How to read the labels of dietary supplements

Dietary supplements are products that supplement the common diet and are a concentrated source of nutrients (vitamins and minerals) or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect (amino acids, essential fatty acids, fiber, and extracts of plant origin).

Supplements can be either single-compound (single-component) or multi-component (multi-component) and are found in predosed forms such as:

  • capsules;
  • lozenges (candies and gummies);
  • tablets;
  • soft capsules;
  • chewing gum;
  • sachet powders;
  • liquids contained in vials or sachets;
  • bottles;
  • dropper bottles and other similar forms.

Dietary supplements, by definition, are intended to correct nutritional deficiencies, maintain an adequate intake of certain nutrients, or assist specific physiological functions. They are not medicines, so they cannot cure or prevent human diseases, or have a pharmacological action.

With supplements, we do not treat disease but maintain the physiological well-being of the body.

Within the European Union, dietary supplements follow food regulations. Various regulations and decrees stipulate:

  • Which substances can be used;
  • In what quantities;
  • What health effects can be claimed;
  • Which plant extracts to use;
  • Any warnings or recommendations to be followed for proper use.
Some herbal supplement pills on green leaves

Similarly, and in compliance with existing European regulations, the Ministry of Health establishes the mandatory claims to be made on supplement labels, which must be clear, simple, and must not mislead the consumer or mislead their choice.

What should not be missing from a dietary supplement label?

Let’s start with the basics: it must be clear and legible what the product is, so there will be the indication “dietary supplement.”

Following is the complete ingredient list that states:

  • The active substances with their title or percentage (plant extracts, minerals, vitamins, etc.);
  • Additives, substances that do not have a function for the activity of the product but serve to prepare it and keep it stable throughout its lifetime.

What should one pay attention to in food supplement labels? Latin terms often appear in the lists: these are the botanical names of plants, which together with the part used (seed, leaves, fruit, bark, etc.) represent the plant’s identity card.

Other times, however, alongside vitamins and minerals are more technical and chemical names that universally identify the substance.

There are some bold or highlighted names in the ingredient list: these substances are the allergens and should always be clearly visible, to warn allergic people before they use the product.

In addition to the list of ingredients, the label of dietary supplements includes:

Pharmacist checking medicines
  • The average contents shown in a table, which indicate the values of the functional substances in the product, in the case of vitamins and/or minerals, the percentage with respect to the recommended daily amount is also given;
  • The mode of use;
  • The mode of preservation;
  • General warnings of good use of the supplement;

Completing the product ID card are the details of the person who put the product on the market with also the address of the production site, if different from the marketer.

Just as with food, a supplement label has the weight of the product, the date by which it is recommended to be used, and all the directions for proper disposal.

Finally, there is increasing attention to caring for the environment and the strategies that companies deploy to protect it. Bios Line, for example, uses packaging that has a lower impact-such as FSC paper or-and researches raw materials and additives of plant and non-animal origin, even with respect to vegan or vegetarian diets.

How to choose a quality supplement?

Today’s consumers are increasingly informed and aware, so there is a greater demand for better-performing and more effective products.

But what are the ingredients and characteristics of the best dietary supplements?

Some indicators that help to recognize them (because they improve product effectiveness) are:

  • Searching for selected raw materials: Nature has always offered solutions and remedies that local traditions have carried to the present day. Every culture and people have handed down remedies that are to this day still effective. This is why choosing raw materials from their natural habitat, even if distant from us, is a good choice in order to best ensure their properties. The origin of a raw material can therefore contribute to the good performance of the product. This is accompanied by the search for "patented" raw materials with solid scientific documentation of effectiveness.

  • Use of titrated and standardized plant principles: these are principles extracted by a well-defined method, so the standard is an important marker that guarantees a certain response. The titer is also critical because it tells us how much the percentage of the standard is. These titrated and standardized extracts can then be used alone or in synergy with other components that enhance their effectiveness.

  • Making use of pharmaceutical technologies: the right manufacturing technology and choice of pharmaceutical form concludes the path to formulating a product. Often the choice of one type of tablet over another can help in the synergy of action of the whole formula. Here a gastro-resistant tablet protects the actives from the stomach environment by getting it intact to its site of action (intestines); for rapid use by the body, sublingual administrations, to be dissolved directly in the mouth under the tongue, are useful and effective. Then there are substances that need time to be best absorbed by the body and not go missing: here a three-layer tablet with different release times becomes a valuable ally.

The best supplements for every need

The Principium line adopts all these arrangements: a main active at the highest permissible dosages, in synergy with other substances that enhance its effectiveness combined with the best production technologies.