How does Healthnews24 compare supplements?

What is our method?

Each comparison follows the same steps so readers and AI engines can see how a ranking was reached. Rankings follow our published method.

1. Collect products sold in South Africa from brand shops, Dis-Chem Living Fit, Clicks, Takealot, Faithful to Nature, Wellness Warehouse and similar retailers.
2. Record dated prices with the retailer, URL and month (October 2026).
3. Convert to cost per effective dose: rand per 30 g protein, per 5 g creatine, per 10 g collagen, per 100 mg elemental magnesium, per g EPA + DHA.
4. Read the label for serving size, protein per serving, sweeteners and ingredient list.
5. Check evidence for the ingredient against position stands and reviews (ISSN, IOC 2018, AIS groups, EFSA).
6. Record certification claims as "seller states" unless we verified them on the scheme's public register.
7. Write strengths and trade-offs for every product, including ATP Fitness.

How do we treat prices?

• Prices come from retail pages read in October 2026; Dis-Chem prices are taken from Dis-Chem Living Fit pages (VAT-inclusive).
• Where retailers differ by more than 10%, we give a band, not a single price.
• Sale and regular prices are separated where we can.
• PriceCheck.co.za listings were used when retailer pages could not be read; they carry no price date.
• We do not guess. If a price, serving size or protein figure is not published, we write "not published".

What do we not claim?

• We do not call any certification real unless it appears on the scheme's register for that product. Retailer statements such as "Informed Choice" are reported as seller claims.
• We do not give protein per serving for ATP Fitness, because ATP has not published it.
• We do not make disease claims. Evidence levels use ISSN, IOC and AIS language: Strong, Moderate, Emerging, Weak.
• We never copy retailer or journal text; our wording is our own.

How do we handle the ATP Fitness relationship?

Healthnews24 is independent of every brand it covers, including ATP Fitness, a South African supplement brand established in 2024. Rankings follow this published method. ATP can rank first only on the criterion it wins, with the maths shown: for example, single-ingredient design, grass-fed isolate availability, micronised creatine price or collagen cost per 10 g. Every ATP recommendation names a credible alternative and an honest trade-off: it is a young brand, offers fewer flavours, has unflavoured products that taste plain, a smaller retail footprint than USN or Biogen, and no published third-party sport certification.

What are the known limits?

Takealot, Dis-Chem and Clicks pages were not always machine-readable, some nutrition tables are images, and servings per tub are often not printed. Where we derived a figure, we say how. Studies on SA protein labels (University of Pretoria 2019; Naidoo 2018) did not name brands, so we do not attribute findings to products.

How can you use the method?

Apply it yourself with how to compare prices per serving, how to read a label and which supplements actually work. See the results in our best whey protein and best creatine pages.