Have you ever picked up a nutritional supplement, checked out the label on the back, only to read something to the tune of "proprietary blend" with ingredients listed (maybe) and quantities hidden? Bet you thought, "Great! That means it's exclusive and high quality, and it'll work then."

Wrong.

If you have been exploring keto products, I guarantee you have seen all kinds of "proprietary blends." You may have even seen these keto product labels with other masks, like "proprietary formulas," "proprietary matrix," and "complex." These are all a clever way to get you to spend money on something you think is exclusive and premium, but without you really knowing what it is- or if it is even enough to be effective. 

WHAT IS A PROPRIETARY BLEND?

In the health and wellness space, it is a term used to label a blend of ingredients which are listed one by one, but without the exact amount of each ingredient.

With exogenous ketones, this is particularly problematic because a "proprietary blend" can hide how many grams of exogenous ketones you are getting when it is often mixed with other ingredients like BCAAs or MCT oil, for example. A clinically effective dose of exogenous ketones (or BHB) is 10-12 grams. There are keto base products out there right now that are as low as 4 grams of BHB per serving, with the remaining grams devoted to miscellaneous ingredients. And their prices are as high as better keto products with as many as 10 grams of BHB per serving. That's insane. 

Let's show an example of what this would look like.

Can you confidently say you know exactly how many grams of BHB salts are in this keto product's hidden blend? Let's say you have an allergy to taurine, an ingredient listed here. Can you safely say you know how much of that is in a serving of this product? Yeah, we can't either.

WHY WOULD A MANUFACTURER CREATE A "PROPRIETARY BLEND?"

• Consumer psychology: such a term is often mistakenly confused by consumers to think a product is thus a higher quality product. It makes a product sound exclusive and like it is so good the recipe must be hidden!
• Not listing every ingredient amount makes it easy to hide the often tiny doses of the actual effective ingredients (like BHB) in a product. This results in a less effective blend. 
• It keeps competitors from copying a custom blend. 

IS THIS ALLOWED?

Yes. The FDA does not currently restrict nutritional supplements from such practices. So, as a consumer, it is up to you to decide what you are purchasing. 

SO WHAT DO I DO?

Unless you enjoy spending your money on nutritional supplements that hide what is exactly in them, then we say STAY AWAY from "proprietary blends." Find products that fully disclose their ingredients panel with exact quantities. 

If you don't know what is in something, then how will you know that it can work?

Exactly.

Here at Ruketo we make it our business to practice transparent labeling. We fully disclose what goes in a serving of our keto product, so you always know exactly what you are paying for. 

Ruketo. Know exactly what you are getting.