2020 Supplement Facts Labels

Supplement Facts labels can be confusing to say the least. How much of each substance is in a product? Is the source of the supplement natural or synthetic? And what exactly is an International Unit (IU) anyway? I’ve noticed that supplement labels have eliminated IUs and replaced them with weights in milligrams (mg) and micrograms (mcg). What’s going on?

In 2016, the FDA modified the rules for indicating label amounts and gave companies until January 1, 2020, to comply. The RDAs were changing and they wanted to standardize the units of measurement. The IU represented the biological activity of the vitamin, but the source of the vitamin could impact the actual amount of the vitamin in the supplement and thus, the biological activity.

For example, if a product contains natural vitamin E, to find out the mg, the IU would be multiplied by 0.67; but if it was synthetic vitamin E, it would be multiplied by 0.45. That means that a label that indicated 100 IU would now say 67 mg if it were natural vitamin E but 45 mg if it were synthetic. The label would also have to give the form of the vitamin.

The changes impact most of the fat-soluble vitamins and phytonutrients. It’s going to take time to get used to it and understand it, but I see it as a positive move that will help us all understand supplements better.

What are you prepared to do today?