Research Articles
In-depth, evidence-based guides to help you make informed supplement decisions. Every claim is backed by published clinical research.
Comparing UK Supplement Retailers: H&B, Boots, Bulk, Myprotein, Solgar Direct, Pharma Nord (2026)
Where you buy a supplement matters more than people think. We compare the major UK supplement retailers on per-product price, third-party testing transparenc...
Cheapest GMP-Certified Whey Protein UK (2026): Per-Serving Cost Compared
Cheap whey is not the same as cheap per-30g-protein. We compare the major UK whey brands by actual cost per 30 g of protein delivered, GMP and Informed Sport...
Cheapest Creapure Creatine Monohydrate per Serving (UK 2026)
We costed every UK retailer currently selling genuine Creapure-branded creatine monohydrate, calculated price per 5 g serving, and cross-checked Informed Spo...
Probiotics UK: Strain-Specific Evidence (and Where the Hype Outruns the Data)
Most generic UK probiotics with eight strains and 50 billion CFU on the label have no clinical evidence supporting their specific blend. The probiotic litera...
Magnesium Glycinate Brand Comparison UK (2026): What's in Each Capsule
Two products labelled 'magnesium glycinate' can deliver wildly different amounts of actual magnesium per capsule. We compare the major UK brands on chelation...
CoQ10 (Ubiquinone vs Ubiquinol) UK: Statin Users' Guide
Roughly 7 million UK adults take a statin. CoQ10 is the most-asked-about supplement in this group. We summarise the trial evidence, the bioavailability debat...
When NOT to Take Supplements: An Evidence-Led Look
Most supplement coverage assumes more is better. The published trial evidence is more interesting than that. We summarise the trials where supplementation di...
Turmeric & Curcumin UK: What the Joint-Pain Research Actually Shows
Curcumin is poorly absorbed in its raw form, which is why formulation matters more here than for almost any other supplement category. We summarise the contr...
Plant-Based Protein UK: Pea, Soy, Hemp, Rice — Comparison (2026)
Plant-based proteins differ at the amino-acid level in ways that matter for cross-product comparison. We walk through pea, soy, rice, hemp, and pumpkin profi...
Vitamin B12 Deficiency: What the Diagnostic Research Covers
Vitamin B12 deficiency affects an estimated 6% of UK adults under 60 and up to 20% over 60 — yet standard serum B12 testing misses a substantial proportion o...
Iron Supplementation Forms: What the Absorption Research Reports (Ferrous Sulfate, Fumarate, Bisglycinate)
Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency globally and disproportionately affects UK pre-menopausal women, vegetarians, and endurance athletes. ...
Zinc and Immune Outcomes: What the Trial Evidence Reports
Zinc is involved in the development and function of virtually every branch of the immune system. This article summarises what trial evidence — including the ...
Caffeine in Ergogenic Trials: What the Evidence Shows
Caffeine is among the most extensively studied ergogenic compounds in sports science. This article summarises what the trial evidence — including Grgic's umb...
Collagen Peptides Research: What Measured Endpoints Exist
Hydrolysed collagen peptides are among the most commercially visible supplement ingredients in the UK. This article summarises the measured endpoints found i...
Beta-Alanine in Sports Performance Trials: What the Evidence Shows
Beta-alanine is one of the most evidence-dense sports nutrition ingredients in the published literature. Two major meta-analyses — Hobson et al. (2012) and S...
Whey Protein UK Buyer's Guide: Concentrate vs Isolate vs Hydrolysate
Whey protein is one of the few supplement categories with strong, replicated evidence behind its primary use case. The choice between concentrate, isolate, a...
Vitamin K2 + Vitamin D3: Should You Stack Them? UK Evidence Review
Combining vitamin K2 with vitamin D3 has become one of the most popular supplement stacks in the UK. The mechanistic story is plausible. The clinical evidenc...
Reading a Supplement Certificate of Analysis (CoA): UK Buyer's Guide
A Certificate of Analysis is the single most useful document for verifying what is actually in a supplement bottle. We walk through what a CoA tests for, how...
Ashwagandha: Stress, Sleep & Strength — What the Research Shows
Ashwagandha is one of the most-researched adaptogens in supplement form. Multiple meta-analyses confirm meaningful reductions in cortisol and perceived stres...
Vitamin D3: The Complete UK Guide — Who Needs It, How Much, and Which to Buy
One in five UK adults is deficient in vitamin D — rising to one in three in winter. This guide covers what the evidence actually shows, how much you need, wh...
