# What Supplements Can and Cannot Say, Claim Rulings Source: https://claimsverified.org/claims/ Plain-language rulings on the marketing claims supplement brands ask about most: what fails, why it fails, and the wording the standard allows instead. --- Rulings published 37 Standard families 8 Listings behind the counts 2,243 What this is ## A public reference, not the whole standard. Every ruling here is taken from the claim library our audits run on: 109 standards drawn from published FDA, FTC and marketplace rules. The severity, the reason and the rewrite the standard allows are the same ones a client sees in their report. Nothing is softened for the public version. This is a subset, chosen because these are the questions people actually ask. Every standard is published in full on the standards page. If the phrase you are checking is not here, that is not a pass: run it through the [free check](https://claimsverified.org/check/) or read the [standards and method](https://claimsverified.org/standards/). Disease verb ## Verbs that describe acting on a disease. The shortest route from a supplement to an unapproved drug. 3 rulings [ Can a supplement say “cures”? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/cures/) [ Can a supplement say “treats”? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/treats/) [ Can a supplement say “prevents”? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/prevents/) Named condition ## Naming the condition the product is for, however gently. The condition does the claiming. 7 rulings [ Can a supplement say it is for anxiety? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/for-anxiety/) [ Can a supplement say “lowers blood pressure”? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/lowers-blood-pressure/) [ Can a supplement say “lowers cholesterol”? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/lowers-cholesterol/) Show all 7 rulingsShow fewer [ Can a supplement say “lowers blood sugar” or “for diabetes”? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/lowers-blood-sugar/) [ Can a supplement say “heals leaky gut”? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/heals-leaky-gut/) [ Can a supplement say “treats insomnia”? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/treats-insomnia/) [ Can a supplement say it is for menopause symptoms or hot flashes? High Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/for-menopause-symptoms/) Implied drug ## Wording that describes a drug-like mechanism without naming a disease. 7 rulings [ Can a supplement say “prescription strength” or “pharmaceutical grade”? High Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/prescription-strength/) [ Can a supplement say “anti-inflammatory”? High Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/anti-inflammatory/) [ Can a supplement say “relieves pain”? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/relieves-pain/) Show all 7 rulingsShow fewer [ Can a supplement say “detox” or “cleanses toxins”? High Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/detox/) [ Can a supplement say “boosts immunity”? High **176** brands flagged → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/boosts-immunity/) [ Can a supplement say “balances hormones”? High **167** brands flagged → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/balances-hormones/) [ Can a supplement say “normalizes” or “restores”? High **156** brands flagged → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/normalizes-restores/) False regulatory ## Authority the product does not have, or approval that does not exist for supplements. 7 rulings [ Can a supplement say “patented formula”? High Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/patented-formula/) [ Can a supplement say “guaranteed results”? High Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/guaranteed-results/) [ Can a supplement say “FDA approved”? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/fda-approved/) Show all 7 rulingsShow fewer [ Can a supplement say “FDA registered”? High Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/fda-registered/) [ Can a supplement say “clinically proven”? High Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/clinically-proven/) [ Can a supplement say “100% safe” or “no side effects”? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/no-side-effects/) [ Can a supplement say “GMP certified”? Medium **284** brands flagged → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/gmp-certified/) Substantiation ## Claims that may be fine to make and are not fine to make without evidence in hand. 8 rulings [ Can a supplement say “Non-GMO”? Medium **398** brands flagged → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/non-gmo/) [ Can a supplement say “clinical dose”? Medium Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/clinical-dose/) [ Can a supplement say “#1 doctor recommended”? High Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/number-one-doctor-recommended/) Show all 8 rulingsShow fewer [ Can a supplement say “best” or “most effective”? Medium **404** brands flagged → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/best-most-effective/) [ Can a supplement say “burns fat”? High Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/burns-fat/) [ Can a supplement say “studies show”? Medium **162** brands flagged → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/studies-show/) [ Can a supplement say “all-natural”? Medium Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/all-natural/) [ Can a supplement say “non-habit forming”? Medium Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/non-habit-forming/) Platform policy ## Where Amazon, Meta and Google enforce ahead of the regulators, including fields shoppers never see. 3 rulings [ Can a supplement ad say “Struggling with [condition]?” High Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/struggling-with-condition/) [ Can an Amazon supplement listing use disease keywords in the title or bullets? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/disease-keywords-amazon-listing/) [ Can a supplement use disease terms in Amazon backend search keywords? High Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/disease-terms-backend-keywords/) Implied claim ## A claim carried by something other than the sentence: a product name, a testimonial, an affiliate post. 1 ruling [ Can a supplement product name imply treatment? Critical Read the ruling → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/product-name-implying-treatment/) Structural ## What has to be present, and how prominently, rather than what may not be said. 1 ruling [ Does a supplement need the FDA disclaimer? High **455** brands flagged → ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/fda-disclaimer/) **Cite us**These rulings are free to quote. Credit “Claims Verified” and link to the ruling you used. Brand counts come from our own scan database and are explained on [the research page](https://claimsverified.org/research/). audit@claimsverified.org → ## Faster than reading every ruling: check your own listing. Run one ASIN through the free check and see which of these your own listing is carrying. On-file listings show their scan result immediately. New scans queue against the current 109 standards. [Free ASIN check](https://claimsverified.org/check/) Say the most the rules allow. Then keep selling it, everywhere, at any spend. Clean copy can run on every channel at once, with the lines we flagged gone, so you can push budget knowing what a reviewer can find. And it is the brand a careful shopper can believe.