Five numbers on a supplement label actually tell you what you will get: the elemental or standardised amount, the serving size, the guarantee point, the %DV for the specific nutrient you are buying it for, and the form. The large number on the front is almost never one of them.
Label literacy is the single skill that makes every other supplement decision easier. Once you can read a panel, the marketing dissolves and what is left is either a product worth buying or a number that was printed to look impressive and cannot be defended. This piece is only about the five numbers — not brands, not categories, not what to take.
Why the front-of-pack number is designed to mislead
A supplement company chooses what number to put on the front, and they choose the biggest defensible one. That is not fraud — it is marketing — but it means the front number is almost always the compound weight rather than the active ingredient amount. "2,500mg magnesium glycinate" contains about 275mg of elemental magnesium. "1,300mg beetroot powder" has an unstated nitrate content. "10:1 extract" tells you the input-to-output ratio but nothing about what came out.
None of this changes what is in the capsule. It changes whether you can compare two bottles, and that is what the five numbers do.
The five numbers
| # | Number | Where to find it | What it tells you | Red flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elemental or standardised amount | Supplement facts panel, often in parentheses or a sub-row | How much of the active compound is actually in there. "Elemental magnesium 275mg" or "standardised to 5% withanolides" are usable numbers. "Magnesium glycinate 2,500mg" is the compound weight. | No elemental figure for a mineral. No standardisation percentage for an herbal extract. Front number only. |
| 2 | Serving size | Top of supplement facts panel | Everything else on the panel is per serving, so this is the multiplier on every other number. | Serving size of one when competitors use two — the dose comparison is 2× off. |
| 3 | Form | Ingredient name — the word after the nutrient name | The chemical compound the ingredient is bound to. For minerals: glycinate, citrate, oxide. For botanicals: root, leaf, or both; extract or powder. | "Magnesium" with no form specified — assume oxide. "Ashwagandha extract" with no standardisation — nothing to compare. |
| 4 | %DV | Right column of supplement facts panel | Calculated on elemental or active amount — cannot be inflated by compound weight. Useful for checking whether a multivitamin's calcium is meaningful (usually under 10% because a capsule cannot hold a gram). | Very high %DV on a fat-soluble vitamin. Very high %DV on zinc, niacin, or B6 if you also take other supplements. |
| 5 | Guarantee point | Label fine print, often near the expiry date | When the stated amounts were measured. "Through end of shelf life" is the only version that describes what is in the bottle when you open it. Matters most for probiotics. | No guarantee point stated. Or "at time of manufacture" on a probiotic sitting at room temperature. |
A worked example
Two magnesium products. Product A: "Magnesium 500mg." Product B: "Magnesium Glycinate 2,500mg / Elemental Magnesium 275mg."
Product A looks larger. But "magnesium 500mg" with no form specified is almost certainly magnesium oxide — around 60% elemental by weight, and bioavailability in published studies around 4%. At 4% absorption, 500mg delivers about 20mg usable. Product B's 275mg elemental in glycinate form absorbs considerably better. The smaller front number is the stronger product by the measure that matters.
What the five numbers will not tell you
They will not tell you whether a supplement will work for you. That is a clinical question, not a label question. They will also not tell you whether a manufacturer's stated numbers are accurate, which is what third-party testing is for. What they will do is let you compare two bottles honestly and identify products designed to look impressive rather than perform.
Reading any label in thirty seconds
- Read the serving size first. Everything that follows is per serving.
- Find the form. For minerals and botanicals, the form is the first filter.
- Find the elemental or standardised amount. If it is not on the label, the front number is not comparable to anything.
- Check the %DV on the specific nutrient you are buying it for.
- Check the guarantee point on anything with a live or degradable active.
What we do
Every Verelia product prints both the compound weight and the elemental or standardised figure where they differ. Magnesium Glycinate labels both 2,500mg glycinate and 275mg elemental. Ashwagandha Plus names the extract (KSM-66®) and its standardisation (5% withanolides). Beetroot states the form (organic beetroot powder) without a nitrate figure, because the nitrate content of powder varies and we do not measure it — that is the one place where we cannot give you number five, and it is worth knowing.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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