Omega-3 Fish Oil: What the Evidence Actually Says — A UK Buyer's Guide
Omega-3 fish oil is one of the most widely purchased supplements in the UK, yet the clinical picture is more nuanced than the marketing suggests. This guide ...
Magnesium Supplements: Glycinate vs Citrate vs Oxide — A UK Evidence Guide
Magnesium is a cofactor in over 300 enzyme systems, yet surveys suggest a significant proportion of UK adults consume less than the recommended intake. This ...
Probiotics: Do They Work? What the Evidence Says for IBS, Antibiotics & More
Probiotics are among the most purchased supplements in the UK, yet most products on shelves have no clinical evidence for their specific strains. Here is wha...
Best Multivitamin UK (2026): What's Worth the Spend
Multivitamins are the most-bought and least-studied supplement category. We summarise SACN and NDNS data on UK micronutrient gaps, the trial evidence on hard...
Supplement Testing Standards UK: NSF, Informed Sport, USP, Cologne List, BSCG Compared
MHRA classifies most UK supplements as foods, not medicines. The certification gap that creates is filled by five third-party testing schemes — each with dif...
Caffeine vs Beta-Alanine for Workout Performance: What the Research Shows
Caffeine and beta-alanine are both classified as Group A ergogenic aids by the Australian Institute of Sport, but they target completely different physiologi...
Best Magnesium for Sleep (UK 2026): What the RCTs Show
Magnesium glycinate sits at the centre of the magnesium-and-sleep conversation in 2026. The RCT base is small but growing, with a 4-week trial in adults repo...
Magnesium Types Compared: Oxide, Citrate, Glycinate, Malate, Threonate (2026)
Magnesium is not one thing. The five forms on UK shelves differ in elemental percentage, absorption, GI tolerability, and the trial evidence behind them. We ...
GMP-Certified Creatine Monohydrate UK: What to Look For
UK supplements are regulated as foods, not medicines. We explain what GMP, Informed Sport, NSF Certified for Sport and the Cologne List actually verify, why ...
Iron Supplements UK: How to Pick the Right Form Without Wrecking Your Gut
Iron is one of the most-needed and worst-tolerated supplements on the UK market. This is what the evidence says about ferrous sulfate vs bisglycinate, why al...
Bioavailability Explained: Why Two Identical-Looking Supplements Can Differ 10x
Two bottles can show the same milligram count on the label and deliver wildly different doses to your bloodstream. We unpack the pharmacology of bioavailabil...
Best Omega-3 Fish Oil UK by Purity (2026)
Cheap fish oils are frequently oxidised by the time they reach UK shelves. The molecule that delivers the cardiovascular and cognitive benefit is fragile, an...
MHRA vs FDA on Supplements: What UK Buyers Should Know
British and American supplements are regulated similarly on paper — both as foods, not medicines — but the detail diverges in places that matter for the UK b...
Vitamin B12 Deficiency: When Supplementation Actually Matters (UK)
Most healthy UK adults eating an omnivorous diet do not need a B12 supplement. A specific group does — vegans, older adults, PPI users, and people with perni...
Does Creatine Actually Work? An Evidence Review
Creatine monohydrate is one of the most-studied dietary supplements in the published literature. We summarise the meta-analyses, effect sizes, the kidney-saf...
Why Vitamin D3 Supplements Vary in Price by 3× (UK)
Identical-looking bottles of vitamin D3 sit on UK shelves at £4, £8, and £15. The molecule inside is the same — but the bottles are not. This article unpacks...
Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus): What the Cognitive Research Actually Shows
Lion's Mane is one of the most-marketed cognitive supplements in the UK, but the human evidence base is much smaller than the noise around it. This is what 1...
What is Creapure? Creapure vs Generic Creatine Monohydrate
Creapure is a branded creatine monohydrate manufactured by AlzChem in Trostberg, Germany. We summarise the published purity specification, the manufacturing ...
Best Lab-Tested Vitamin D3 Supplements UK (2026)
Around 18% of UK adults — and 31% in winter — fall below the SACN deficiency threshold for vitamin D. Picking a third-party tested D3 with a verifiable Certi...
Best Creatine Monohydrate UK (2026)
We evaluated UK creatine supplements on third-party testing, ingredient purity, certifications, and cost per serving. Here are the top picks for 2026.