Testing & review methodology
BOTH publishes product context with documented methodology. Personal use is anecdotal—not laboratory verification, not proof of superiority, and not a substitute for ingredient-level evidence.
Testing status labels
- Untested: BOTH has not documented use of this specific SKU by a named contributor under our review process.
- Founder tested: Gino Broccolo or another named founder has personally used the product. Observations are subjective and labeled anecdotal.
- Staff tested: A real BOTH contributor documented use under our review process (future workflow).
Anecdote vs controlled evidence
Founder or staff notes describe perceived experience—tolerability, adherence, subjective effects. They must never be rewritten as causal claims (“this product causes X”) or superiority claims versus other products. Ingredient evidence from published research applies to categories, not individual SKUs unless product-specific evidence exists.
What constitutes firsthand use
Documented personal use of a specific commercial product by a named BOTH contributor, recorded in our product testing framework: dose used, training/diet context, subjective experience, tolerability, and label facts where verified. Not a BOTH lab test unless explicitly stated.
Before testing exists
Framework pages may compare published specs, manufacturer documentation, and independent validation literature. These pages state explicitly when BOTH has not personally used a SKU.
When testing is published
- Exact product name and version
- Tester identity and use context
- Subjective observations—clearly labeled
- Manufacturer claims separated from BOTH observations
- Update log when materially changed
What BOTH will not claim from anecdote
Product superiority, causal efficacy, lab-verified quality, or outcomes that require controlled study. Rankings and scores are not published until a defensible methodology exists.