The front of the pack is marketing. The truth is on the back. Here’s how to decode a supplement label like a nutrition geek — in the right order.
Ignore the big claims and find the active ingredients. Then look at the form: magnesium glycinate behaves very differently from oxide; vitamin D3 differs from D2; K2 as MK-7 differs from MK-4. Form is often the single biggest driver of how well a supplement works.
Next, the dose per serving. For minerals, confirm whether the number is the elemental amount or the weight of the whole compound — they can differ several-fold. The % NRV beside it is a useful benchmark for vitamins and minerals.
An impressive number “per serving” can quietly mean per three capsules. Check the serving size and servings per container so you can work out the true dose per capsule, the cost per serving, and how long a tub will really last.
A “proprietary blend” lists several ingredients under one combined weight without telling you how much of each you get. That’s a convenient way to fairy-dust the exciting ingredients behind a cheap filler. Transparent brands state every individual amount.
Finally, the excipients: bulking agents, anti-caking agents, the capsule shell and so on. Some are necessary, but fewer, recognisable ingredients is generally better — and this is where you’ll spot unnecessary fillers and any allergens.
Read back-of-pack first: check the form of each active, the elemental amount and % NRV, the true serving size, and the “other ingredients” line. Steer clear of proprietary blends that hide individual doses.
The active ingredients, their specific form and the amount per serving, ideally the elemental amount for minerals, plus the % NRV.
A group of ingredients listed with a single combined weight instead of individual doses, so you cannot tell how much of each you are actually getting.
Not necessarily. Some excipients are needed to make a product, but fewer, recognisable ones are generally preferable, and it is where you will spot fillers and allergens.