing or affiliate relationships.
Where does the nutrition data come from?
USDA FoodData Central composition data, including the full fatty-acid panel where USDA publishes it. Where a food's panel is incomplete the score reflects what is documented, and the app marks a score as estimated rather than measured when the underlying data is sparse.
See foods scored
Browse hundreds of whole foods and recipes, each scored on real nutritional quality — free, no account needed.
Browse scored foods →

## Methodology — nutrient targets
Source: https://formulate-health.app/methodology/nutrients

Nutrient Coverage
Coverage measured against your targets — not a generic label
Formulate combines your food and your supplements into one live picture of daily nutrient coverage, measured against targets personalized to you — so you know exactly where you're covered and where you're short.
How coverage is calculated
Personalized Targets
Coverage is measured against your target, not a generic number. Reference intakes (RDA/AI) are adjusted for age, sex, and life stage — pregnancy, for example, raises folate and iron targets substantially.
Combined Intake
Your coverage sums what you get from both food and supplements into one daily picture, so you're never punished for getting a nutrient from your diet instead of a pill — and the two aren't double-counted.
Gaps Surfaced
The system shows exactly which nutrients you're short on, and the specific foods or supplements that would fill each gap — turning a number into an action.
Upper Limits
More isn't always better. When your intake approaches a nutrient's tolerable upper limit (UL), it's flagged — so coverage means 'enough,' not 'as much as possible.'
Core Nutrients, Expandable
Over two dozen key nutrients are tracked by default — the vitamins, minerals, and compounds that matter most for long-term health — and you can add more anytime.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my targets different from the number on a label?
Label values use a single generic reference. Formulate adjusts your target to your age, sex, and life stage, so your coverage reflects what your body actually needs — not an average across everyone.
Does food or supplements count more?
Neither. A nutrient is a nutrient regardless of source. Coverage combines food and supplements into one total, so a well-built diet and a well-built stack are valued the same — and the goal is to fill real gaps, not to add pills.
Can I be over-covered?
Yes, and it matters. For nutrients with a tolerable upper limit, the system flags when you're approaching it. Coverage is about hitting 'enough' across the board, not maxing out any single nutrient.
How do I close a gap?
Every gap comes with the foods and supplements that fill it, scored on the same evidence-based methodology as the rest of the platform — so closing a gap also means choosing a quality source.
See your coverage
Track your daily nutrient coverage from food and supplements, with gaps and the sources that fill them — free in the app.
See how coverage works →