How to Read a Supplement Label: A Ten-Point Checklist, Applied to Prostadine

1. Photograph the label

   Front, back, sides and cap. Keep it with your order record.

2. Write down what is missing

   A list of gaps is the basis of a request to the seller.

3. Ask in writing

   Request the missing items, the lot number and the certificate of analysis. The batch page has a draft.

4. Add up shared nutrients

   Total iodine, in particular, from the bottle, a multivitamin and your diet.

5. Take it to your pharmacist

   They can check your medicines against the ingredients.

If a label gives you everything on the list, you have a bottle you can reason about. If it gives you little, you have learned how much weight to put on the front.

1. Saw Palmetto for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. Bent S, Kane C, Shinohara K, et al. (N Engl J Med 354:557-566); with Barry MJ et al., JAMA 2011;306:1344-1351, 2006.The publisher page could not be loaded for this review, so this entry rests on the published abstracts. NEJM 2006: 225 men aged 50 or older, one year, 160 mg of saw palmetto extract twice a day (320 mg a day) versus placebo, no difference in the AUA Symptom Index. JAMA 2011 (CAMUS): 369 men, 72 weeks, 320 mg a day raised stepwise to 960 mg, no better than placebo. These are the usual reference doses for saw palmetto research.
2. Registration of Food Facilities and Other Submissions. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026.Registration is a legal requirement under the Bioterrorism Act (regulations effective December 12, 2003) and FSMA (2011) that involves submitting information and assuring FDA can inspect; it must be renewed every other year. The page never describes registration as an approval or certification of a facility.
3. Information for Consumers on Using Dietary Supplements. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026.FDA is not authorized to approve dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed. Firms can lawfully introduce supplements without notifying FDA. Talk to a doctor, pharmacist or other professional before buying or using a supplement.
4. 21 CFR 101.36 - Nutrition labeling of dietary supplements. U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), 2026.Under paragraph (c), a supplement may list a 'Proprietary Blend' with the total weight of the blend and its ingredients listed in descending order of predominance by weight. So a line in place k of n cannot hold more than the blend total divided by k.
5. Health Products Compliance Guidance. Federal Trade Commission, 2022.Health claims must be backed by competent and reliable scientific evidence, generally randomized controlled human trials on the same product, dose and population being advertised. Testimonials and animal or lab studies alone are not enough, and a disclaimer does not fix a misleading claim.
6. Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, 2023.Unlike medicines, supplements do not require FDA approval before they are marketed. FDA periodically inspects facilities that make supplements. You are most likely to have side effects at high doses. Some supplements interact with medicines.