How a grade is reached

Each entry is assigned one evidence tier — strong, moderate, preliminary, mixed, no-evidence, or banned/harmful — reflecting the weight and consistency of published human research. Meta-analyses, systematic reviews and large RCTs move a grade up; small, short, industry-funded or purely preclinical work keeps it cautious. Grades are written and reviewed by a clinician and can change as new evidence appears. The full rubric is on the methodology page.

The drug-interaction checker (134 rules) is sourced the same way — every interaction cites a national health body or peer-reviewed source, and the links are checked for rot.

Authoritative sources we draw on

• PubMed / MEDLINE

  U.S. National Library of Medicine

  The primary biomedical literature — the meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and randomized controlled trials that underpin every evidence grade. Most citations on NutriDex link straight to a PubMed record.

• Cochrane Library

  Cochrane

  Independent, high-rigour systematic reviews. Where a Cochrane review exists, it carries heavy weight in the grade.

• Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)

  U.S. National Institutes of Health

  Authoritative health-professional fact sheets on vitamins, minerals and many supplements — used for dosing, safety and drug-interaction guidance.

• NCCIH

  U.S. National Institutes of Health

  The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health — evidence summaries and safety notes for herbs and botanicals.

• MedlinePlus

  U.S. National Library of Medicine

  Consumer-health and drug/condition references used for plain-language safety and interaction context.

• U.S. Food & Drug Administration

  FDA

  Regulatory status, warning letters, recalls and safety communications — the basis for the banned / harmful tier and many cautions.

• About Herbs

  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

  Clinician-facing herb-and-supplement monographs with a strong focus on drug interactions and oncology relevance.

• PDQ — CAM

  U.S. National Cancer Institute

  Evidence reviews on complementary approaches in cancer care, used for chemotherapy-interaction cautions.

• EFSA

  European Food Safety Authority

  EU scientific opinions on health claims and food-additive safety — a second regulatory lens alongside the FDA.

• FoodData Central

  U.S. Department of Agriculture

  Reference nutrient composition — the source for the per-serving %DV nutrition radars on whole-food entries (fruits, vegetables, nuts).

• Crossref

  Crossref

  DOI resolution and bibliographic metadata — used to verify and enrich citations that aren't indexed in PubMed.

Use the data

The full dataset is open and free to reuse: JSON · CSV · full-text corpus (for AI grounding). Reviewed and curated by Dr Daryl Peh (MBBS Singapore, MMed FM). Educational reference, not medical advice.