After three decades in the supplement industry, I’ve watched thousands of products come and go. Most make the same basic promise in slightly different packaging. Over the years I’ve boiled my own decision down to one question that cuts through nearly all of the marketing: does this address a mechanism, or does it just add more of something?
“Adds more of something” is the default. More vitamin C, more of a trending botanical, more grams of protein. Sometimes that’s genuinely useful — if you’re deficient in something, adding it helps. But a lot of the industry runs on the assumption that if a little is good, a truckload must be better, and that assumption falls apart fast in actual physiology.
“Addresses a mechanism” is different. It means the product is working with a specific process your body already runs, supporting or restoring something rather than just piling on raw material. That’s a higher bar, and far fewer products clear it.
This is the lens I apply to redox signaling. Your cells produce signaling molecules that coordinate repair, communication, and the activation of your own antioxidant systems — and that production declines with age. Supporting those signaling molecules is working on a mechanism, not just adding volume. That’s the category that has held my attention for years when so many products didn’t.
I’d encourage you to run that same question against anything you’re considering, including the things I talk about. Does it address a mechanism, or just add more? It won’t tell you everything, but it will quickly separate the products worth your money from the ones counting on you not to ask.