Editorial Standards

Our articles answer supplement questions for athletes, parents and athletic staff. This page explains how we write them.

Who writes them

Every article names who is responsible for it. New and refreshed articles carry the byline of Ricky Circelli, our founder. Older articles carry the Varsity Stack Team byline.

Where the facts come from

We use primary sources:

• The rules themselves: NCAA bylaws and banned drug classes, high school associations, USADA, Global DRO and WADA.
• The certification programs' own pages, for what each program checks.
• The FDA and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements.
• Peer reviewed studies and position stands, such as those of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, the National Athletic Trainers' Association, the IOC consensus statement on supplements and the Australian Institute of Sport framework.

Every factual claim carries a numbered source, and the full list sits at the end of the article under Sources. A claim we cannot source comes out. Before an article goes live, each claim is checked again against its source.

How we word an answer

Each article opens with a short answer, graded as honestly as the evidence allows.

• Nothing is “NCAA approved” or “WADA approved”, and we never say it is.
• Certification lowers the risk of a banned substance. It never guarantees a negative test.
• We name no products or brands as picks. Articles explain how to check a product, and the Varsity Stack app does the checking.
• Varsity Stack does not test supplements in a laboratory.

Education, not medical advice

Our articles are education. They never claim a supplement treats, cures or prevents a condition.

When we report an amount, we report it the way a cited position stand does, never as a dose for you. Articles for high school athletes and parents give no doses at all. They point you to a professional instead.

Every health article ends with this note:

This article is for educational purposes only. Consult a qualified healthcare provider or registered dietitian before starting any supplement regimen.

Dates

Each article shows the date it was published. An Updated date appears only when we change what the article says, such as a correction, a new section or sources checked again. We never move a date to make a page look fresh.

Corrections

Found a mistake? Email support@varsitystack.com, the address on our Contact page. Name the article and the claim.