How we grade evidence

Proof, Potential & Risk — and why we split them

We used to show a single 'Hype' meter. It was doing two jobs at once — conflating how proven something is with how oversold it is — which unfairly punished genuinely effective drugs. So we split it:

• PROOF — how strong the actual evidence is (this is the A–F grade, shown as a 0–5 bar). High Proof = real human data.
• POTENTIAL — how effective it could be IF the claims pan out (the upside). A compound can be high Potential but low Proof — exciting but unproven.
• RISK — a composite of known side effects, unknowns, market/quality risk, and irreversibility.

HYPE is now computed, not hand-set: it's the gap between Potential and Proof. Lots of Potential but little Proof → 'Overhyped'. Proven beyond its reputation → 'Underrated'. That's why Tirzepatide (Proof 5, Potential 5) reads 'Fairly rated' while Retatrutide (huge Potential, strong-but-still-trial Proof) reads 'a touch ahead of the proof' rather than getting unfairly dinged.

Evidence Grade (A–F) — the Proof scale

The grade reflects the quality of evidence for the effect people actually want — not the best-case reading. A compound can have fascinating rat data and still be a D, because animal results routinely fail to translate to humans.

• A — Robust human randomised trials.
• B — Decent human data, some gaps.
• C — Limited or early human data.
• D — Animal-only, with biological plausibility.
• E — Anecdotal or purely theoretical.
• F — Hype with little or no support.

The regulatory badge (the category-error killer)

This badge exists because the single biggest mistake in peptide culture is treating an approved medicine and a grey-market experiment as the same kind of thing. They aren't, and we refuse to blur them.

• Approved medicine — has real regulatory approval and human data (somewhere, for some use).
• In human trials — genuine human trial data, not yet approved.
• Cosmetic / topical — modest real evidence for topical or cosmetic use.
• Animal data only — interesting in animals or cells; not shown in humans.
• Grey-market — unapproved, sold 'research only', human evidence thin or absent.

If we ever score something in a way you can't square with the sources we cite, that's a bug — tell us. Faking certainty is the one thing we're not allowed to do.