Supplement Hype reports the state of evidence and grades claims. It is not a substitute for a doctor or pharmacist and does not diagnose, treat, or cure anything. Read the full disclaimer →
Evidence, not hype
Search a supplement and see how strong the human evidence actually is for each thing it claims, and how far the marketing has run ahead of the science. Graded claim by claim. Sources on every grade.
the widest hype gap on this list
A century-old medical dye with interesting mechanisms, almost no long-term human evidence for the biohacker claims, and real, specific dangers if you take antidepressants.
Marketing intensity 95 of 100. Evidence strength 20 of 100. Verdict: Severely overhyped.
a TikTok superfood with an iodine problem
A seaweed marketed as a 92-mineral cure-all on almost no human evidence - and its wildly variable iodine load can actually harm your thyroid.
Marketing intensity 85 of 100. Evidence strength 15 of 100. Verdict: Severely overhyped.
tar from a rock, sold as testosterone
A Himalayan resin with a couple of tiny testosterone studies and a big TikTok budget. The heavy-metal contamination risk is the part the videos never mention.
Marketing intensity 85 of 100. Evidence strength 20 of 100. Verdict: Severely overhyped.
the longevity influencer's favourite
It reliably raises NAD+ in your blood. Whether that does anything for human aging is unproven - and in the US the FDA no longer allows it to be sold as a supplement.
Marketing intensity 90 of 100. Evidence strength 30 of 100. Verdict: Severely overhyped.
the senolytic that's still all mice
A genuinely interesting 'senolytic' flavonoid that extended lifespan in mice and is now in human trials. But there are no human longevity results yet, and absorption is poor.
Marketing intensity 78 of 100. Evidence strength 20 of 100. Verdict: Severely overhyped.
the red-wine longevity dream that didn't translate
The molecule that launched the longevity-supplement craze - on yeast and worms. In humans it's barely absorbed and the lifespan and heart claims haven't held up.
Marketing intensity 80 of 100. Evidence strength 25 of 100. Verdict: Severely overhyped.
an expensive multivitamin with influencers
A pricey powdered multivitamin with great marketing. The handful of trials are mostly run by the makers, and none show it does what the podcast ads imply.
Marketing intensity 88 of 100. Evidence strength 35 of 100. Verdict: Severely overhyped.
hair-and-nails hype that can break your blood tests
Helps hair and nails only if you're genuinely deficient - which is rare. For everyone else it's a placebo with a real side effect: it can throw off lab results.
Marketing intensity 78 of 100. Evidence strength 28 of 100. Verdict: Severely overhyped.
the autophagy-longevity bet, early in humans
A compelling longevity mechanism (it triggers autophagy) with encouraging animal data - but the human cognition trials are small and mixed, not the proven memory aid it's sold as.
Marketing intensity 72 of 100. Evidence strength 25 of 100. Verdict: Severely overhyped.
redundant if you already eat enough protein
A gym-bag staple that the science has largely passed by. If you hit your protein target, BCAAs add little - whole protein already contains them, plus the other amino acids you need.
Marketing intensity 75 of 100. Evidence strength 30 of 100. Verdict: Severely overhyped.
the 'fat burner' that can hurt your liver
A staple of fat-burner blends with barely-there weight-loss data - and a real, dose-dependent risk of liver injury, especially in the exact 'pill-plus-diet' scenario it's sold for.
Marketing intensity 75 of 100. Evidence strength 30 of 100. Verdict: Severely overhyped.
the 'brain magnesium' with thin, industry-funded data
Marketed as the magnesium that reaches your brain. The human evidence is one or two small, industry-funded trials - promising, nowhere near proven, and priced at a steep premium.
Marketing intensity 80 of 100. Evidence strength 35 of 100. Verdict: Severely overhyped.
the pantry weight-loss myth with a kernel of truth
A small, real effect on post-meal blood sugar - wrapped in a giant 'melts fat and detoxes you' fantasy. And it can quietly wreck your tooth enamel.
Marketing intensity 82 of 100. Evidence strength 38 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the nootropic mushroom
A genuinely interesting mushroom with promising animal data and a few small, mixed human trials. The 'grow new brain cells' marketing is far ahead of what's been shown in people.
Marketing intensity 80 of 100. Evidence strength 40 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
"nature's Ozempic"
Real metabolic effects, genuinely studied - but the viral 'nature's Ozempic' label is marketing fiction, and the drug interactions are the part TikTok skips.
Marketing intensity 88 of 100. Evidence strength 50 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the mitochondria supplement with actual RCTs
Better evidenced than most longevity supplements - real RCTs show small gains in muscle strength and mitochondrial markers. Caveats: effects are modest, trials are small and industry-funded.
Marketing intensity 76 of 100. Evidence strength 38 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
more than skeptics admit, less than the ads claim
More evidence than pure skeptics grant, far less than the beauty marketing - and mechanically it's just an incomplete protein you digest.
Marketing intensity 82 of 100. Evidence strength 45 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
a serotonin precursor with real interaction risks
Some weak signal for mood and sleep, but the studies are poor - and because it raises serotonin, mixing it with antidepressants is genuinely dangerous.
