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Notes from the team — shorter, stranger, in-progress.

Methodology debates, follow-up reporting, field notes from shelf surveys, and the occasional rant. Not the same as a Guide — these are working drafts of our thinking.

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Field notes · 14 Apr

Three days, four cities, one shopping list — what 2026's shelf actually looks like.

We sent buyers to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Pune with the same list of 18 SKUs. The price spread on a single jar of creatine reached ₹820 — and that's before the question of whether all eight units were the same product.

Aarav S. · 8 minRead
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Methodology · 9 Apr

Why we still won't run an "Editor's Pick" badge.

Every quarter someone in the team raises this. Here's why we keep voting it down — and the one form of it we'd actually consider.

Priya K. · 6 minRead
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Behind the score: how a 7.5 became a 6.1 in 14 days.

A walkthrough of the HK Vitals iron-form change. The brand didn't announce it; we caught it on a routine batch re-test. What our triggers do and where they nearly missed it.
Behind the score·Rohit V.·11 Apr 2026
RD

Reading list — five papers that changed our position on melatonin.

The dose-response question is more settled than the Indian shelf admits. Five papers, two methodology reviews, and one short rant about 10mg gummies.
Reading·Dr. Tarun B.·5 Apr 2026
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What we found in the bottom drawer of a Bengaluru pharmacy.

Six expired-but-on-sale products, two grey-market import boxes, one unmarked white jar. A short essay on what shelf surveys don't capture.
Field notes·Priya K.·1 Apr 2026
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The "clinical dose" question we keep arguing about internally.

When trials disagree by 2× on what the studied dose is, which one anchors our rubric? Three reviewers, three different opinions, one published rule.
Methodology·Aarav S.·27 Mar 2026
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Behind the score: the curcumin row we couldn't agree on.

Three reviewers, four bioavailability technologies, and one decision about how to score a product whose effect is real but tiny per rupee.
Behind the score·Dr. Meera N.·22 Mar 2026
RD

Reading list — what we're following on plant proteins this quarter.

Pea, soy, rice, hemp, and the leucine-threshold question. Six papers and one ongoing trial we'll be checking in on.
Reading·Sanjana K.·17 Mar 2026
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Three things every fish-oil bottle tells you, and one it hides.

A photo essay of the back-of-bottle: serving sizes, EPA/DHA totals, and the freshness-marker that's never on the label.
Field notes·Priya K.·11 Mar 2026
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