How We Rate
Every grade, award, and dot on this site comes from a published method. Here's exactly how it works — and how to check our work.
When I started researching longevity screening from Wisconsin, the hardest part wasn't the science. It was figuring out who to trust. Every vendor claimed to be the best. Every “best-of” list seemed to be selling something. So we built YourLongevity360 around one rule: every rating we publish, you can trace back to its source. This page is that source.
For educational purposes only. Our ratings describe the quality of research and the quality of vendors — not what you personally should do. Talk to your doctor about what's right for you.
The three layers
We rate three different things, and we keep them visually separate so you always know what a mark refers to.
Evidence Grade (A–D) — rates the intervention.
A letter that answers one question: how strong is the science that this intervention works? It applies to the intervention itself, not to any company. Full-body MRI screening has one evidence grade no matter who performs the scan.
Vendor Award (Top Pick, Recommended, Reviewed) — rates the provider.
Within each price tier we name one Top Pick, a short list of Recommended options, and mark everything else we looked at as Reviewed. These are decisions, not scores — closer to a Wirecutter pick than a number.
Component Dots (● ◐ ○) — show the reasoning.
On detail pages, filled, half, and empty dots break down exactly where a vendor is strong or weak. This is the “show your work” layer.
No stars. No decimals. A 4.7 implies a precision we don't have. A letter, an award, and a row of dots tell you everything the data actually supports — and nothing it doesn't.
How we grade the evidence
The Evidence Grade answers “does it work?” — and only that. We use the same evidence hierarchy medical researchers use: the Levels 1–6 framework behind USPSTF and Cochrane reviews, where a large systematic review sits at the top and a single expert's opinion sits near the bottom.
Strong, consistent evidence from multiple high-quality studies, often with medical-society endorsement. Our read: do this.
B+ / B / B− — Moderate or emerging evidence. Generally positive, not yet settled.
C+ / C / C− — Limited or preliminary. Small human studies, or promising results not yet confirmed in people.
No good evidence, or evidence that it doesn't help. Our read: skip it.
We say both ends with the same confidence. A Grade A means the science is clear, and we'll tell you so. A Grade D means the science doesn't support the cost, and we'll say that just as plainly. We don't manufacture a debate where the evidence doesn't support one. And when the data is genuinely unsettled, we say that too — and tell you what we're watching for.
Grades carry their evidence as they are reviewed; pages without an evidence box are pending. If we can't point to the research, we don't assign the grade.
How we evaluate the vendors
Here's the harder problem. “Does the intervention work?” is answered by published research. “Which provider is best?” has no Cochrane review — there's no peer-reviewed journal of which MRI clinic writes the clearest report.
So we built a source hierarchy: a ranking of what kind of evidence backs each thing we claim about a vendor. Every fact carries the tier it came from.
Independent primary
Peer-reviewed validation studies, independent certifications and regulatory clearances (NSF, USP, CAP accreditation, CLIA certification, FDA 510(k)). The strongest possible basis. Where a Tier-1 source exists for whether something works as claimed, we anchor to it — never to the vendor's own marketing.
Verified vendor
The company's own site, used only for checkable facts: price, locations, what's included, technical specs. We verify and date them. We never take a vendor's own word as proof of quality.
Triangulated independent
Multiple credible, non-advertising sources cross-checked against each other. Used for judgment calls like real-world experience, and never from a single source.
First-hand
Where we've used something ourselves, we say so.
What we exclude: single affiliate “best-of” lists. They might point us toward something worth checking, but they never count as proof.
This matters because of one honest limit. The dimension hardest to judge from the outside is experience, and we can't personally test every vendor. When an experience rating comes from our own hands-on use, we say so. When it's pieced together from other sources, we say that too, and flag it as not independently verified. We would rather tell you the basis is thinner than pretend we tried something we didn't.
The five things we score
Every category — screening, wearables, supplements, telehealth — is rated on the same five dimensions, so you can compare across them. The specific features under each dimension change with the category (sensor accuracy matters for a ring; report clarity matters for an MRI), but the five questions never change:
Outcome Quality
Did it deliver what it promised?
Clinical & Support
Was there real expert guidance?
Accessibility & Coverage
Can you actually get it where you live?
Experience & Ease
Was the process smooth?
Trust & Transparency
Are they honest about price, limits, and your data?
Here's how we make money.
When you book or buy through some of our links, we may earn a commission. That's how a free site stays free. Here's why that never changes a rating.
The proof is the budget option.
On every comparison, we show you how to get most of the benefit for a fraction of the price — including the version that earns us little or nothing. A site chasing commissions would never tell you that you might not need the $2,499 scan. The fact that we always do is the structural proof that the rating came first and the revenue came second. The budget tier gets the same respect, and the same enthusiasm, as the premium one.
Who reviews this
Clinical review for this site is led by Dr. Abbey LaManna, DDS. When a page has been clinically reviewed, the byline at the bottom of the page names the reviewer and the review date. Pages without that byline are pending review.
The grades are alive
Evidence changes. When a major new study shifts the picture, the grade changes with it — and we note what changed and why. A rating with a date and a source behind it beats a rating frozen in time.
For educational purposes only. This is not medical advice, and our ratings are not treatment recommendations — they describe the quality of research and the quality of vendors. Always talk to your doctor about what's right for you.