How we assess the evidence
Each ingredient page summarises published human research on that ingredient and rates how confident you can be in each finding. This note explains those ratings, so you can judge them for yourself.
The evidence we use
We give most weight to meta-analyses and randomised controlled trials in people. Where those don't exist, we say what the evidence is instead: studies that observe people over time, or animal and laboratory work, which can explain how something might work but don't show that it works in people.
We cite the studies on each page, so you can read them yourself.
How big the effect is
Where a study reports a standardised effect size, we describe it as small (0.2), moderate (0.5) or large (0.8), the conventional thresholds set out by the statistician Jacob Cohen.
Where a study reports a real-world measure, such as a change in blood pressure, we give that too, because it means more.
How confident you can be
Each finding carries a rating, shown in words and as dots.
- High (four dots). Consistent results across several trials or meta-analyses in people.
- Moderate (three dots). Evidence in people, but from fewer studies, smaller numbers or less consistent results.
- Emerging (two dots). A small number of human trials, or trials with notable weaknesses.
- Early (one dot). No human trials yet. The page says whether the evidence comes from observational, animal or laboratory studies.
Some studies measure a marker, such as a level in the blood, rather than a result you would feel. Where that's the case, the rating says ‘marker’.
Whether it's a clinical dose
- At the clinical dose: the amount used in human trials or, for a vitamin or mineral, at or above the reference intake.
- Foundational dose: a deliberate amount below the clinical dose, with the reason on its page.
Tolerance and cautions
Each ingredient page says how well the ingredient is tolerated at the amount in Liv100, any warning that applies to it, and any medicines to check with your doctor.
We draw on the safe upper levels set by the European Food Safety Authority and the UK Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals, the conditions of an ingredient's authorisation for sale in Great Britain, the side effects reported in the trials we cite, and interaction references such as NHS medicines guidance, the US National Institutes of Health and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
What we claim
The only health claims we make about Liv100 are those authorised on the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register, in their permitted wording, and they're shown in italics.
Everything else on our pages describes what research found, often at other doses or in other forms, not what Liv100 will do for you.
Each page shows the date it was last reviewed. When new evidence changes a rating, we update the page.