Extract Ratios Explained: The Math Behind the Label

What does an extract ratio mean on a supplement label? It is a reduction, like stock in a pan: ten pots simmered down to one. A 10 to 1 extract means ten parts of raw plant concentrated into one part of powder — and the big number on the front of the box is the ten pots you started with, not the one pot you are buying. Rupert works it through on the beetroot in our own bottle, the cleanest example available. There is 100 mg of a 10 to 1 beetroot extract in each 2-capsule serving, equivalent to 1,000 mg of beetroot. Cathy identifies which number ends up on the front of the box, and the episode lands on the word carrying the whole thing: equivalent. Not "contains". Not "equals". A bigger ratio is not a better product. It tells you how much plant went in, not how much of the useful part came out. Two powders can print the same ratio and be entirely different material — it is a volume measurement, not a quality score. Cathy's round is the sharp one: why is the worked example the smallest ingredient on the panel, and where is the figure for the garlic? The honest answer is that no figure is quoted for the garlic today, and why that beats quoting one badly. A serving is 2 capsules: 500 mg of aged garlic extract, 200 mg of hawthorn berry, 100 mg of beetroot — 800 mg of plant actives, 120 capsules per bottle. SOLEY Aged Garlic Complex supports heart health. It supports healthy circulation. It supports healthy blood flow. It provides antioxidant support. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.