Marketing intensity 70 of 100. Evidence strength 35 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the most promising adaptogen
The best-supported of the 'adaptogens' - but the evidence is thinner and shorter than the marketing, and product quality is all over the map.
Marketing intensity 80 of 100. Evidence strength 45 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the gut-health darling with a real immune signal
Better evidence than most wellness trends for cutting respiratory infections. The 'heals your gut and fixes everything' framing is a big leap past the data.
Marketing intensity 80 of 100. Evidence strength 45 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
calm in a capsule — if it reaches your brain
Sold as instant calm, but the catch is basic biology: oral GABA struggles to cross into the brain. A few small trials hint at a sleep effect anyway, by unclear means.
Marketing intensity 70 of 100. Evidence strength 35 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
insurance you probably don't need
Mostly harmless, mostly unnecessary if you eat reasonably. It treats a worry more than a deficiency.
Marketing intensity 65 of 100. Evidence strength 30 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the podcast testosterone herb
More real evidence than most 'test boosters' - it does nudge testosterone, mostly in men who are already low. The TikTok 'alpha' framing is way ahead of the data.
Marketing intensity 80 of 100. Evidence strength 45 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the cold ritual that mostly doesn't work
The 'load up to beat a cold' ritual mostly fails. Modest effect at best, and only from consistent intake - not panic megadosing.
Marketing intensity 70 of 100. Evidence strength 35 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the calcium-traffic-cop, on surrogate evidence
A plausible idea - help calcium land in bone, not arteries - with promising biomarker and imaging data. But hard clinical proof (fewer fractures, fewer heart attacks) isn't there yet.
Marketing intensity 70 of 100. Evidence strength 35 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the absorption nobody mentions
Some real signal for joints, buried under whole-body cure-all hype - and curcumin is barely absorbed unless it's formulated for it.
Marketing intensity 78 of 100. Evidence strength 45 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the joint staple with modest, messy evidence
A huge-selling joint supplement with surprisingly mixed data. Chondroitin may modestly help pain; glucosamine's effect is weak; and the popular combo often fails to beat placebo.
Marketing intensity 70 of 100. Evidence strength 38 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
a timing cue, not a sleeping pill
A circadian signal that helps you shift when you sleep. It is not a sedative, and most people take far too much.
Marketing intensity 85 of 100. Evidence strength 55 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the energy-drink amino acid that went viral for aging
A 2023 mouse study lit up the longevity world - then a 2025 human study undercut the core premise. For exercise there's a small, real signal; for living longer, it's unproven.
Marketing intensity 70 of 100. Evidence strength 40 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
smartly packaged salt
Genuinely useful when you're sweating a lot for a long time. The 'everyone needs electrolytes all day' trend is mostly selling you flavoured salt.
Marketing intensity 78 of 100. Evidence strength 50 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the adaptogen for fatigue, on shaky trials
Promising for stress-related fatigue, with a few decent trials - but the literature is contradictory and most studies have a high risk of bias.
Marketing intensity 68 of 100. Evidence strength 40 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
best case is for statin users and heart failure
A reasonable add-on for statin muscle aches and heart failure, where the evidence is mixed-to-promising. As a general 'energy and anti-aging' pill for healthy people, it's weak.
Marketing intensity 70 of 100. Evidence strength 45 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
real, but only the right strain for the right job
Some strains genuinely work for specific problems. The catch the marketing hides: benefits are strain-specific, so a random 'gut health' capsule usually isn't the one studied.
Marketing intensity 80 of 100. Evidence strength 55 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
essential if low, oversold if not
Real and important if you're deficient. Marketed as a cure-all for people who already have enough.
Marketing intensity 80 of 100. Evidence strength 55 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the gentle form everyone reaches for sleep
A well-tolerated, easily-absorbed form of magnesium with a small but real sleep signal. The 'fixes your sleep and anxiety' framing still runs ahead of the data.
Marketing intensity 72 of 100. Evidence strength 50 of 100. Verdict: Overhyped.
the sleep trend ahead of its evidence
Genuinely useful for deficiency and constipation. The 'magnesium fixes your sleep and anxiety' wave runs ahead of the science.
Marketing intensity 70 of 100. Evidence strength 50 of 100. Verdict: Slightly overhyped.
an energy fix only if you're actually low
Essential and genuinely energising if you're deficient. The 'B12 for energy' shots and gummies do nothing measurable if your levels are already normal.
Marketing intensity 75 of 100. Evidence strength 55 of 100. Verdict: Slightly overhyped.
the calm half of your coffee
Best-supported paired with caffeine for smoother focus. As a standalone anti-anxiety or sleep cure, the evidence is thinner than the nootropic marketing suggests.
Marketing intensity 68 of 100. Evidence strength 50 of 100. Verdict: Slightly overhyped.
the old-school sleep herb with shaky data
People feel it helps them sleep, and meta-analyses pick up a subjective benefit - but it disappears on objective sleep measures, and the trials are messy.
