How to evaluate supplement claims

Claims are not all the same. FDA distinguishes categories including health claims, nutrient-content claims, and structure/function claims. Structure/function claims can describe support for normal body structure or function, but supplements cannot lawfully be marketed as products that diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease merely by using a disclaimer.

A simple reading test

Ask: Is this statement describing normal function, reducing disease risk under an authorized/qualified framework, or implying treatment of a disease? Then ask what evidence supports the exact claim—not a broader neighboring idea.

Marketing evidence versus product evidence

A bibliography about cognition or individual nutrients may be informative, but it does not automatically establish the efficacy of a particular finished formula.