Free-Reprint Article Written by: Will Brink See Terms of Reprint Below.
***************************************************************** * * This email is being delivered directly to members of the group: * * ReprintArticles-Paradise@yahoogroups.com * ***************************************************************** We have moved our TERMS OF REPRINT to the end of the article. Be certain to read our TERMS OF REPRINT and honor our TERMS OF REPRINT when you use this article. Thank you. This article has been distributed by: http://Article-Distribution.com Helpful Link: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Overview http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/dmca1.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- Article Title: ============== The "Proprietary Blend" Nutritional Supplement Article Description: ==================== In a nut shell, I went onto cover each of these common marketing terms that are used to sell supplements to unwitting consumers and explained each in detail as to what I view as their common misuse within the market place. Additional Article Information: =============================== 1088 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line Distribution Date and Time: Fri Feb 10 04:37:43 EST 2006 Written By: Will Brink Copyright: 2006 Contact Email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Article URL: http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/b/proprietary-blend-shell-game.shtml For more free-reprint articles by this Author, please visit: http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/index.shtml#Will_Brink --------------------------------------------------------------------- The "Proprietary Blend" Nutritional Supplement Copyright © 2006 Will Brink Diet Supplements Revealed http://aboutsupplements.com - The Shell Game that is the "Proprietary Blend" Nutritional Supplement Recently I wrote an article entitled "Terms, Terms, Terms, An Inside look to buying supplements" which can be found on the Gurus and Guests section of my private forum. The article covered many of the misleading marketing terms buyers have to deal with in an attempt to make informed decisions on the supplements they spend their hard earned money on. Some of the more potentially misleading commonly used marketing terms I covered were: "Clinically proven" "Patented" "Doctor recommended" "All natural" "Scientifically formulated" "Research proven" "Used for thousands of years" Readers interested in understanding why the above terms can be so misleading, can read my write-up on each of those terms. In a nut shell, I went onto cover each of these common marketing terms that are used to sell supplements to unwitting consumers and explained each in detail as to what I view as their common misuse within the market place. However, one term I didn't cover, was "proprietary blend" which in many cases is the most potentially misleading term of them all, though not a term always seen in ads per se, but the side of the bottle. Thus, why I felt it was a separate topic to be covered at a later date as it does not fit under the classic definition of a commonly used marketing term found in ads. I also decided to cover this term in a separate article as it requires much more space dedicated to it then the other terms needed for reasons that will be apparent shortly. Proprietary blends are not inherently a negative for the consumer, though they are inherently confusing for the buyer in most cases. A supplement that lists a "proprietary blend" on the bottle can be there for one of two reasons: (a) to prevent the competition from knowing exactly what ratios and amounts of each ingredient present in the formula to prevent the competition from copying their formula exactly (commonly referred to as a "knock off") or (b) to hide the fact the formula contains very little of the active ingredients listed on the bottle in an attempt to fool consumers. Sadly, the latter use is far more common then the former. They see a long list of seemingly impressive ingredients listed in the "proprietary blend" none of which are there is amounts that will have any effects. This is commonly referred to as "label decoration" by industry insiders. The former use of the term is a legitimate way for a company of a quality formula from having the competition copy or "knock off" their formula and the latter use of the term is to scam people. So how does the consumer tell the difference? They can't, or at least they can't without some research and knowledge, which the scam artists know few people have the time and energy to dedicate to finding the answers. Although there are a few tips the consumer can use to decide if a product with a "proprietary blend" is worth trying, no one, not even me, can figure out exactly how much of each ingredient is in the blend or in what ratio of each is contained within the formula, hence why the honest and not-so-honest companies employ "proprietary blends" so often. Thus, we have something of a conundrum here and conflict between a company making a quality formula attempting to protect that formula from other companies vs. the company simply looking to baffle buyers with BS. There are at least some basic tips or food for thought here regarding this problem. A formula that contains say 10 ingredients in a "proprietary blend" is by no means defacto superior then one with three ingredients in it. It's the dose that matters. Clearly, it's better to have higher amounts of ingredients that will have some effects vs. a long list of ingredients in doses too low to have any effects. Some times it