Fruit and vegetable blend capsules tend to have long labels. Twenty, thirty, sometimes forty ingredient names, grouped into blends with names of their own. It looks thorough. But a long list only helps you if you know how to read it.
Here is a step-by-step way to read any fruit and vegetable blend label, using the VITAMIZED Superfood Fruit and Vegetable Capsules label as a worked example.
Step 1: Find the serving size first
Everything below it on the Supplement Facts panel is "per serving." Both bottles in the VITAMIZED set list a serving size of 3 capsules and 30 servings per container. If a product's serving is 1 capsule and another's is 4, you can't compare their blend weights until you adjust for that.
Step 2: Understand what a blend line tells you
Under FDA rules, a proprietary blend must be named (the name can be descriptive or "fanciful"), its total weight must appear on the same line, and the ingredients in it must be listed underneath in descending order of predominance by weight.
So a line like "Maintenance Blend 731 mg" tells you three things:
- The blend's name, which is chosen by the brand
- The combined weight of every ingredient in that blend, per serving
- That the ingredients listed below it run from most to least by weight
What it does not tell you is how much of each single ingredient is in the blend. A name listed ninth could be a large share or a very small one.
Step 3: Read blend names as labels, not promises
Blend names are chosen by the manufacturer. FDA allows a "fanciful name," so a blend name is a way to group ingredients, not a measure of what the blend does. Read the ingredients and the weight, and set the name aside.
Step 4: Read the first three names in each blend
Since order follows weight, the first names in each blend are the biggest contributors. On the VITAMIZED labels:
- Fruits Blend bottle, first blend (731 mg): tomato fruit, papaya fruit, banana, apple, grape (fruit), elderberry fruit, strawberry, aloe vera (leaf)
- Fruits Blend bottle, second blend (719 mg): orange, tart cherry, cranberry, wild blueberry, grape (fruit), apple, grapefruit, aloe vera (leaf)
- Fruits Blend bottle, third blend (561 mg): raspberry, pineapple, mango, sweet cherry, lemon, aloe vera (leaf)
- Veggies Blend bottle, first blend (720 mg): broccoli (whole plant), spinach leaf, green cabbage (head), wheatgrass leaf, kale leaf, cauliflower (whole plant), celery stalk, white onion bulb, zucchini fruit
- Veggies Blend bottle, second blend (714 mg): garlic clove, red cabbage head, red onion bulb, carrot root, kale leaf, cayenne pepper (fruit and seed), shiitake mushroom (whole), wheatgrass leaf, sweet potato (tuber)
- Veggies Blend bottle, third blend (576 mg): carrot root, kale leaf, green onion scape, spinach leaf, cauliflower (whole leaf), celery stalk, zucchini fruit
Step 5: Look for plant parts
"Kale leaf," "carrot root," "garlic clove," "sweet potato (tuber)." Plant parts matter because a root, a leaf and a seed are different materials. A label that names the part is easier to compare than one that lists only the plant.
Step 6: Notice repeats across blends
Some ingredients show up in more than one blend. On the VITAMIZED Veggies Blend label, kale leaf appears in all three blends, and spinach, carrot, cauliflower, celery, zucchini and wheatgrass each appear in two. On the Fruits Blend label, aloe vera (leaf) appears in all three. Repeats are normal in multi-blend formulas. They just mean an ingredient's total contribution is spread across lines.
Step 7: Check for separately listed ingredients
Ingredients with their own amount, outside any blend, are the easiest to compare. Both VITAMIZED bottles list BioPerine at 5 mg per serving as a separate line.
Step 8: Finish with "Other Ingredients" and the top of the panel
Other ingredients are the non-active parts: capsule shell, fillers, flow agents. VITAMIZED lists one: vegetable capsule (cellulose). Then glance back up at calories and carbohydrate: 10 calories and 2 g carbohydrate per serving for the Fruits Blend, 5 calories and 1 g for the Veggies Blend.
What a long list can't tell you
A longer ingredient list is not automatically a better product. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements notes that supplements "can't take the place of the variety of foods that are important to a healthy eating routine," and that FDA does not determine whether supplements are effective before they are marketed. A blend capsule is a convenient way to add a range of fruit and vegetable powders to your day. Whole produce stays the foundation.
Keep reading
- Best Fruit and Vegetable Supplements: A Label-First Comparison Checklist
- Fruit and Vegetable Capsules vs. Greens Powder
- Can Fruit and Vegetable Supplements Replace Produce?
See the full label on the VITAMIZED Superfood Fruit and Vegetable Capsules page. Made in the USA. Talk with your health care provider before starting a new supplement.
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.
Sources
- FDA, Dietary Supplement Labeling Guide, Chapter IV (proprietary blends): https://www.fda.gov/food/dietary-supplements-guidance-documents-regulatory-information/dietary-supplement-labeling-guide-chapter-iv-nutrition-labeling
- 21 CFR 101.36, Nutrition labeling of dietary supplements: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-101/subpart-A/section-101.36
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/WYNTK-Consumer/
- USDA MyPlate: https://www.myplate.gov/
