Trust · how we work
How We Review
GLP-1 Grade exists to answer the question the supplement aisle is built to dodge: does the label behind this product actually add up? Brand sites answer with hero images and front-of-package numbers. We answer with the panel.
We are a desk-verification operation, and we say so plainly. Our reviews are built from published sources: the nutrition panel and ingredient list, third-party certificates, live prices, and the accumulated consensus of people who have actually used a product. We read the panel closely, recompute every protein-per-dollar figure ourselves, and confirm third-party testing rather than taking "lab tested" on faith. We do not run our own lab assays, and we do not fabricate taste tests — where a question can only be settled by testing we have not done, or by taste we cannot standardize, the review says exactly that and reports consensus as consensus.
Two standing rules sit over every page. First: we review products, never medications — nothing here is medical advice, no page makes a drug or weight-loss claim, and any target or number carries the hedge to confirm it with your clinician, especially on appetite-suppressing medication. Second: where we state context — that appetite is often lower and protein targets aren't — we state it as a fact, not a promise, and never as a mechanism any product delivers.
The review rubric
Every product runs the same five-axis rubric, so a budget tub and a boutique blend are judged on one ledger.
- The math holds
- Grams of protein per serving read straight off the panel and checked against the serving size, then normalized to dollars per 20 grams of protein — computed the same way for every product. Where the front-of-package claim and the panel disagree, the review quotes both and grades the gap.
- Third-party testing
- Whether the brand publishes independent verification — self-published lab results, or stronger, ongoing certification like NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport. We state each product's status plainly, and "not published" is a real mark against, not a neutral blank.
- Price per serving
- Every listed price divided into dollars per 20g of protein (or per serving, for electrolytes and shakes) and compared within category, with subscribe-and-save factored at its honest price and cancel terms. Bundle math and scoop-size tricks do not survive the division.
- Ingredient & label honesty
- The sugar and sugar-alcohol lines, proprietary blends that hide doses, maltodextrin padding a "premium" formula, and — on meal shakes — the whole micronutrient panel, not just protein. A legible, fully disclosed label is a point in a product's favor.
- Terms & track record
- Return and subscription terms as written, and owner consensus on taste, texture, and what actually arrives — weighed as reported experience and clearly labeled as such, never as a test we ran.
Where our numbers come from
Protein and micronutrient figures come from the brand's published nutrition panels, read against any published third-party certificate. Prices are pulled from live listings at write time and normalized to dollars per 20 grams of protein; because prices move, reviews carry representative figures with a checked date rather than false precision, and affiliate links land on the live listing where the current number governs. Third-party-testing status is taken from the certification body or the brand's published report, not from a marketing badge.
Facts about a product are verified against its own live listing and panel at the time of writing. Anything we could not verify is written as "not published" — an answer we consider more useful than a guess, and one we wish more of this market gave.
On verdicts and labels
A recommendation here means one thing: the product's published label held up under the rubric at the date on the page. It never means the product suits any medical purpose, never replaces a conversation with your clinician about what you should eat, and never means a reformulated version inherits the last one's grade — which is why the panel gets re-read every time. Want a starting protein number to shop against? The Protein Target Calculator gives a general range, hedged.
Independence and disclosure are covered separately on our editorial standards page. Questions about a verdict? Reach the desk.