WARNING: Don’t let supplement companies trick you into spending your hard-earned cash on proprietary blends and other wallet-burning supplements.
Now, before we get into this article, I want you to know that this is not meant to bash the supplement industry altogether. On the contrary, there are many supplements that can be beneficial when applied correctly. For example, many of our online nutrition coaching clients follow a tailored supplement protocol that supplements their nutrition, lifestyle, and training plan.
However the truth is that most supplements out there seem to do very little to NOTHING for your long term health and fitness goals.
You’re about to learn exactly what proprietary blends are, how supplement companies use them to mislead you, and how to spot ‘too good to be true’ claims. So you can make an informed decision next time you’re considering a dietary supplement.
What Are Proprietary Blends?
Originally proprietary blends were created to protect companies from competitors copying their formulations. Instead of listing exactly how much of which ingredient is in a certain product, a company may create their own ‘proprietary blend’. They’re then still required to list what is in the product, but not exactly how much of each ingredient.
While this sounds fair enough, it also makes things confusing for you, the consumer. Because instead of knowing what you’re putting in your body, you just see a laundry list of ingredients without the exact breakdown of ingredients.
Before I show you an example of an HONEST, transparent supplement label versus one with a proprietary blend, here’s what a proprietary blend looks like:
“X blend / Y formula: Ingredient 1, ingredient 2, ingredient 3, etc.”
Ingredients are listed from most to least, in terms of amounts. Remember this, because it’ll help you understand the second label I’ll mention below.
Breaking Down Supplement Labels – Proprietary Blend vs Honest Supplement Facts
Honest ingredient label – sleep supplement (image 1 below) – Notice how every ingredient is listed individually, including the exact serving size per ingredient?
After a quick search on Examine.com to see what the research says about these specific ingredients and their effective dosing, you’ll find that the product below contains enough of the listed ingredients, and may improve sleep.
Want to nerd out more on the specific ingredients mentioned? Click any of the following links to learn about the ingredient: Calcium, Glycine, Lemon Balm Leaf Extract, Melatonin.
Next up… Proprietary blend label – weight loss supplement (image 2 below).
Notice how only their own ‘__ Formula Blend’ is listed in micrograms? Remember that in this case, the ingredients are listed from most to least in terms of amounts.
That means that turmeric is the most prevalent ingredient in this product. Now unfortunately, turmeric does not seem to have any effects on weight loss. Its effective dosage (for lowering inflammation, the main reason people take turmeric) also seems to be 3x500mg per day, which needs to be combined with black pepper extract (which is not found in this product). That means that the number one ingredient in this product is already a filler in this scenario.
Now let’s look at ingredient number two; African Mango seed. African mango does seem to have some evidence to support its weight loss benefits. However these studies were of poor reporting quality and had some problems in terms of the methods used. For that reason there needs to be more, higher quality research before we know how African mango really affects weight loss (if it even does). Effective dosage is not currently known, however it’s mostly used in amounts of 150-300mg per day.
This means that the 250mg of this Proprietary Blend this product includes per serving, is not even enough to provide the main two ingredients in adequate amounts.
You can imagine what that means for the remainder of the ingredients list..
Understanding Effective Dosing
If you want your money’s worth then let’s make sure that when you do buy a supplement, that both the effectiveness of an ingredient and the dosage, are backed by research.
Here’s how:
Any time you want to learn more about a supplement, always check the label first. Then look up the individual ingredients over at Examine.com (the largest database of nutrition and supplement research on the Internet).
What I love about this website is that they provide you with a full breakdown of what the research tells us about a specific compound, but in plain English so that everyone can understand it.
Additionally, you’ll want to look for third-party testing. This confirms purity and quality of the product, and accuracy of the ingredients listed on the label.
And lastly, you can look up specific brands on Labdoor.com to learn more about the purity of your product.
Make An Informed Decision When It Comes To Proprietary Blends
As a final message today: just make sure to be critical of what you put into your body.
Most dietary supplements will not do much for you to begin with. This especially goes for many proprietary blends, as these often contain fillers and ineffective amounts of potentially beneficial ingredients.
Remember too that the basic nutrition and lifestyle changes we often talk about on The Odyssey Blog, Instagram, and the Talking Nutrition Podcast, will always do more for your long term health and fitness than any supplement out there.
Do most of our online fat loss clients use supplements? Sure, they do. But we always focus on the basics more than anything. Then once those are dialed in, we may look into specific supplements that may be beneficial for them as the individual.
Want to learn more about the 8 research-backed supplements we DO like to include in most clients’ supplement protocols? Then feel free to download my all-inclusive Fat Loss Nutrition Guide (click here), and check out the ‘Basic Supplementation’ chapter on pages 69 – 73.
Oh and if you need a full checklist of the exact habits you need to dial in to create lifelong results, then check out pages 75 – 76 for the ‘Fundamental Habits’.
Thank you for reading!
And remember:
Always be critical.
Do your own research.
And let’s not jump on any ‘too good to be true’ sounding supplements after hearing about them once on a podcast or in a 30-60 second Instagram or TikTok video 😉
