Hey guys, Sean Nalewanyj here of SeanNal.com and BodyTransformationTruth.com and in this
video I want to address the issue of proprietary blends in bodybuilding and fitness supplements
and why in almost all cases you should avoid them.
So the fitness supplement industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, and there are far, far more
low quality, over-priced products out there than there are legitimately effective ones.
It’s pretty much like the Wild West out there, with most supplement companies adopting
all kinds of misleading and deceptive tactics in order to get their hands on your money
and to maximize their overall profit margins.
Now the use of “proprietary blends” is one of the most common of these practices,
and it’s something that you definitely should be aware of and that you should understand.
So what is a proprietary blend?
A proprietary blend is essentially a mixture of ingredients in which the total amount of
all the ingredients combined is listed on the label, but NOT the specific amounts of
each individual ingredient on their own.
For example, a particular product may include a “proprietary blend” of waxy maize, creatine
monohydrate, l-leucine and caffeine for a total of 7 grams.
So you'd know which ingredients are included, the gram amount of the blend as a whole, but
you’d have no idea as to how much of each individual compound is present.
The FDA requires that the ingredients in a proprietary blend be listed in the order of
their weight, so in that case you would know that waxy maize is the most abundant ingredient
in the blend with caffeine being the least abundant.
So here are some examples on the screen of what proprietary blends might look like on
an actual supplement label.
So what is a proprietary blend supposed to be used for?
Well in theory, the idea behind a proprietary blend from a supplement company’s point
of view would be, “we have this super effective, never-before-seen blend of ingredients, and
we don’t want our competitors to get their hands on this amazing formula and therefore,
we have to hide the specific ingredient amounts behind a proprietary blend so that our special
breakthrough concoction remains a secret forever”.
But what do supplement companies actually use proprietary blends for?
Well here’s the simple reality.
Any supplement company that actually wanted to find out what was in their competitor’s
product could do so very easily.
All it would take is a simple lab analysis, and they would instantly have the complete
breakdown of ingredients right in front of them.
Now in most cases they will almost never do this, because there really are no “top secret”
formulas out there, and there really are only a small handful of supplement compounds that
are even worth bothering with in the first place.
So, what’s the real reason that supplement companies use proprietary blends in the vast
majority of cases?
Well the first is to cut costs.
By simply pumping their proprietary blend with the cheapest ingredients first and then
under-dosing the stuff that costs more but actually works, their production costs are
minimized and as a result their profit margins are maximized.
And since most average customers have no idea about proper supplement dosing, it’s very
easy for them to get away with this.
And the second reason is for marketing purposes.
When a company sprinkles 15 plus ingredients into a proprietary blend and then gives it
a fancy, high-tech sounding name such as a “rapid muscle growth super matrix” or
an “energy neuro-modulation system”, then the average customer really thinks that they’re
getting something special.
I mean, think about it, if a supplement company truly had a properly dosed, worthwhile formula
to sell, why on earth would they want to hide that blend from the customer?
They’d be far better off listing the exact ingredients in the exact amounts so that everybody
could see it.
And for that reason, a supplement company that hides its core ingredients behind a proprietary
blend almost always has something that they don’t want you to see.
And if that’s the case, then why would you want to invest your money there when there
are plenty of other options available for you?
And why would you want to trust a company that uses a deceptive tactic like this?
And furthermore, why would you want to put something into your body when you don’t
even really know what it contains?
When it comes to proper muscle building and fat loss supplementation, dosing is critical.
Simply consuming a research-backed ingredient on its own is NOT enough.
It also has to be consumed in the proper study-validated dose if you want to see real benefits.
Otherwise, it may be totally useless for you and have no positive effects at all.
With a very high percentage of supplements that use proprietary blends, you’re NOT
getting nearly enough of each ingredient in order to experience full measurable benefits.
For example, if a proprietary blend included 5 grams total and was made up of creatine,
beta alanine and citrulline malate, you would know for sure that you were getting ripped
off in that case because the study dose for creatine is 3-5 grams, beta alanine should
be between 3.2-6.4 grams, and citrulline malate should be between 6-8 grams.
And for that reason, the 5 gram total of the blend wouldn’t be anywhere near enough to
ensure that you were getting enough of each individual ingredient.
So here's the bottom line on proprietary blends in fitness supplements.
Just avoid them.
Plain and simple.
If you don’t know what a particular supplement contains, then there really is no good reason
at all to purchase it.
Instead, stick to products with fully transparent labels, or just go ahead and buy the ingredients
that you want separately on your own.
In the case where a particular supplement puts only a portion of its ingredients behind
a proprietary blend but does list the rest, it really comes down to a judgement call.
Is it the core ingredients that are hidden, or is it just a few of the smaller ones on
the side?
And what percentage is listed and what percentage is hidden?
Making the right decision in that case really just comes down to doing the proper supplement
research first and knowing how to read and understand labels.
The supplementation section of my website does contains some very useful information
and I'll link that in the description box below and you can also get a rundown of my
complete supplement recommendations by downloading my fitness supplementation guide which I'll
also link in the description box below.
And if there is a specific supplement that you're wondering about you can feel free to
ask me by posting it on the Facebook page or down below and I'll be happy to help you
out.
So thanks for watching this video lesson.
I hope you found the information useful here today.
If you did enjoy the video, as always, please make sure to hit the LIKE button, leave a
comment and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future videos.
Also make sure to check out my complete step-by-step muscle building and fat loss programs over
at BodyTransformationTruth.com.
The link for that is in the description box below, and make sure to join the Facebook
page for daily tips and updates.
The link for that is also in the description box.
Talk to you again soon.