How to Read a Vitamin Label

Watkins offers a wide range of supplements for a healthier lifestyle. Watkins' comprehensive dietary supplement program, combined with a sensible eating and exercise regimen, will boost your efforts and help you get long-lasting results; results you can see and feel!

Shop for supplements at my Watkins Online web site.

Balanced Ginseng
Brain Plus
Children's Chewable Vitamin
E+CoQ10
Eye Care Formula
Female Formula
Fruit/Veggie Complex
Garlic Oil Softgels
Inner Cleanse/Restore
Linimax™
Male Formula
Mood Plus
Osteogen
Rezist Plus
Skin, Hair & Nails
Superfood Multiple Vitamin
Aloe Vera Gel Capsules
Aloe Vera Juice

Labeling supplement bottles presents a challenge to manufacturers: a great deal of information about a complex product must be squeezed into a tiny space. Through necessity, abbreviations and verbal shorthand are used, and their meaning can be lost on the consumer. Use this handy guide to understanding vitamin labels.

% of Daily Value: The "Daily Value," or DV, shows the percentage one serving supplies of a total DV. If the value is more than 100 percent, it suggests that the vitamin formulator sees an advantage to exceeding the DV.

Serving Size: This indicates how many of the units - tablets, soft-gels, capsules, etc. - need to be consumed in a day to reach the percent of daily value listed on the label.

Units of measure. These reflect the standard reference units for each kind of nutrient. "I.U.," stands for "International Unit" and is the standard for measuring fat-soluble vitamins, which include vitamins A, D, E and K.
Double asterisks: If these are in place of DV listings, it usually means that DVs have not been established for these nutrients.

Other ingredients (or inactive ingredients): This is a list of compounds that do not directly contribute to the nutrient DVs in the supplement, but instead aid in functions such as tablet integrity, proper digestion or preservation of shelf life.

Note: Serves to warn consumers of potential adverse effects the supplement could present to some individuals (such as women who are pregnant or lactating, people taking certain prescription medications, or those with allergies to specific ingredients) as well as storage information.


Here’s a guide to understanding supplement labels. The print is a little small so compare it to one of your vitamin bottles.






1. "% of Daily Value": The "Daily Value," or DV, was created by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for labels on foods and supplements, and implemented in 1994. It is based on two sets of references: Daily Reference Values, or DRVs, and Reference Daily Intakes, or RDIs. DRVs are for nutrients for which no set of standards existed previously, such as fat and cholesterol. RDIs replaced the term "U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances" (RDA), which were introduced in 1973 for labeling of vitamins, minerals and protein.
If the "% Daily Value" listed is "75%" that means one serving supplies 75 percent of the entire DV for that nutrient. If the value listed is more than 100 percent, it suggests some advantage to exceeding the DV. In this case, it reflects the view of Dr. Weil and his science advisory board that the DV established by the FDA is below the optimal dosage. This illustrates the difference between "what you can get by on" and "what is the amount that may provide the most benefit."

2. "Serving Size": This indicates how many of the units - tablets, soft-gels, capsules, etc. - need to be consumed in a day to reach the percent of daily value listed on the label.

3. Units of measure reflect the standard reference units for each kind of nutrient. “I.U.,” stands for “International Unit” and is the standard for measuring fat-soluble vitamins, which include vitamins A, D, E and K. The abbreviation "mg" stands for milligrams, or one-thousandths of a gram, and “mcg" stands for micrograms, or one millionths of a gram.

4. Double asterisks in place of DV listings mean that DVs have not been established for these nutrients. The nutrients are included in some Weil dietary supplements because studies suggest they have scientifically validated health benefits and are safe to consume at the amounts contained in the supplement.

5."Other ingredients": This is a list of compounds that do not directly contribute to the nutrient DVs in the supplement, but instead aid in functions such as tablet integrity, proper digestion or preservation of shelf life.

6. "EXP" indicates the expiration date; that is, the date by which the supplements in the bottle will have degraded to the point that the percent of DV listed on the label is no longer accurate. Consuming supplements that are past their expiration date is usually not harmful, but since the full nutritional value is not received by the consumer, it is recommended that supplements that have passed their expiration date be replaced with fresher ones.

7. "LOT" is a number that identifies the specific manufacturing lot that included this particular item. It is useful in the unlikely event that questions arise about the integrity of ingredients or manufacturing processes used to create that lot.

8. "Directions" provides information to help the consumer safely obtain maximum value from the product.

9. "Note" serves to warn consumers of potential adverse effects the supplement could present to individuals such as pregnant or lactating women, people taking certain prescription medications, or people with allergies. This section also contains information regarding how to store the supplements.

10. Manufacturer's information tells which company made the supplement, and where the company has its headquarters.

11. "For more information" provides contact information should purchasers or potential purchasers have questions about the product.