Glossary
Clear definitions for supplement decisions
Short, practical explanations for the terms you see in Unfair.
Adherence is how consistently your real routine matches your intended stack, not how perfect your calendar labels appear..
Bedtime dose window is the planned timing band for compounds taken close to sleep, where small shifts can change next-day outcome tracking..
Consistency score is a practical indicator of how reliable your current routine is, combining timing consistency, adherence rate, and variance..
Cycle-aware reminders coordinate nudges with your active [cycle windows](/blog/understanding-dose-windows-and-cycles) so a skipped dose is interpreted in context, not as a hard failure by default..
Dose is the specific amount you take, which can be expressed as mg, IU, capsules, teaspoons, grams, or unit counts, depending on form..
A dose window is the acceptable intake band for a dose, not the same as a fixed clock slot..
Dosing frequency is how often the body is exposed to a dose pattern, which can matter more than raw amount..
Evening dose windows are for compounds that are typically better tolerated closer to the end of your active day..
Loading phase is a short period where dose intensity is intentionally stepped up to reach a reliable signal faster..
Maintenance phase is the period after active loading where the goal is stable benefit with lower side-effect risk..
A manual dose journal is a structured record you control when automatic captures are not enough for your protocol..
Route means how the active ingredient enters your system, and route changes can alter onset, intensity, and risk..
Morning windows are when many compounds are dosed for energy, focus, or metabolism support, but response can vary with wake state..
Notification action is what you choose when a reminder fires, and that choice directly changes adherence quality..
Nutrition route means when and with what context your supplement is taken: fasting, with meals, or after specific food types..
One-tap logging is a fast confirmation path designed to reduce friction while preserving signal quality..
Reminder schedule is how [timing strategy](/blog/understanding-dose-windows-and-cycles) is set for routine follow-through without adding unnecessary alert burden..
Route of administration is how a compound enters your body and changes timing, consistency, and safety assumptions..
Serving size is your base unit on paper; active dose is what you must compute from it..
Side-effect notes capture what changed, when, and how strongly, so later signals remain actionable..
Skipped dose is not always one event; it is often an intentional or accidental state that should be distinguished..
A stack session is a coherent block of time where behavior, dosing, and outcomes are interpreted together..
Titration is a controlled step-up plan used to find effective dose while limiting adverse overload..
Unit normalization converts mg, IU, µg, g, and liquid volumes into comparable dose language..
Current supplements input is the set of ingredients, timing, goals, sensitivities, and adherence patterns already active in your stack..
Deterministic scoring is the repeatable ranking layer built from stable inputs and fixed rules before optional adjustments are added..
Evidence quality metadata is a practical confidence scale on what we can trust from studies and real-world signal strength..
Evidence tiers are a practical label for how dependable a signal is before using it to shape stack ranking..
Your feedback loop is the process where your logs become the model input that reshapes your next recommendations..
Goal prioritization is how Unfair decides which outcomes to optimize first when multiple goals compete for the same stack..
Personalization weight is the importance assigned to your safety profile, goals, adherence, and symptom history during ranking..
Rationale snippets are short explanations that summarize why a recommendation is being shown now..
Recommendation bundle is a grouped set of one or more ingredients presented by shared use case and schedule..
Recommendation confidence is a probability-style indicator of how reliable current [ranking signals](/blog/complete-guide-to-supplement-stacks) are..
The recommendation engine is the path from your inputs to [ranked suggestions](/blog/complete-guide-to-supplement-stacks), through filters and guardrails..
Top stack recommendation is the highest-priority stack signal after current context and safety filters..
Top supplement recommendation is the highest-ranked single ingredient signal for your current context..
An adverse event is any symptom or sign that appears after a supplement change and is important enough to affect dosing safety, not just “I feel off.”.
An allergy warning means there is a meaningful possibility of immune reaction risk, ranging from mild sensitivity to immediate hypersensitivity..
An anticoagulant interaction is any supplement pattern that may increase bleeding tendency, especially when it overlaps prescription blood-thinners or procedural windows..
Blood Pressure Warning is the set of stack-level checks that reduce risk when a supplement may affect blood pressure direction and symptom burden..
Caffeine threshold is the behaviorally adjusted intake point where side effects become likely enough to reduce decision quality for a given user..
Clinician consult is when stack-level self-management is no longer the right tool and a clinician review becomes the safer next step..
A contraindication means a specific ingredient or combination is likely unsafe enough to avoid, at least in the current context..
Dosage ceiling is the upper limit threshold that reduces escalation risk before side effects become more likely than benefit..
