Recently I wrote an article entitled "Terms, Terms, Terms, An
Inside look to buying supplements" which can be found on the Gurus and Guests
section of my private forum. The article covered many of the misleading
marketing terms buyers have to deal with in an attempt to make informed
decisions on the supplements they spend their hard earned money on. Some of the
more potentially misleading commonly used marketing terms I covered were:
"Clinically proven"
"Patented"
"Doctor recommended"
"All natural"
"Scientifically formulated"
"Research proven"
"Used for thousands of years"
Readers interested in understanding why the above terms can be so misleading,
can read my write-up on each of those terms.
In a nut shell, I went onto cover each of these common marketing terms that are
used to sell supplements to unwitting consumers and explained each in detail as
to what I view as their common misuse within the market place.
However, one term I didn't cover, was "proprietary blend" which in many cases is
the most potentially misleading term of them all, though not a term always seen
in ads per se, but the side of the bottle.
Thus, why I felt it was a separate topic to be covered at a later date as it
does not fit under the classic definition of a commonly used marketing term
found in ads. I also decided to cover this term in a separate article as it
requires much more space dedicated to it then the other terms needed for reasons
that will be apparent shortly.
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Proprietary blends are not inherently a negative for the consumer, though they
are inherently confusing for the buyer in most cases.
A supplement that lists a "proprietary blend" on the bottle can be there for one
of two reasons:
(a) to prevent the competition from knowing exactly what ratios and amounts of
each ingredient present in the formula to prevent the competition from copying
their formula exactly (commonly referred to as a "knock off") or
(b) to hide the fact the formula contains very little of the active ingredients
listed on the bottle in an attempt to fool consumers.
Sadly, the latter use is far more common then the former. They see a long list
of seemingly impressive ingredients listed in the "proprietary blend" none of
which are there is amounts that will have any effects. This is commonly referred
to as "label decoration" by industry insiders. The former use of the term is a
legitimate way for a company of a quality formula from having the competition
copy or "knock off" their formula and the latter use of the term is to scam
people.
So how does the consumer tell the difference?
They can't, or at least they can't without some research and knowledge, which
the scam artists know few people have the time and energy to dedicate to finding
the answers. Although there are a few tips the consumer can use to decide if a
product with a "proprietary blend" is worth trying, no one, not even me, can
figure out exactly how much of each ingredient is in the blend or in what ratio
of each is contained within the formula, hence why the honest and not-so-honest
companies employ "proprietary blends" so often.
Thus, we have something of a conundrum here and conflict between a company
making a quality formula attempting to protect that formula from other companies
vs. the company simply looking to baffle buyers with BS.
There are at least some basic tips or food for thought here regarding this
problem. A formula that contains say 10 ingredients in a "proprietary blend" is
by no means defacto superior then one with three ingredients in it. It's the
dose that matters. Clearly, it's better to have higher amounts of ingredients
that will have some effects vs. a long list of ingredients in doses too low to
have any effects.
Some times it helps to look at both what's in the blend and how much of the
blend actually exists. As an example, if say the blend is 300mg total and
contains ten ingredients, that's only 30mg per ingredient, assuming (and you
know what they say about assuming!) that each is found in equal amounts.
Clearly, for most compounds out there, 30mg wont do jack sh*&.
On the other hand, if say the blend is 3000mg (3 grams) and
contains three or four ingredients, there is at least a better chance that the
formula contains enough of each (and remember, we can't tell how much of each is
in there as that information is "proprietary") to have some effects you are
looking for such as an increase in strength, or a decrease in bodyfat, etc.
Unfortunately, the above examples are so vague as to be close to worthless as
it's easy enough to formulate a 3000mg blend where all the ingredients are
worthless to begin with or a 300mg blend that contains compounds that only
require small doses to have an effect and or can be toxic at higher doses.
For example, the mineral zinc tends to be no more then 30mg in most formulas and
no more is needed or recommended. Much of this comes down to the consumer
knowing what the various ingredients are and how they work (to decide if they
are even worth using in the first place) then deciding if said blend appears to
at least contain a dose that would have the desired effects, which just brings
us back to my prior comment: most people have neither the time or inclination to
research all that info just to decide if they want to use a product and thus the
many "proprietary blends" on the market that are no more then a long list of
under-dosed ingredients.
Wish I could be of more help giving specific advice to readers of this here
article as to what makes a good blend and what constitutes a poorly made blend,
but the above advice is the best I can do under the circumstances. Although a
"proprietary blend" is not by default a negative to the consumer, it is by all
means the poster child for the well-known Latin term Caveat emptor which
translates into English as "let the buyer beware".
About the Author - William D. Brink
Will Brink is a columnist, contributing consultant, and
writer for various health/fitness, medical, and bodybuilding publications. His
articles relating to nutrition, supplements, weight loss, exercise and medicine
can be found in such publications as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag
International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate,
Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s
World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
He is the author of Priming The Anabolic Environment ,
Body Building Revealed & Fat Loss Revealed. He is the Consulting Sports
Nutrition Editor and a monthly columnist for Physical magazine, Musclemag and an
Editor at Large for Power magazine. Will graduated from Harvard University with
a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major
supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
He has been co author of several studies relating to
sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as
having commentary published in JAMA. He runs the highly popular web site
BrinkZone.com which is strategically positioned to fulfill the needs and
interests of people with diverse backgrounds and knowledge. The BrinkZone site
has a following with many sports nutrition enthusiasts, athletes, fitness
professionals, scientists, medical doctors, nutritionists, and interested lay
people. William has been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training
and nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada, and has
appeared on numerous radio and television programs.
William has worked with athletes ranging from
professional bodybuilders, golfers, fitness contestants, to police and military
personnel.
See Will's ebooks online here:
Brink's BodyBuilding Revealed
 "Bodybuilding
Revealed is a complete blue print to muscle building success. Everything you
need to know about diet & muscle building nutrition, over 50 bodybuilding
supplements reviewed, weight training routines, high intensity cardio, the
mental edge, pre made muscle building diets and an online private members forum,
diet planner, meal planner and much more. It's all in Will Brink's ultimate
guide to gaining muscle mass."
Fat
Loss Revealed
 "Fat
Loss Revealed is the ultimate fat loss manual. A complete online and offline
system used by anybody looking to attain a fantastic lean physique. A complete
fat loss diet plan, with pre made diets, over 40+ fat loss supplement reviews,
resistance workouts, and cardio , along with motivation and goal setting and a
huge online private members area and forum form Will Brink's Ultimate Fat loss
Program.
Christian Bodybuilding?
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