Certificates of Analysis: How to Read One
A certificate of analysis reports laboratory results for a specific batch: identity, potency, and screening for heavy metals, microbes
13 May 2026Read →
Independent Horsewood reviews, dose-by-dose ingredient evidence, weight-loss science and label-literacy guides — 285 medically reviewed articles.
A certificate of analysis reports laboratory results for a specific batch: identity, potency, and screening for heavy metals, microbes
Independent testing programmes verify that a product contains what its label says and is free of specified contaminants. They do not as
See a doctor before you buy anything. That advice costs nothing and may matter enormously.
A size 0 capsule holds roughly 400 to 500 mg of powder, a size 00 around 600 to 800 mg, and a size 000 approaches a gram while being di
US dietary supplements are required to carry a Supplement Facts panel. When a seller's website shows no panel anywhere, you are being a
A category risk with a named mechanism, absent from both pages selling the product.
FDA-registered means a manufacturing facility is on file with the agency and subject to inspection. FDA-approved means a product has be
Seven documented conflicts, and not one of them requires you to take our word for it.
A proprietary blend lists several ingredients under one combined weight, so you can see what is present but not how much of each. Ingre
Digital bonuses attached to larger bundles are usually PDFs with a stated value set by the seller. They exist to make a bigger order fe
The arithmetic points the same way the wording does: that 1,000 mg is an equivalent.
Minerals are sold bound to other molecules, and the label figure may describe the whole compound or only the mineral itself. Boron chel
Supplement orders are frequently processed by third-party platforms, so the name on your statement may bear no resemblance to the produ
Two traditional herbs carrying a hormone claim that the underlying chemistry does not support.
Standardisation specifies what percentage of a named active compound an extract contains — for example icariin in horny goat weed, or e
Many supplement pages state that the full effect takes ninety days or more while offering a sixty-day guarantee. Those two statements c
A guarantee's value lies in the details: when the clock starts, how long it runs, whether opened bottles are accepted, who pays return
The right plant, the wrong part, at a fraction of the dose the research used.
A botanical extract ratio tells you how much raw herb produced the extract. At 100:1, one hundred parts of root produce one part of pow
An erection lasting more than four hours is a medical emergency that can cause permanent tissue damage. It is also a recognised sign of
A fraction of a contested dose, borrowed for an endpoint it was not studied on.
An unexpectedly strong, fast or drug-like response to a herbal supplement is a reason for concern rather than satisfaction, particularl
Real pharmacology, unknown concentration, and a safety conversation nobody is starting.
The commercial incentive is unusually strong: buyers expect a noticeable effect, herbs rarely produce one, and adding a small amount of