How to read a Supplement Facts panel

The Supplement Facts panel is the only part of a supplement's packaging regulated for content. Everything else on the bottle is marketing. Learning to read the panel properly is the highest-value skill anyone buying supplements online can pick up.

Serving size first, always

Every amount in the panel is listed per serving, not per capsule. If the serving is two capsules and the bottle holds 60, that is 30 servings — a one-month supply, not two — and the amounts shown are delivered across both capsules.

This is the most common way a panel misleads without lying. Read serving size before anything else registers. For the product this site covers, the serving is two capsules and a bottle holds 60, giving 30 servings.

Servings per container tells you the real price

Divide the bottle price by servings per container, not by capsule count. A cheaper bottle with a two-capsule serving is often more expensive per day than a pricier bottle with a one-capsule serving. This single calculation reorders most shortlists.

The percent daily value column

A percentage appears only for nutrients with an established daily value — mostly vitamins and minerals. Ingredients showing a dagger instead have no established daily value. That is a statement about regulation, not a comment on quality: it is neither a warning nor a seal of approval.

Proprietary blends

When ingredients are grouped under one blend name with a single total, you learn the names but not the ratios. Ingredients within a blend must be listed in descending order by weight, which is the only leverage you have — whatever is last is present in the smallest amount. We go through this properly in the blends guide.

The other-ingredients line

Printed below the panel rather than inside it, this covers the capsule shell, fillers, flow agents and colourings. It is also where most allergen surprises hide. If you avoid gelatin, particular allergens or specific additives, this line matters more to you than the panel above it.

Standardisation

For plant extracts, look for a standardisation figure — for example an extract standardised to a percentage of an active marker. It tells you the extract is measured against something meaningful rather than by raw weight alone. Where a label offers it, that is a small point in its favour.

A two-minute routine when a bottle arrives

1. Photograph the whole label, panel and other-ingredients line included.
2. Check the serving size against what you assumed when ordering.
3. Read the other-ingredients line for anything you avoid.
4. Check the expiry date, especially on a six-month package.
5. If you take medication, show the photo to a pharmacist — see our interaction guide.

For the regulatory background, the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements factsheet is the clearest neutral source available.