helps to look at both what's in the blend and how much of the blend actually exists. As an example, if say the blend is 300mg total and contains ten ingredients, that's only 30mg per ingredient, assuming (and you know what they say about assuming!) that each is found in equal amounts. Clearly, for most compounds out there, 30mg wont do jack sh*&. On the other hand, if say the blend is 3000mg (3 grams) and contains three or four ingredients, there is at least a better chance that the formula contains enough of each (and remember, we can't tell how much of each is in there as that information is "proprietary") to have some effects you are looking for such as an increase in strength, or a decrease in bodyfat, etc. Unfortunately, the above examples are so vague as to be close to worthless as it's easy enough to formulate a 3000mg blend where all the ingredients are worthless to begin with or a 300mg blend that contains compounds that only require small doses to have an effect and or can be toxic at higher doses. For example, the mineral zinc tends to be no more then 30mg in most formulas and no more is needed or recommended. Much of this comes down to the consumer knowing what the various ingredients are and how they work (to decide if they are even worth using in the first place) then deciding if said blend appears to at least contain a dose that would have the desired effects, which just brings us back to my prior comment: most people have neither the time or inclination to research all that info just to decide if they want to use a product and thus the many "proprietary blends" on the market that are no more then a long list of under-dosed ingredients. Wish I could be of more help giving specific advice to readers of this here article as to what makes a good blend and what constitutes a poorly made blend, but the above advice is the best I can do under the circumstances. Although a "proprietary blend" is not by default a negative to the consumer, it is by all means the poster child for the well-known Latin term Caveat emptor which translates into English as "let the buyer beware". See Will's ebooks online here: Muscle Building Nutrition http://musclebuildingnutrition.com A complete guide bodybuilding supplements and eating to gain lean muscle Diet Supplements Revealed http://aboutsupplements.com A review of diet supplements and guide to eating for maximum fat loss --------------------------------------------------------------------- Will Brink writes for numerous health, fitness, medical, and bodybuilding publications. His articles can be found in Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Oxygen, Women's World, The Townsend Letter For Doctors and many more. His website is http://www.brinkzone.com --- END ARTICLE --- ..................................... TERMS OF REPRINT - Publication Rules (Last Updated: April 7, 2005) Our TERMS OF REPRINT are fully enforcable under the terms of: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.2281.ENR: ..................................... *** Digital Reprint Rights *** * If you publish this article in a website/forum/blog, You Must Set All URL's or Mailto Addresses in the body of the article AND in the Author's Resource Box as Hyperlinks (clickable links). * Links must remain in the form that we published them. Clean links should point to the Author's links without redirects having been inserted into the copy. * You are not allowed to Change or Delete any Words or Links in the Article or Resource Box. Paragraph breaks must be retained with articles. You can change where the paragraph breaks fall, but you cannot eliminate all paragraph breaks as some have chosen to do. * Email Distribution of this article Must be done through Opt-in Email Only. No Unsolicited Commercial Email. * You Are Allowed to format the layout of the article for proper display of the article in your website or in your ezine, so long as you can maintain the author's interests within the article. *** Author Notification *** We ask that you notify the author of publication of his or her work. Will Brink can be reached at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** Print Publication Reprint Rights *** If you desire to publish this article in a PRINT publication, you must contact the author directly for Print Permission at: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ..................................... If you need help converting this text article for proper hyperlinked placement in your webpage, please use this free tool: http://thephantomwriters.com/link-builder.pl ===================================================================== ABOUT THIS ARTICLE SUBMISSION http://thePhantomWriters.com is a paid article distribution service. thePhantomWriters.com and Article-Distribution.com are owned and operated by Bill Platt of Enid, Oklahoma USA. The content of this article is solely the property and opinion of its author, Will Brink http://aboutsupplements.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX --------------------------------------------------------------------- THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE USING ARTICLES POSTED ON THE GROUP: 1. Print the article in its entirety. Don't make any changes in the article . 2. Print the resource box with all articles in their entirety. 3. Send the Author a copy of the reprinted article or the URL where the articles was posted. Anything short of following these three rules is a violation of the Authors Copyright. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReprintArticles-Paradise/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/