Dear AllStarHealth.com,

I’ve noticed that some supplements list all their ingredients and tell you exactly how much of each one there is. Other products lump everything into a list like ‘Proprietary Blend’ or “Exclusive HyperDiet Complex” without specify ingredient amounts. Why do only some products specify amounts? I would think every customer wants or even needs to know that.

Best regards,

Tom Wilton

Dear Tom,

A lot of other customers have noticed this as well. Some have questioned whether this Proprietary Blend Approach is an attempt to conceal information from customers, such as a worrisome level of caffeine, sugars, or some other red-flag ingredient. While it’s true they’re trying to conceal information, they’re not trying to conceal it from you the customer.

We certainly agree with you that it’s in the customer’s best interest to see exact amounts of all ingredients in a product. And, actually, we’re sure that supplement companies themselves would agree also. We know them well and it’s clear that without exception they’re all really proud of their products and have nothing to hide. Nothing to hide, that is, from you.

No matter where you buy supplements, chances are they have more protein powders than just about any other kind of product. That may be why one of the most common questions we receive is, simply, how do I choose one from among all these options? Well it’s really a very simple process once you understand some of the basics. Here’s a quick and easy guide to choosing a protein powder.

Dear AllStarHealth,

I’ve always taken vitamin E because there’s a family history of heart disease and a few of my nutrition books say it’s beneficial. But in the last few years I’ve come across conflicting information about vitamin E including some recent news stories that say it doesn’t help and can actually be harmful to use vitamin E supplements. So what’s the story?

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is already the subject of controversy as a calorie-dense and nearly ubiquitous sweetening ingredient found in a disturbingly wide range of foods and drinks. Newly published findings add to those concerns by showing that many HFCS-containing foods have detectable limits of mercury.

There are already plenty of benefits ascribed to probiotic supplements, but helping you sleep isn’t usually one of them. That’s what’s so surprising about what researchers at Osaka University, Japan, recently discovered about one type of probiotic organism.

Recent press releases and news reports (including an AllStarHealth blog post) revealed that the controversial sweetener stevia herb was finally about to go mainstream as major soda manufacturers announced their intention to begin using a newly-approved sweetener called Trvuvia in low calorie drinks. Truvia’s manufacturer makes a big deal over the fact that it’s an herbal product, and that it’s stevia, in particular but when you look at the ingredient label

Long before it’s talked about on the evening news, the most promising nutritional research first surfaces in peer-reviewed scientific journals, the ones nobody but doctors, scientists or grad students read. So once a month, AllStarHealth summarizes some of the most promising new findings in our Nutrition Research Roundup.

They say timing is everything. That’s especially true when it comes to certain nutritional supplements.  Taking a supplement at the wrong time can make a big difference in terms of the results you’ll get.  Or, it can make no difference at all.  You’ll know which is which when you’ve checked out our guide to supplement […]

Sooner or later, most supplement users are going to find themselves talking to their doctor about the supplements they take. Usually, the conversation usually goes nowhere fast. But it doesn’t have to be that way

It wasn’t too long ago that Vitamin D was the quintessential “B-list vitamin”. Vitamin retailers never devoted much space to vitamin D supplements. Nutrition articles rarely covered it. Instructors never spent much time on it. No one was terribly interested in vitamin D.