PlainVitamins

Guide

What supplement labels contain, in numbers

Whether a supplement is worth taking depends on the person: diet, age, pregnancy, conditions, medicines. That is a conversation with a clinician, and this site does not have it. What it can do is describe the market you are choosing from, from every label in the NIH database.

Published ยท Last updated

Written with AI tools under the editorial policy. Every figure is read from the label database, not written by the model.

The market in six numbers

  • 116,682 products, from 5,741 brands, are in the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database.
  • 31% list a single ingredient; the typical product lists 5 rows.
  • For 11 of the 24 nutrients with a Daily Value, the median product gives more than the DV in one serving; vitamin b12 the most, at 14.6 times.
  • 8,383 products list a nutrient above the adult upper limit at their highest suggested use.
  • 29% do not disclose the amount of at least one ingredient in a proprietary blend.
  • 8% print a certification seal of some kind.

Figures: NIH ODS Dietary Supplement Label Database, version 9.4.0, current labels.

What the numbers do and do not say

They say that many products give more than the Daily Value, sometimes far more, and that a share give more than the upper limit; that a large minority do not disclose every amount; and that most carry no third-party seal. They do not say whether any product works, whether it contains what its label states, or whether you need it. Those questions are answered by clinical evidence (summarised in the NIH fact sheets), by testing programmes, and by a clinician who knows your health.

Using the data for your decision

If you and your clinician decide on a supplement, the data helps you pick one: look up a candidate to see its amount against the market and the limits, check whether it leaves amounts undisclosed in a blend, and find products with the closest formula at a different strength.

Where next?