If you are on the Redcon1 site right now, you have probably already noticed that Redcon1 does not support proprietary blends in any of our products. In today’s fitness industry, there are various supplements that have the role to help in the quest of reaching the overall fitness goals. Many people rely on these products in order to improve their workouts, muscle gains and overall fitness benefits. However, this may also be a complex problem as many bodybuilders, fitness enthusiast and casual weightlifters face the difficult challenge to find the right supplement for their needs. On that note, it is important to emphasize that not every product on the market can be beneficial for the overall health and fitness needs. That is why it is imperative to avoid proprietary blends.

The danger of proprietary blends

The first thing that always comes to mind is the potential dangerous effect of these products. On that note, it is important to clarify that in most cases the proprietary blends do not affect the overall health and well-being of the users. However, consumers that have certain medical condition or have high level of sensitivity to some ingredients should not be taking any of these supplement products. One notable example that supports this claim is the presence of caffeine as many are sensitive to this unique ingredient. Another possible downside is the prospect of bad manufacturing practice. To be more specific, some companies tend to include specific elements that are considered as banned substances or ingredients that can have a negative impact on certain body organs. Bodybuilders and casual weightlifters that take these products actually are not aware about their content and the presence of certain substances that can implicate some health issues on the long term.

False claims and Dosage

The proprietary supplements tend to incorporate various different ingredients. In many cases, there are a certain recommendations about the daily consummation of some specific ingredients. Moreover, many manufacturers tend to not present the amount of some specific ingredients that are part of the supplement. Going over the recommended daily value can initiate overdose and that can have numerous negative effects on the health of the users. Many manufacturers are often including certain elements over the recommended intake which makes the proprietary blends a potential source for health challenges. A concrete example that explains this is the general FDA rule is that the manufacturers must list all of the ingredients in a product on its label. However, in case the ingredients are part of a proprietary blend—then the specific amount of each individual ingredient in the mixture does not have to be listed, only the amount of the total mix. Sometimes, some supplements incorporate various ingredients in significantly lower amounts thus making them ineffective for the overall fitness goals of the users.
 

The Marketing Effects

Many manufacturers tend to use the previously mentioned FDA rule. To be more specific, many companies have a marketing strategy that is based on many appalling promotion effects. That is where we see the labels that include phrases such as “explosive mix, “supreme muscle pump”, high endurance matrix” and so on. Moreover, manufacturers tend to constantly name them with different terms that are closely related with some fitness goals such as energy, muscle gains, lean body and anything else that sounds appealing. The result of this is that many people are cheated with the effectiveness and results of these products. Moreover, some manufacturers went even further as they started using phrases such as “clinically proven, Scientifically formulated, Research-proven and so on. This is confusing for the buyers in most cases. On the other side, manufacturers defend their policy of hiding the ingredients that are present in the blend as their unique formulas and using these fitness marketing terms is justified according to them. Their claim is that they use these terms in order to protect their formula of the combined elements and their percentage.
Proprietary blends make sense for supplement manufacturers. It gives them the perfect opportunity to hide what goes into their blends, meaning they have the freedom to combine various elements and to use low-quality ingredients. However, the buyers are not aware what they are consuming and the amount that they are taking in.
 

The Rational Reason

Maybe the biggest problem of these products is the fact that manufactures
put the cheapest elements first, and then they'll will include the other ingredients in a much lower doses than that first ingredient. And although this might be seen as a scam, the fact is that is not breaking any laws and it is legal. A specific example is some of the pre-workouts supplements that are based on a proprietary blend. To be more specific, a proprietary blend of a pre-workout supplement in cases is a combination of caffeine, beta alanine and creatine. A 20 grams of pre workout that is 90 % based on caffeine is not really much different from taking regular caffeine pills. This way, the manufacturers are saving costs on the other side the buyers just pay extra money for a something that can be obtained through cheaper products.
 

The Bottom Line

The overall conclusion is that we should avoid the proprietary supplements. Taking a supplement that has a proprietary will not result with significant fitness improvement. On the contrary, there is high possibility that these products will not work. By opting for one of these supplements bodybuilders and fitness enthusiast do not know what they are getting. The product could be under-dosed, contain inadequate levels of key ingredients, or can even contain banned substances that can have a negative effect on the overall health and wellbeing. That is why, we recommend to avoid supplements that are based on proprietary blends.

Chris Hazen

Instagram @thechrishazen