PlainVitamins

Defense Maintenance

by Nature's Sunshine · capsule · 120 capsules

  • On the market (NIH)
  • UPC 0 99904 01654 5
  • DSLD label 255232
  • Serving 2 capsules
  • 60 servings

Defense Maintenance by Nature's Sunshine lists 16 ingredients, 5 with an amount per serving of 2 capsules, such as 784 mcg RAE of vitamin A, 240 mg of vitamin C, 88 mg of vitamin E and 10 mg of zinc; 11 sit inside a blend without their own amounts. Its current label entered the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database on September 24, 2021.

What is in Defense Maintenance?

Each row as the label prints it, per serving of 2 capsules. The capsule beside an amount places it among every product in the NIH database that lists the same ingredient: the bar is the middle half of their amounts, the line in it the median, the whiskers the 10th and 90th percentiles; the green tick is the FDA Daily Value and the red dashed tick the adult upper limit (IOM).

Defense Maintenance: Supplement Facts rows against the market (DSLD label 255232, January 2026 release)
IngredientAmount% DVAmong products listing it
Vitamin Aas Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A PalmitateVitamin A (Form: Vitamin A Palmitate, as 46% Beta-Carotene)784 mcg RAE87%
Vitamin Cas Ascorbic Acid240 mg267%Vitamin C in Defense Maintenance against 18,583 products240 mg per serving; the middle half of products list 60 mg to 270 mg, the median 100 mg.DV 90 mgUL 2,000 mg240 mg

Higher than 68% of 18,583 products listing vitamin C (median 100 mg). Per day at the most servings: 480 mg.

Vitamin Eas D-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate88 mg587%
Zincas Zinc Gluconate, Zinc Oxide10 mg91%Zinc in Defense Maintenance against 13,186 products10 mg per serving; the middle half of products list 5 mg to 15 mg, the median 11 mg.DV 11 mgUL 40 mg10 mg

51% of 13,186 products listing zinc give more (median 11 mg). Per day at the most servings: 20 mg.

Seleniumas Selenium Amino Acid Chelate50 mcg91%Selenium in Defense Maintenance against 7,658 products50 mcg per serving; the middle half of products list 27 mcg to 100 mcg, the median 55 mcg.DV 55 mcgUL 400 mcg50 mcg

56% of 7,658 products listing selenium give more (median 55 mcg). Per day at the most servings: 100 mcg.

Proprietary Blend398 mg
Barleyin the blend, no amount given
Asparagusin the blend, no amount given
Astragalusin the blend, no amount given
Broccoliin the blend, no amount given
Cabbagein the blend, no amount given
Reishi Mushroomin the blend, no amount given
Partheniumin the blend, no amount given
Pau d'Arcoin the blend, no amount given
Schisandrain the blend, no amount given
Eleutheroin the blend, no amount given
Wheat Grassin the blend, no amount given

Source: NIH ODS Dietary Supplement Label Database, label 255232 (entered September 24, 2021), version 9.4.0. See the label on DSLD. Amounts are what the maker printed; DSLD does not test products. Daily Values: the FDA's Daily Value page.

Is that a lot?

Every amount on this label with a position sits within the middle 80% of the products that list the same ingredient; 11 ingredients sit inside a blend, so their amounts cannot be compared.

The NIH database records 2 servings a day from the label's directions; its % Daily Values are for adults and children 4 or more years of age. The directions as printed are further down this page.

The Tolerable Upper Intake Level is the most of a nutrient per day, from food, water and supplements together, that is likely to pose no risk for almost all adults (Institute of Medicine, 2011). It does not apply under medical supervision. This page compares labels; it is not medical advice.

Sources: amounts from the DSLD label; Daily Values from 21 CFR 101.9(c)(8)(iv); adult upper limits from the Institute of Medicine's DRI summary tables (2011). How positions are computed.

What does the label say about taking it?

Quoted from the label as DSLD transcribed it: the maker's words, including any claim about what the product does, which the FDA has not evaluated and PlainVitamins does not endorse.

Directions
Recommended Use: Take 2 capsules with a meal twice daily.
Warnings
Do not use if inner seal is missing or damaged.
Storage
Keep refrigerated.

Source: label statements in DSLD label 255232.

What else is on the label?

Other ingredients: Capsule, Vegetable Magnesium Stearate, Stearic Acid.

How many labels does Defense Maintenance have?

4 labels are on file under this name since January 25, 2013: other sizes, label designs and reformulations. The current one leads this page.

  1. Label 255232 (current) Entered September 24, 2021 · on the market · 120 capsules · UPC 0 99904 01654 5
  2. Label 220961 Entered May 22, 2020 · off the market June 9, 2021 · 120 capsules · UPC 0 99904 01654 5
  3. Label 207295 Entered September 24, 2019 · off the market April 7, 2020 · 120 capsules · UPC 0 99904 01654 5
  4. Label 17880 Entered January 25, 2013 · off the market February 27, 2019 · 120 capsules · UPC 0 99904 01654 5

Source: DSLD label entry and market events, version 9.4.0 (labels entered through September 25, 2025).

Who makes it?

The label names Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc. (manufacturer), Spanish Fork, UT. All Nature's Sunshine products.

Where next?