One of the most common things people say when they encounter health research is “I’m not a scientist, I can’t evaluate this.” It’s a reasonable thing to feel — research papers are dense, the methodology is technical, and the conclusions are often hedged in ways that make them hard to interpret.
But here’s what I’ve learned after 30 years in the supplement industry and a background in physics and chemistry: you don’t need a medical degree to evaluate health research intelligently. You need a few principles and the willingness to apply them consistently.
First, look at who conducted the research and where it was published. Research published in peer-reviewed journals has been scrutinized by independent experts in the field before publication. That doesn’t make it infallible, but it means it cleared a meaningful bar. Research published in company marketing materials cleared no bar at all.
Second, look at the mechanism first, the results second. If the proposed mechanism — the explanation of how something is supposed to work — isn’t biologically coherent, the results don’t matter much. If it is coherent, the results become more meaningful. In the case of redox signaling, the mechanism is extensively documented in decades of independent research. ASEA doesn’t exist in isolation from that science — it exists within it.
Third, look for consistency. A single study proving something is a starting point, not a conclusion. What matters is whether multiple independent lines of evidence point in the same direction. When the mechanism is established, the third-party verification is consistent, and personal experience over years aligns with what the science predicts — that’s a much stronger position than any single study.
Fourth, be honest about what you don’t know. I don’t know everything about redox signaling. The science is still developing. New research continues to refine our understanding. Acknowledging that isn’t weakness — it’s the standard that legitimate science holds itself to.
You can apply these principles to anything you read about health. They’ll save you money, protect you from misleading claims, and help you find the things that actually make a difference. That’s been my experience applying them for three decades.