How we choose what goes in the Surgical Kit.

The Surgical Kit is not a list of ingredients we like the look of. Every formula in the kit earned its spot by passing a specific question. Does this have a real job to do during a real window of recovery, in a form and dose backed by the evidence we trust. If a formula could not answer that cleanly, it did not ship.

The problem we are solving

Recovery is not a single state. It moves through phases (acute response, cellular cleanup, early proliferation, then long remodeling), and each phase asks for slightly different inputs. A single multivitamin tries to be everything for everyone and tends to be a little of nothing. A kit lets us match formulas to the phase they are actually useful for, and to stop taking what is not doing anything.

The criteria each formula has to meet

We look at four things. First, evidence: there has to be a substantiated reason this ingredient class supports the phase we are using it in. Second, form and bioavailability: the molecule that gets absorbed has to match the form studied. Third, safety profile: known interactions, contraindications, and the populations who should avoid it. Fourth, role: every formula has to do a job that the rest of the kit is not already doing.

How we settle on a dose

The dose has to fall within ranges supported by published evidence and within the limits set by regulatory bodies (US RDAs and ULs, Health Canada NHPID guidance, EFSA where applicable). It also has to fit into a usable delivery format. Sometimes the cleanest delivery, full clinical dose in a single capsule, is possible. Sometimes it is not. Ingredients that will not fit in a single capsule live in the kit instead of in a standalone pouch. That is how the kit-exclusive ingredients earn their spot.

Why these formulas, together

The kit covers the recovery arc end to end. The formulas are timed to the phase they support, so you are not taking everything every day. The protocol page lays out the schedule. The short version: you take what you need when you need it, not all of it always.

What we leave out, on purpose

A lot. Ingredients with weak evidence at consumer doses, ingredients on regulatory watch, ingredients whose marketing has outrun their substantiation. We keep a list of what we considered and did not ship, and the reasons live in the formulation notes. The hardest part of formulation is not choosing what to put in. It is choosing what to leave out.