Evidence, not tradition.
Not trends, either.

This is our honest attempt to explain how we decide what goes in, and just as importantly, what stays out. If you'd rather go straight to the products, they're here.


Natural, chemical, synthetic

People ask us constantly whether something is "natural or chemical." It's the wrong question. Everything that has ever touched your body, water included, has a molecular formula, and where a molecule came from tells you nothing about whether it works or whether it's safe. Those two are the only questions we care about. We wrote the full version here: Natural vs Chemical.

From an orange
From a lab
OOHOOH
Ascorbic acid · C₆H₈O₆
Identical molecule
Both are the exact same molecule, your body can't tell them apart. Where an ingredient comes from tells you nothing about whether it works, or whether it's safe. Those are the only two questions we ask.

On Ayurveda, a direct answer

Ayurveda has been observing the relationship between plants and the human body for over two thousand years. Some of those observations, when tested in modern clinical trials, turn out to be correct. Some don't. Some haven't been tested carefully enough to know yet.

We apply the same standard to traditional ingredients that we apply to anything else: if there are well-designed randomised controlled trials for the specific condition we're formulating for, we'll consider it seriously. If there aren't, we won't include it. That's not a dismissal. The bar is the same regardless of whether an ingredient comes from Ayurveda, TCM, or a pharmaceutical lab.

Ayurveda TCM A pharma lab
The one bar

Is there a randomised trial for this exact condition?

In, at the dose the trial used
Out, with genuine respect
The same test applies whether an ingredient comes from Ayurveda, TCM, or a pharmaceutical lab. Where it came from earns no bonus points, and no penalty.

Why not ashwagandha or shatavari?

Ashwagandha

Not in our formulas
Real evidence for
Stress and cortisol. We don't dispute that.
Why not here
For PCOS, PMS, period pain and iron deficiency, the randomised-trial data is sparse and inconsistent.
⚠ Safety
A documented interaction with thyroid medication, common in the people we make products for.

Shatavari

Not in our formulas
Its place
A meaningful role in Ayurvedic women's health. We respect that tradition.
Why not here
The RCT evidence for the specific outcomes we target is thin.
Our view
Traditional use is a starting point for research, not a substitute for it.

We might revisit both if the evidence base grows. That's genuinely how we operate: if the research changes, we change with it. We won't put something in on "probably fine" and centuries of tradition. And we won't take it out on "probably bad" and a fashionable backlash either.


Home remedies, an honest take

We're not against home remedies. We genuinely like a lot of them.

Ginger for period pain is a home remedy, and a good one. It works, the mechanism is understood, and in clinical trials a standardised amount meaningfully reduced period pain. If you drink ginger chai on the first day of your period and it helps you, please don't stop; you've arrived at real biology. (We wrote up what actually helps period pain, ginger included, if that's your question.)

The one thing we'd add is about dose certainty. A cup of ginger chai might carry 200 mg of active gingerol or 800 mg, depending on how strong you brewed it and how long you steeped it, and your kitchen can't tell you which. The trials used 1,500 mg of a standardised extract. That gap is the whole difference between a remedy and a formula: not chemistry, but knowing the amount that's actually doing the work. Where we make something, it's dosed to exactly what the research used.

A cup of ginger chai
?
200–800 mg your kitchen can't tell you which
The clinical dose
1,500 mg exact, every time
Same active ingredient, ginger. The only difference is whether you know the amount that's doing the work. That gap is the whole difference between a remedy and a formula.
The difference between a home remedy and a supplement isn't chemistry. It's whether you know the dose.

If home remedies work for you and you'd rather stay with them. That's a reasonable, completely respectable choice. We're not here to sell you something you don't need. We'd only add this: if you're relying on something to do a real job for your health, it helps to know what amount of it is actually doing that job. That's true whether it comes from your kitchen or a capsule.


How we make decisions

Every ingredient in every Cadence formula went through this process, in this order. No exceptions.

1

Start with the clinical question

What specific condition? What specific outcome does this person actually want? We start there.

2

Search the trial literature

What has been tested in randomised controlled trials? At what dose, in what form, in what population? How consistent are the results? This is the bulk of the work.

3

Check the form and bioavailability

Is this ingredient in the form the research used? Many products use cheap, poorly absorbed versions. We use the bioavailable form, the one the evidence is actually based on.

4

Check safety and interactions

What's the upper safe limit? Are there known interactions with medication common in our audience? Are there cautions specific to pregnancy or certain conditions?

5

Only then build the formula

Nothing in without a reason. Nothing out without documented justification. The dose is whatever the evidence used, and we cite it.

What we ask about every ingredient

We askWe don't ask
Is there a clinical trial for this specific outcome?Is it natural?
What dose was used in the trial?Is it trending?
Is this the bioavailable form?Does it sound impressive?
Are there known interactions at this dose?Is it Ayurvedic or Western?
What is the established upper safe limit?Has it been used for centuries?

What Cadence is, and what it isn't

Cadence is
  • A supplement, dosed to exactly what the research used
  • Built only on ingredients with human trials behind them
  • Honest, in plain language, about what it can't do
Cadence isn't
  • A medicine, or a cure for anything
  • A diagnosis, or a substitute for your doctor
  • A reason to stop treatment you've been prescribed

These are supplements. The word means something: they're designed to supplement a diet and lifestyle that are mostly working, not to replace medical care, and not to cure anything.

We're not a clinic. We can't diagnose you. If your doctor has told you something and our product seems to contradict it, listen to your doctor. If you're on medication, check with your pharmacist before adding anything new. The cautions on every product page are written in plain language because they're real.

What we can offer is something carefully considered for the gap that many women find themselves in: something isn't right, the tests come back "normal," and the GP appointment ended in 10 minutes. That gap is real. It deserves something better than a trending herb in a pretty tin, and that's what we're trying to build.

We don't want you to trust us. We want you to trust the evidence, and then check whether we followed it.

You can read the citations on each product page. You can look up the studies. We'd actively encourage it.

Questions or disagreements? Write to us at hello@cadencecare.store. We read everything and we're happy to be challenged.