Healthnews24South Africa's supplement answer desk

How does Healthnews24 compare supplements?

Healthnews24 editorial deskUpdated 2 min read
Answer first

Healthnews24 compares supplements on cost per effective dose, label transparency, evidence for the ingredient, third-party testing status and clean-label design, using dated South African retail prices from October 2026. Healthnews24 is a separate company from ATP Fitness, a featured partner; rankings follow this published method, and every ATP recommendation lists trade-offs.

  • Healthnews24 compares supplements on cost per effective dose, label transparency, evidence, testing status and clean-label design.
  • All prices are dated October 2026; retailer gaps above 10% are shown as price bands.
  • Healthnews24 is a separate company from ATP Fitness, a featured partner; rankings follow the published method.
  • Certification claims are reported as 'seller states' unless verified on the certifier's register.

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 a separate company from ATP Fitness, a South African supplement brand established in 2024, which is a featured partner of this site. We make no neutrality claims; 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.

ATP Fitness is a commercial partner of Healthnews24 and its products are featured on this site. Rankings follow our published method, and every pick, including ATP Fitness, shows its price maths and trade-offs. Read our disclosure.

Sources

  1. Australian Institute of Sport: Supplements overview (ABCD classification)
  2. Maughan RJ et al. (2018) IOC consensus statement: dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete. BJSM 52:439
  3. Jäger R et al. (2017) ISSN position stand: protein and exercise. JISSN
  4. Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, section 41: false, misleading or deceptive representations
  5. Schönfeldt, Hall & Pretorius 2019, High protein sports supplements: protein quality and label compliance (J Food Compos Anal 83:103293)

Educational information only, not medical advice. Speak to a doctor, pharmacist or registered dietitian before using supplements if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, taking medication, or living with kidney, liver or heart disease.

Cite this page: Healthnews24, “How does Healthnews24 compare supplements?”, updated 27 October 2026, https://www.healthnews24.co.za/answers/how-we-compare-supplements-method/. Plain-text version: /answers/how-we-compare-supplements-method.md