Proprietary Blends: What Supplement Labels Don't Say

What is a proprietary blend hiding? The amounts. It groups several ingredients under one invented name and declares a single combined weight for all of them, so you see what is in it and never how much of each. It is legal, common, and about as old as the category. The flagship episode so far. Rupert and Cathy take apart the device itself — the made-up name, the one number, the indented list with no figures — and then the justification. Protecting a formula sounds reasonable until you notice that anyone determined to copy a product sends it to a laboratory. The blend does not stop a rival. It stops a customer. Then the tool, hiding in plain sight. Supplement Facts panels are formatted under 21 CFR 101.36, ingredients must be listed in descending order by weight, and the order must not be re-sorted — inside a blend too. So even when every number is hidden, the sequence is not: whatever is named last is the smallest thing in there. From there, a five-point read anyone can do on a phone in a shop: own line with own number, plant and plant part named, extract ratio read as a reduction, "equivalent to" spotted for what it is, and the "Daily Value not established" footnote understood as neutral. Then Cathy makes it expensive: run the five checks on your own panel, out loud. It passes four. The beetroot line is the one it does not. 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.