Marketing intensity 58 of 100. Evidence strength 40 of 100. Verdict: Slightly overhyped.
the pump amino acid — better than arginine, oversold for pumps
A legit nitric-oxide booster with some real recovery and endurance signal, but the evidence is mixed and single pre-workout doses often do nothing.
Marketing intensity 60 of 100. Evidence strength 45 of 100. Verdict: Slightly overhyped.
strong for one thing, oversold for the rest
Strong for lowering high triglycerides. The blanket 'everyone needs fish oil for their heart' is a much weaker claim.
Marketing intensity 75 of 100. Evidence strength 60 of 100. Verdict: Slightly overhyped.
the memory herb that needs patience
One of the better-supported nootropic herbs for memory - but it works slowly over weeks, not as an instant focus hit, and the gut side effects are real.
Marketing intensity 62 of 100. Evidence strength 52 of 100. Verdict: Slightly overhyped.
for stress and sleep loss, not everyday focus
Genuinely helpful for holding cognition together under acute stress or sleep deprivation - but largely useless as an everyday 'focus' pill when you're rested.
Marketing intensity 55 of 100. Evidence strength 45 of 100. Verdict: Slightly overhyped.
timing and dose are everything
Useful for an actual deficiency and possibly for shortening colds if you start lozenges fast. As an everyday testosterone or immunity booster in well-fed people, it's oversold.
Marketing intensity 65 of 100. Evidence strength 55 of 100. Verdict: Slightly overhyped.
a gentle calm with small but real trials
A mild, pleasant calming herb with a handful of positive small trials for anxiety and sleep. Promising and low-risk, but the evidence base is thin.
Marketing intensity 50 of 100. Evidence strength 42 of 100. Verdict: Hype ≈ evidence.
essential if low, risky if you guess
Genuinely fixes fatigue when you're iron-deficient. But taking it without a blood test is a real mistake - excess iron is harmful and there's no easy way to get rid of it.
Marketing intensity 60 of 100. Evidence strength 55 of 100. Verdict: Hype ≈ evidence.
the spice with surprisingly real mood data
One of the better-evidenced herbal mood supports - multiple trials show a real antidepressant effect, in some studies comparable to SSRIs. The honest caveats are trial size and cost.
Marketing intensity 60 of 100. Evidence strength 55 of 100. Verdict: Hype ≈ evidence.
the quiet, cheap sleep amino acid
Under-marketed and reasonably promising for sleep. The longevity buzz, though, is built almost entirely on worms and mice.
Marketing intensity 42 of 100. Evidence strength 48 of 100. Verdict: Hype ≈ evidence.
the tingly one that quietly works
An under-hyped supplement that genuinely works for one narrow thing: high-intensity efforts lasting 1-4 minutes. The famous tingle is harmless.
Marketing intensity 52 of 100. Evidence strength 62 of 100. Verdict: Better than its hype.
convenient food, not magic
A genuinely useful, evidence-backed way to hit your protein target. Just remember it's food, not a potion.
Marketing intensity 70 of 100. Evidence strength 80 of 100. Verdict: Better than its hype.
the underrated endurance and blood-pressure trick
Quietly effective and under-marketed. The nitrate in beetroot genuinely lowers blood pressure a little and improves endurance - a rare case of substance over hype.
Marketing intensity 45 of 100. Evidence strength 70 of 100. Verdict: Better than its hype.
the one that actually works
Among the most evidence-backed supplements there is. The rare case where the science is ahead of the hype.
Marketing intensity 65 of 100. Evidence strength 90 of 100. Verdict: Better than its hype.
the legal performance drug
One of the most reliably effective legal performance aids. The catch isn't whether it works - it's timing.
Marketing intensity 60 of 100. Evidence strength 88 of 100. Verdict: Better than its hype.
the boring fiber that quietly works
One of the rare supplements where the evidence beats the hype. Cheap, unglamorous, and genuinely effective for cholesterol, regularity and blood sugar.
Marketing intensity 40 of 100. Evidence strength 80 of 100. Verdict: Better than its hype.
The grade is set before any product is attached, and never depends on who pays.
Every claim cites primary human research. Each page shows when it was last reviewed.
We flag what's overhyped — and what's actually better than its reputation.
The catalog grows from what people actually want checked. Suggest a supplement, flag an entry that needs updating, or send a correction with a source - popular requests get prioritised.
Those lists are usually affiliate marketing — the ranking follows the commission. Here, every grade is set from the human evidence before any product is ever attached, and the grade never changes for money.
Two bars on the same 0–100 scale: how loudly a supplement is marketed versus how strong the human evidence is for its best-supported use. The bigger the gap, the more the marketing has run ahead of the science.
Because one supplement can be Strong for one use and Weak for another. Creatine is excellent for strength but unproven for cognition; omega-3 is strong for triglycerides but weak as general 'heart health' from a tiny softgel.
No. Supplement Hype reports the state of evidence and grades claims. It is not a substitute for a doctor or pharmacist and does not diagnose, treat, or cure anything.
Disclosed affiliate links to third-party-tested products, and sponsored lab-testing of products. Neither can buy a better grade. We run no display ads.