How to read a supplement label without being fooled

'Proprietary blend, 500mg' tells you nothing. It could be 480mg of rice flour and 20mg of the herb you bought it for. A trustworthy label lists every ingredient with its individual dose.

Standardisation is the second tell. 'Ashwagandha 600mg' and 'Ashwagandha root extract standardised to 5% withanolides, 600mg' are not the same product. The active percentage decides whether the dose matches the studies.

Extract ratios like 10:1 sound impressive but are unverifiable without standardisation. Prefer a named, standardised extract over an impressive-sounding ratio.

Finally: look for a batch-specific certificate of analysis covering heavy metals. Herbal powders concentrate whatever was in the soil, and India's supplement market is uneven on this.