Duplicate ingredient risk appears when the same active or equivalent source is counted more than once across products..
Hepatic risk means your stack may be more likely to stress your liver, especially with [multi-ingredient stacks](/blog/complete-guide-to-supplement-stacks) or concurrent medications..
Interaction risk is the chance that two or more compounds amplify, dampen, or mask each other's effects in your body..
Unfair provides educational guidance, not diagnosis or treatment decisions for medical conditions..
Pregnancy warning means heightened caution where evidence is limited and fetal risk could outweigh routine benefit claims..
Renal risk reflects how kidney function affects supplement safety, especially for high burden compounds..
Safety consent is your explicit agreement to let Unfair use safety signals, logs, and recommendation constraints to reduce risk..
Serotonergic interactions occur when multiple serotonergic agents stack and increase excess signaling risk..
Stimulant sensitivity is the difference between how strongly your body reacts to a given stimulant load..
Stop rules are [explicit if/then conditions](/blog/supplement-stack-mistakes-to-avoid) for pausing a compound or stack..
Third-party testing is independent laboratory verification of a supplement product's identity, potency, and purity by an organization that is not the manufacturer or the retailer..
Upper limit is a protective threshold meant to prevent repeated unsafe cumulative exposure..
Washout is the [reset window](/blog/understanding-dose-windows-and-cycles) intended to separate one cycle’s residual signal from the next..
The custom stack builder is the manual logic layer where you assemble ingredients, timings, and constraints before recommendation logic optimizes around them..
Off-cycle is the planned break between active build periods to reset adaptation and reassess need..
On-cycle is the active testing period where a stack is intentionally run and monitored for effect and tolerability..
Stack activation is when a planned stack moves from saved intent to [active execution](/blog/building-your-first-supplement-stack)..
Cadence is the interval rhythm between starts, holds, reviews, and adaptation checkpoints..
A stack cycle is the structured, repeatable sequence of phases that governs how a supplement protocol is run, evaluated, and either renewed or retired.
Favorites are retrieval tools, not proof a stack is the best option for your current context..
Stack goal is the [target outcome](/blog/complete-guide-to-supplement-stacks) you are optimizing for, such as sleep, focus, or recovery..
Stack of the week is a rotating featured stack intended to seed exploration, not replace personalized assessment..
A stack template is a reusable structure with goals, ingredient blocks, timing, and explicit stop conditions..
A supplement stack is a [grouped set of ingredients](/blog/complete-guide-to-supplement-stacks) chosen to work together toward one outcome architecture..
An adaptogen is a practical category of herbs or botanicals marketed to support stress resilience and recovery, but its real-world effects vary a lot by extract, dose, and person..
An amino acid supplement is a product where the primary active materials are non-protein amino acids or peptides provided in doses designed to change protein signaling, neurotransmitter precursors, or recovery metrics..
Bioavailability is the share of an ingredient that reaches blood, tissue, or active site at usable levels compared with the label amount..
Dietary supplement is the food-supplement regulatory category under federal supplement law, not a medical diagnosis or treatment category..
A foundation supplement refers to core nutrients or compounds that form the base of an individual's supplement stack, often addressing common dietary shortfalls before introducing specialized or experimental compounds..
Herbal extracts are concentrated forms where a plant is processed so the active compounds are more predictable than raw powders, but only if the label tells you what was standardized..
Your ingredient label is your contract with the product; it should tell you what active compounds you are dosing and how consistent the product is across batches..
Mineral supplements can be highly effective but their absorption changes a lot depending on timing, food, and competing nutrients..
Nootropic is a broad term for compounds people use to target focus, mood, or memory-like outcomes..
Omega-3 means oils and capsules where EPA and DHA are the primary active fatty acids, while ALA is usually a precursor source..
Peptides are short bioactive chains that are regulated differently from typical grocery-style supplements in many jurisdictions..
Prebiotics are fibers intended to feed beneficial microbes but they often cause temporary GI adaptation effects first..
Probiotics are live organisms intended to influence gut ecology, and product differences can be substantial even when labels look similar..
Proprietary blends hide ingredient-level dose detail, which reduces transparency for both safety and optimization decisions..
Supplement means products sold in conventional nutrient, herb, or amino acid formats not regulated as drugs..
Supplement withdrawal refers to the physiological or psychological rebound symptoms experienced when discontinuing a compound that the body has adapted to, particularly after prolonged use at robust dosages..
Vitamins are essential micronutrients with distinct storage and toxicity profiles by class..