Farr Institute at a Glance

Methodology

We have a very research-based approach to our rankings. All products are awarded points in 4 main categories:

1. Ingredient Safety
2. Customer Reviews
3. Evidence Behind Ingredients
4. Value for Money

The average score across all four categories informs the final rating.

Ingredient Safety

We are very careful to only sell products that are safe, with verifiable results. On ingredient safety, this is how we award our stars:

• 1-Star: A significant number of ingredients exceed the FDA’s daily recommended limit, posing real health concerns even for a healthy user.
• 2-Stars: The product contains ingredients that may trigger allergic reactions, or have been recorded to result in serious side effects. We also give 2-Stars if the product is not very upfront about all its ingredients (some supplements just say ‘proprietary blend’ in their ingredient list making it hard to verify their claims)
•  3-Stars: Ingredients and dosages can potentially result in moderate side-effects, but not to the target market. An example, a product may be totally safe for men, but risky for pregnant women. If the product is being sold to men, then they get 3-Stars. This is the case even if the product is very safe for the target market, just so we make a distinction between products that went above and beyond to be universally safe.
• 4-Stars: The ingredients are safe for the target market, and most healthy people. Some of the ingredients react with some medications, or are bad for specific groups of people (eg pregnant women and the elderly), but only produce mild side effects.
• 5-Stars: Very safe dosage and ingredients.

Customer Reviews

• 1-Star: Customer reviews are very negative in independent forums like BBB and Reddit, but very positive on the main product’s website. We usually give a 1-Star rating in such a case as this suggests the main website may be disingenuous. Products also get a 1-Star rating if the FDA has cautioned against them.
• 2-Stars: Independent reviews match reviews on the site, with the most common complaint being poor after-sale services. We also give 2-Stars if the company makes it hard for consumers to get their money-back (where there is a money-back guarantee)
•  3-Stars: Very positive reviews on efficacy, but with a significant number of complaints around customer service.
• 4-Stars: Positive reviews on efficacy, positive customer experience with the product’s policy, and money-back guarantees, but not FDA-Approved or GMP approved.
• 5-Stars: Positive reviews on efficacy, positive customer experience with the product’s policy and money-back guarantees, and FDA-approved or GMP-certified.

Evidence Behind Ingredients

• 1-Star: No scientific evidence at all, or some ingredients do the opposite of what the supplement claims to do (e.g if an ingredient in an HGH supplement has been shown to reduce high rather than increase it)
• 2-Stars: Some (less than 25%)  ingredients have some evidence, but the only studies available are animal studies.
• 3-Stars: Some (more than 50%)  ingredients have some evidence, but the only studies available are animal studies.
• 4-Stars: Some (more than 50%)  ingredients have some evidence in animal trials and at least one ingredient is documented to work in a randomized control trial with human subjects.
• 5-Stars: All the ingredients have strong research behind their efficacy, with at least one of the main ingredients having a big randomized control test with human subjects

Value for Money

• 1-Star: Not worth it. The product doesn’t do what it claims, so no matter how much it goes for, it’s not worthy.
• 2-Stars: The product has some evidence behind it, but it’s easily supplemented by everyday food items that are cheaper (eg calcium supplements that can be replaced with 2 eggs daily shouldn’t cost $500)
• 3-Stars: The product has a decent amount of evidence behind it, but is way more costly than products of a similar description.
• 4-Stars: The product offers very high value but at a very high cost.
• 5-Stars: The product offers very high value but at a relatively low cost.