An advertisement from Forecast, the makers of the Foundation

The Forecast Journal · 6 minute read

How to read a supplement label in 20 seconds.

Three lines on any label tell you most of what you need to know. One of them is designed to tell you as little as possible.

Line one: the blend

Pick up almost any women’s supplement and you will find the words “proprietary blend”, then a list of herbs, then one number. That number is the total weight of everything in the list. It is the only number the label has to give you.


The individual doses can stay private. So a blend can name an ingredient with good research behind it and include a fraction of the amount that research used. None of this is illegal. It is just worth knowing before you pay for it.

What the law actually requires

None of this is a loophole somebody found. It is how the rule is written. The US regulation on supplement labels, 21 CFR 101.36, says the ingredients of a proprietary blend must be listed “in descending order of predominance by weight”, and that the amount shown “shall be the total weight of all other dietary ingredients contained in the proprietary blend.”


One number for the whole blend. Individual amounts are required only for nutrients with an official daily value, such as vitamins and minerals. For herbs and most other ingredients, they are not.


There is a second thing worth knowing. In the FDA’s own words: “FDA does not have the authority to approve dietary supplements before they are marketed.” Nobody checks the bottle before it reaches the shelf. Until someone tests it, the label is simply the brand’s word.

Short on time? Skip to what we would recommend ↓

Line two: the order

Ingredients are listed by weight, heaviest first. In a list of twenty, the last few names can be present in trace amounts. If the ingredient you are buying the product for sits near the end, that tells you something.

Line three: “other ingredients”

This is where the capsule and the manufacturing aids live. They are normal, and they are worth reading.

Rice flour

A filler. It tops up the capsule so every one holds the same amount.


Magnesium stearate

A flow agent. It stops powder sticking to the machinery.


Silicon dioxide

An anti-caking agent. It keeps powder from clumping.

A brand that says “no fillers” on the front and lists these on the back is not lying, exactly. It is just hoping you will not turn the bottle over.

When labs check the bottle

So what happens when independent researchers buy supplements and test what is inside? Four published studies point the same way.

In a 2023 study in JAMA, 22 of 25 melatonin gummies were inaccurately labelled. The real dose ranged from 74% to 347% of what the label said, and one product contained no melatonin at all. A second 2023 study tested 57 sports supplements: in 40% of them, none of the labelled ingredient could be detected, and 12% contained a drug the FDA prohibits. When 36 black cohosh supplements were tested, a quarter turned out to contain a different plant species.


These were small samples bought online, so they are not rates for the whole market. They are a good reason to prefer simple products with few ingredients, from brands that show you everything.

If you would rather see now what a label with nothing hidden looks like, ours is here. The rest of the guide will still be waiting.

See the Foundation

What a label looks like with nothing hidden

We make Forecast, and this is the reason our labels look the way they do. The ingredient list is on the front. Not the back, and not inside a blend.

Night is magnesium glycinate plus a vegetable capsule, rice flour, magnesium stearate and silicon dioxide. Five things, all five named. We will not say “no fillers”. We name them instead.


Two of our four products have exactly one ingredient. Weave is bovine hide collagen peptides. Frame is creatine monohydrate. That is the entire label.


We did not invent a formula. Nobody in this aisle really has. What we could do is show you all of it.

The 20-second checklist, for any bottle

Does every active ingredient have its own dose?

One number for a whole list means you are looking at a blend.


How long is the list?

Twenty ingredients in two capsules means most are present in small amounts. Simple products are easier to check.


Where does your ingredient sit?

Ingredients run heaviest first. Near the end means there is not much of it.


What is under “other ingredients”?

Expect a capsule and a flow agent or two. Be wary of a brand that claims none on the front and lists several on the back.


Has anyone independent tested it?

Look for a third-party certification mark, such as USP Verified or NSF, or ask the brand for a certificate of analysis.

That is the whole method. It works on any bottle, including ours.

See the Foundation

What we would recommend

The Foundation: four plain products for the years before.

If you would rather not decode a label at all, this is the box we built. Four products for the years before menopause, each with its full ingredient list on the front of the bottle.

Night · magnesium glycinate. Three capsules before bed. Five things in the capsule, all five named on the front. Supports nervous system function.*


Frame · creatine monohydrate. Five grams in a morning coffee. One ingredient. Supports muscle strength, lean body mass and cellular energy production.*


Weave · collagen peptides. Half a scoop, dissolves clear. One ingredient. Supports skin, hair, muscle and bone health.*


Core · gut health. Two capsules with a meal. Four actives, all named. Promotes digestive health.*

How it fits into a day

A scoop of Frame and half a scoop of Weave in a morning coffee. Two Core capsules with dinner. Three Night capsules about an hour before bed. About a minute a day.

What arrives

The 90-day box comes as one delivery: three Night, three Core, three Weave and two Frame. Frame holds 50 servings, so two tubs cover the three months. The monthly box is one of each.

One box holds all four. $397 for 90 days, which is about $132 a month, or $149 month to month. US shipping is free.

See the Foundation

If your sleep has not moved by day 30, we refund your first month. Keep the products.

*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.

Skeptical? Good.

You have just read an article about not taking labels on trust. Apply it to us.

Are your own labels really that simple?

Three of the four are. Night, Frame and Weave each have one active ingredient, so the dose is the product. Core has four actives, each named on the front. The full Supplement Facts panel for every product is on the product page, so you can run the checklist on us.


Can I not just buy these four things separately?

Yes. They are all sold elsewhere, and if you already have brands you trust, keep them. Bought one by one from us they come to $171 a month. The box is $149, or about $132 a month on the 90-day plan.


Is this hormone therapy?

No. Nothing in the Foundation is a hormone or acts like one.


Can I take it with birth control or an antidepressant?

The four Foundation products have no known interactions with hormonal contraceptives or SSRIs. As always, tell your doctor what you take. If you are pregnant or nursing, have kidney disease, or are under a doctor’s care, ask them first.


How does the guarantee work?

Take the Foundation for 30 days. If your sleep has not improved, email us and we refund your first month. Keep the products. On the 90-day box, that is the first month refunded, plus a refund for anything you return unopened.

See the Foundation

Sources

US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 101.36(c), nutrition labeling of dietary supplements. US Food and Drug Administration, Questions and Answers on Dietary Supplements. US Food and Drug Administration, Dietary Supplement Labeling Guide, Chapter IV. Cohen PA et al. Quantity of melatonin and CBD in melatonin gummies sold in the US. JAMA 2023. Cohen PA et al. Presence and quantity of botanical ingredients with purported performance-enhancing properties in sports supplements. JAMA Network Open 2023. Crawford C et al. Analysis of select dietary supplement products marketed to support or boost the immune system. JAMA Network Open 2022. Baker DA et al. DNA barcode identification of black cohosh herbal dietary supplements. J AOAC Int 2012. 21 CFR 184.1440 (magnesium stearate) and 21 CFR 172.480 (silicon dioxide).


This page is for general education and is not medical advice.