The Proprietary Blend Math Every Buyer Should Do
A proprietary blend hides individual ingredient amounts behind one combined total. A simple math check can tell you whether that total is even large enough to matter.
Here's the quick calculation, and why it's worth doing before you buy.
The check, in three steps
1. Find the blend's total weight on the Supplement Facts panel, usually listed in milligrams (mg).
2. Look up the independently studied dose range for the top two or three ingredients listed (ingredients are legally required to be listed in descending order by amount).
3. Add those studied doses together and compare the sum to the blend's total weight.
What the result tells you
If the studied doses of just the first few ingredients already meet or exceed the total blend weight, there's genuine uncertainty about whether the remaining ingredients — which must be present in smaller amounts than those before them on the label — are included at levels that match their own research.
If the total blend weight comfortably exceeds the studied doses of the top ingredients, there's more room for the rest of the formula to be meaningfully dosed, though without individual amounts you still can't confirm this directly.
Where to find studied dose ranges
Search “[ingredient name] clinical dose” or check resources like the National Library of Medicine, PubMed, or NIH Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheets, which often state the doses used in human research.
What this doesn't mean
It doesn't prove a formula is ineffective — some ingredients work at lower doses than clinical trials use, and proprietary blends aren't inherently fraudulent. It means this quick math gives you a more informed basis for judging a formula than the ingredient list alone.
How this applies here
IQHoney's label lists Alpha GPC, Bacopa monnieri and L-Tyrosine near the top of an 11-ingredient, 1,400mg blend. Their combined studied dose ranges (1,100 to over 3,000mg) already meet or exceed the entire blend total. See our full honest verdict for the complete picture.
