Most supplement brands ask you to trust them. We would rather you check. This page explains exactly what qualifies as evidence at University Vitamins, what does not, and how to verify every statement we make.
Four requirements. A study must meet all four before it can support a claim on this site.
Every study we cite was conducted in people. Animal and cell studies inform our understanding of mechanism. They do not support claims. Where we reference non-human research, it is labelled as such in the same weight as the surrounding text.
The study must be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Conference abstracts, preprints, white papers commissioned by ingredient suppliers, and press releases do not qualify.
We identify the institution where the research was conducted. A study without a verifiable source is not evidence. Institution names appear in every reference so you can locate the original.
Every citation links to PubMed. Not to a summary. Not to an article about the study. To the study.
We rank the research we rely on, and we tell you where each claim sits.
Double-blind, placebo-controlled, human participants. This is the standard we formulate against and the evidence that carries the most weight on our product pages.
Human intervention studies without full blinding or placebo control. Useful, cited, and clearly identified as such.
Cohort and population studies. These describe associations. They do not establish cause. We say so wherever we cite them.
Animal models and in vitro research. We read this literature. It informs which ingredients we investigate. It never supports a claim.
Every reference on this site carries the same six pieces of information. Here is what each one tells you.
A citation without a study design and a participant count is decoration. We publish both on every reference.
University Vitamins is an independent company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or partnered with any university or academic institution.
We name the universities where the research we rely on was conducted. We do this for the same reason a scientific paper names its sources: a claim without an origin cannot be checked.
Those institutions have not reviewed our products. They have not tested our formulations. They have not endorsed this company. They conducted independent research, published it, and we formulated in alignment with what it found.
That distinction matters, and we would rather state it plainly than let it be assumed. It is also the reason you can verify our work. We are citing published science that exists independently of us. You do not have to take our word for any of it.
“We are citing published science that exists independently of us. You do not have to take our word for any of it.”
A brand built on evidence has to be as clear about what it cannot say as about what it can.
Dietary supplements are not medicines. Statements on this site describe support of normal structure and function in healthy adults. They have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Research attribution is not endorsement. We will not blur the two, and no institution named on this site has reviewed, approved, or recommended anything we sell.
If a study measured a blood marker, we report a blood marker. We do not translate that into a promise about how you will feel.
Where a trial used a specific branded ingredient, we use that same material and say so. Where it did not, we match the form and dose and state that we are matching a protocol, not reproducing a product.
No “clinically proven.” No “doctor recommended” without a named, consenting practitioner. No “studies show” without a number beside it.
A research standard means nothing if it never costs you anything. Several of the highest-demand ingredients in the supplement market did not clear ours. Some have insufficient human evidence. Some carry regulatory exposure we are not willing to accept. Some are marketed on claims the research does not support. We have published the full list, with the specific reason each one was declined.
Read The ExclusionsEvery product page ends with a numbered reference section. Every entry links to PubMed.
Third-party identity, potency, and contaminant testing. Published per lot, linked from every product page.
For each ingredient we state the form we chose, the form we rejected, and the published data behind the decision.
The research came first. The products came second. Every study we relied on was published before we existed and remains available to anyone who wants to read it. We have made that as easy as we can.
Explore The ResearchThese statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
University Vitamins is an independent company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any university or academic institution. Institution names appear solely to identify the source of the research referenced. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.