The Shake Standard
How we
score.
Every brand on Shake earns a Shake Score — an honest, independent read on where a product stands. Here is exactly how we reach it. Nothing hidden, nothing for sale.
Awareness over alarm.
We rate by evidence, amount, and exposure — never by scary-sounding names. Our job is to empower conscious choices, not to frighten. Three principles hold everything together.
The dose makes the poison
We weigh the evidence, the amount, how it enters the body, who’s using it, and how often — not just whether an ingredient sounds alarming.
Natural isn’t a synonym for safe
We reward genuine transparency and good formulation — not the word “natural.” Lead, arsenic and poison ivy are all natural, too.
Daily choices accumulate
The body doesn’t process a single meal — it processes the accumulation of daily choices. So products you use every day carry the most weight.
Every product, four ways.
A thing is never simply “good” or “bad.” We score each product against four pillars, then average them into one Shake Score.
People
Effects on human health over a lifetime of daily use — ingredient safety, material integrity, and honest disclosure.
Animals
Cruelty-free sourcing, and harm — or care — toward wildlife and waterways. Animal cruelty is a non-starter.
Gaia
The planetary footprint, from ingredient to bin — recyclability, seed integrity, food sovereignty, and harmony with the Earth’s natural rhythm.
Frequency
How minimal, natural, whole and intentional a product is — including its energetic footprint, like whether it emits electromagnetic fields.
What to avoid. What to seek.
Keeping these two separate is what keeps our scoring honest. A product sits somewhere on both at once.
What to avoid
Evidence-tiered ingredients and exposures of concern — from banned substances to contested, emerging risks. These subtract from a score, weighted by how strong the evidence is and how you’re exposed.
What to seek
The virtues: whole-food integrity, non-GMO and heirloom sourcing, full disclosure, trusted certifications, and cruelty-free care. These add to a score — but can never paper over a serious concern.
How strongly it counts.
Not every concern is equal. We grade the strength of the evidence — and we never flag anything without a cited source.
Strong & established
Well-documented harm — often already banned or restricted in the EU. Heaviest weight, and requires two independent authoritative sources to assign.
Contested or emerging
Where good scientists genuinely disagree, or the risk falls on a sensitive group. Flagged with nuance, never as alarm — fluoride and EMF live here.
Context & dose-dependent
Fine in the right amount, form or context. A gentle note only, for the cautious.
What the number means.
Each pillar starts at 100. Concerns subtract, verified virtues add back, and the four average into one score.
Our promise
“A paid listing never buys a better score. Commercial relationships never influence editorial position — ever.”
We score every product independently. A lower score isn’t bad publicity — it’s an honest, open view, and it’s exactly why our readers trust us. Brands may respond to a score with evidence, and we’ll review and re-score where it’s warranted. Every score is recorded, with the reasoning behind it, so anyone can see how we got there.
The lines we hold.
- We never call ingredients “toxic,” “chemical-free” or “detox” — undefined, fear-based terms have no place here.
- We never let a certification or badge cancel out a serious, well-evidenced concern.
- We never assign a concern without a cited, authoritative source.
- We never let a commercial relationship move a score. The number is the number.
- We never present contested science as settled — emerging findings are always framed as emerging.
Honest by design.
Explore the brands and products we’ve scored — or, if you’re a brand, apply to be scored and featured.