Our Patented Efficacy Engine®

The Efficacy Engine is a tool that utilizes a team of experts and nationally recognized medical data to assign letter grades (A, B, C, D, E, F) to ingredients based on how effective they are. A grade-A ingredient, for example, is associated with positive outcomes for a given condition or goal based on clinical research that meets rigorous bias, study size, and quality requirements. Because all foods, supplements, and recipes on our site have every one of their ingredients in our database, these grades can be applied to each ingredient in a product, resulting in a product report card. The report card shows how effective each active ingredient is at preventing and/or treating particular medical condition. In the simplest form, our Efficacy Engine delivers “Green for Go, Red for NO!” to the user with respect to the food, supplement, beverage, recipe, menu item or meal plan.  

The Instant Decision

Efficacy Defined

The word “efficacy” is a term most commonly used in medicine with a specific meaning: “The extent to which a specific intervention, procedure, regimen, or service produces a beneficial result under ideal conditions“. The word applies to prescription pharmaceuticals where the claims are supported by extensive clinical studies that must pass the scrutiny of the FDA before being certified as legitimate.

In a world of products unregulated by the FDA, the word has equal meaning but potentially greater importance as to the legitimacy of product claims.

GoNo is committed to providing unbiased product recommendations whose ingredients have efficacy and are legitimately effective in the pursuit of a wellness goal and/or the treatment or prevention of a medical condition. Our Efficacy Engine uses graded medical evidence to provide a list of products that have the intended effect. Consumers are empowered with the knowledge as to what to expect the results could be.

At the same time, it is important that, even in pharmacology, prescription medications may not have equal effectiveness from person to person. We rely upon physicians, pharmacists, and chemists to deliver the most likely results. Each person has her/his unique chemistry that results in the efficacy of pharmaceutical medications or those products we recommend here.

The Detailed Grading System

The Grading Table

Grade
Level
Details
Effective
This product has a very high level of reliable clinical evidence supporting its use for a specific indication. Products rated Effective are generally considered appropriate to recommend. To achieve this Effectiveness Rating a product is supported by all of the following: – Evidence consistent with or equivalent to passing a review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Canada, or a similarly rigorous approval process.
– Evidence from multiple (2+) randomized clinical trials or meta-analysis including several hundred to several thousand patients (level of evidence = A).
– Studies have a low risk of bias and a high level of validity by meeting stringent assessment criteria (quality rating = A).
– Evidence consistently shows POSITIVE outcomes for a given indication without valid evidence to the contrary.
Probably Effective
This product has a very high level of reliable clinical evidence supporting its use for a specific indication. Products rated “Likely Effective” are generally considered appropriate to recommend. To achieve this Effectiveness Rating a product is supported by all of the following: – Evidence from multiple (2+) randomized clinical trials or meta-analysis including several hundred patients (level of evidence = A).
– Studies have a low risk of bias and a high level of validity by meeting stringent assessment criteria (quality rating = A).
– Evidence consistently shows POSITIVE outcomes for a given indication without significant valid evidence to the contrary.
Marginally Effective
This product has some clinical evidence supporting its use for a specific indication; however, the evidence is limited by quantity, quality, or contradictory findings. Products rated “Possibly Effective” might be beneficial, but do not have enough high-quality evidence to recommend for most people. To achieve this Effectiveness Rating a product is supported by all of the following: – One or more randomized clinical trials or meta-analysis (level of evidence = A or B) or two or more population-based or epidemiological studies (level of evidence = B).
– Studies have a low to moderate risk of bias and moderate to high level of validity by meeting or partially meeting assessment criteria (quality rating A or B).
– Evidence shows POSITIVE outcomes for a given indication without substantial valid evidence to the contrary. Some contrary evidence may exist; however, valid positive evidence outweighs contrary evidence.
Possibly Ineffective
This product has some clinical evidence showing ineffectiveness for a specific indication; however, the evidence is limited by quantity, quality, or contradictory findings. People should be advised NOT to take products with a “Possibly Ineffective” rating. To achieve this Effectiveness Rating a product is supported by all of the following: – One or more randomized clinical trials or meta-analysis (level of evidence = A or B) or two or more population-based or epidemiological studies (level of evidence = B).
– Studies have a low to moderate risk of bias and moderate to a high level of validity by meeting or partially meeting assessment criteria (quality rating A or B).
– Evidence shows NEGATIVE outcomes for a given indication without substantial valid evidence to the contrary. Some contrary evidence may exist; however, valid positive evidence outweighs contrary evidence.
Probably Ineffective
This product has a very high level of reliable clinical evidence showing ineffectiveness for its use for a specific indication. People should be discouraged from taking products with a “Likely Ineffective” rating. To achieve this Effectiveness Rating a product is supported by all of the following: – Evidence from multiple (2+) randomized clinical trials or meta-analysis including several hundred patients (level of evidence = A).
– Studies have a low risk of bias and a high level of validity by meeting stringent assessment criteria (quality rating = A).
– Evidence consistently shows NEGATIVE outcomes for a given indication without significant valid evidence to the contrary.
Ineffective / Hazardous
This product has a very high level of reliable clinical evidence showing ineffectiveness for its use for a specific indication. People should be discouraged from taking products with an “Ineffective” rating. To achieve this Effectiveness Rating a product is supported by all of the following: – Evidence from multiple (2+) randomized clinical trials or meta-analysis including several hundred to several thousand patients (level of evidence = A).
– Studies have a low risk of bias and a high level of validity by meeting stringent assessment criteria (quality rating = A).
– Evidence consistently shows NEGATIVE outcomes for a given indication without valid evidence to the contrary.

The Technology

Our SaaS API is comprised of a multitude of relational databases
with the Efficacy Engine at its core, as shown below.