The Problem With Proprietary Blends
Weight loss. Antioxidants. Muscle-building. Stress reducer. Whether it's online or in an infomercial, you've probably seen ads for pills targeting the issues you want to combat. Though they may seem like magic pills, they're really proprietary blends that come with a mystery factor and misleading claims.
The Proprietary Blend Pitch
A proprietary blend is a mixture of ingredients where the amounts of each one are kept secret. Companies who use this tactic often claim that their specific mixture will achieve better results than using the ingredients separately and that their blend separates them from the competition. To an uneducated consumer, it seems fancy and official.
The Truth
In reality, companies use proprietary blends to save money and deceive the buyer. Most proprietary blends have multiple ingredients, and almost without exception, there are subtherapeutic doses for each one. Generally, the most expensive (and often most effective) ingredients are added at very low levels to drive the cost down at the expense of its effectiveness.
Examples:
A popular stress-relieving formula contains a proprietary blend of magnesium, theanine, ashwagandha, and GABA, as well as some vitamins. The serving size is 800 mg, and a month's supply is over $50. The research-backed dose of ashwagandha is 600 mg, theanine is 100-200 mg, and GABA is 750 mg. If you do the math, there is no way this blend can have even close to the effective doses of each component. And if you bought them separately at the proper doses, you would pay less than half and get better results.
An essential amino acid blend is spamming people's For You Page on TikTok. It claims to help build muscle without significant calories. The whole blend is 5 grams. Leucine is the essential amino acid that is primarily responsible for muscle building. It appears that the minimum dose of leucine needed to turn off muscle protein synthesis is 3 grams. Without getting too sciency, leucine is one of 3 branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and should be combined in a ratio of 2:1:1. Right there, we are at 6 grams of BCAAs without any of the other essentials. As you can see, this will not be an effective supplement. Despite the company's claims, this amino is far from perfect.
Now what?
When selecting a product, pick one that discloses the amount of each ingredient in the formula. This full-label transparency will ensure you get an effective product at an appropriate price.
For example, Amino Rx clearly states the amount of each amino acid in the blend, and you can see there are 3.5 grams of leucine per scoop (contained in a 2:1:1 BCAA ratio). This amount is safely over the research-backed minimum needed to turn on muscle protein synthesis.
If you have questions about proprietary blends, make sure you contact a medical professional so you know whether or not there's a better solution for you.
