Check / the evidence
Does the proof match the claim?
Bring the exact claim. Ask whether its proof matches the product you are being offered.
What is the claim actually saying?
Bring the exact words. “Studied,” “registered” and “approved” invite different follow-up questions.
- Drug directory code
- Look for “NDC” followed by a number on a product listing. It identifies a drug product in a government directory. As of September 2026, having this number does not mean the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the medicine.
- FDA registration
- “FDA registered” means a business that handles drugs has been recorded with the FDA. As of September 2026, that record gives neither the business nor its medicines FDA approval. It is a record about the business, not approval of a website.
What can an approval claim tell you?
Ask the doctor or other licensed person treating you to show the approval record for the exact medicine and health problem.
- As of September 2026, approval of a ready-made medicine does not cover a version made to order, also called a compounded medicine.
- As of September 2026, FDA calls claims that a compounded product is the same as an approved drug false or misleading.
- Does this record match the ingredient, form and product being offered?
What can you ask about a study?
Ask to see the study. Have the person treating you explain what it found and how it relates to your health problem.
- Was this work done in people?
- Was the studied product the same as this one?
- What was it compared with?
- Which people took part?
- What did the researchers measure?
- What did the study leave unanswered?
What about reports of problems?
If someone became sick after taking a medicine, ask the person treating you what that report can tell you.
- FDA says a report alone does not show that a medicine caused the problem.
- FDA has a website where you can search reports of medicine problems. According to FDA, those reports do not show the rate of problems among people who use the medicine.
Open the source notes
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