Ingredients

What is actually in the products

Our complete ingredient catalogue. Search for an ingredient or filter by category to read what each one is, what it does in the body and what the research looks at. Every entry links to the studies on PubMed and to the products in our range that contain it.

16 ingredients

Boron

Minerals In the Blueprint protocol

A trace element found in fruit, nuts and pulses. It has no officially set requirement in the EU, but intakes vary by a factor of ten between diets.

What it does in the body

Boron affects how the body handles calcium, magnesium and vitamin D, and influences the amount of free testosterone and oestradiol by reducing how much is bound to carrier proteins.

What the research looks at

  • Free testosterone and oestradiol levels
  • Bone metabolism and calcium retention
  • Joint comfort
Typical daily dose
3–10 mg
Time to effect
1–8 weeks
Usually taken
With food

Calcium

Minerals

The most abundant mineral in the body by weight; around ninety-nine per cent of it sits in the skeleton, which doubles as a reservoir the rest of the body can draw on.

What it does in the body

Beyond bone structure, calcium is the trigger for muscle contraction and a second messenger in most cells. Vitamin D governs how much is absorbed, and vitamin K where it ends up.

What the research looks at

  • Bone density and fracture risk
  • Blood pressure
  • Interaction with vitamin D and K status
Typical daily dose
800–1000 mg total intake
Time to effect
6–12 months for bone
Usually taken
Split doses, with food

Chromium

Minerals

A trace mineral usually sold as chromium picolinate, which absorbs considerably better than the chloride form. Chromax® is a standardised picolinate used in most of the trials.

What it does in the body

Chromium appears to potentiate insulin signalling at the receptor, though the precise mechanism is still debated and there is no established storage form in the body.

What the research looks at

  • Fasting glucose and insulin sensitivity
  • Carbohydrate cravings
  • Body composition
Typical daily dose
200 µg
Time to effect
8–12 weeks
Usually taken
With food

Copper

Minerals

A trace mineral that has to be kept in balance with zinc — a high zinc intake sustained over months will depress copper status, which is the usual reason it is supplemented at all.

What it does in the body

Copper is the cofactor for lysyl oxidase, the enzyme that cross-links collagen and elastin, and for superoxide dismutase, one of the body's own antioxidant enzymes. It is also needed for melanin.

What the research looks at

  • Connective tissue and skin elasticity
  • Iron transport and red blood cell formation
  • Copper–zinc balance during long-term zinc supplementation
Typical daily dose
1–2 mg
Time to effect
8–12 weeks
Usually taken
With food, away from zinc

Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium)

Minerals

Not one ingredient but a ratio. Sweat carries roughly a gram of sodium per litre, along with smaller amounts of potassium, magnesium and chloride — water alone does not replace that.

What it does in the body

Electrolytes set the osmotic gradient that decides whether water stays in the bloodstream or is passed out. Sodium in particular drives the reabsorption of water in the kidney.

What the research looks at

  • Rehydration after sweat loss
  • Endurance performance in heat
  • Cramping during prolonged exercise
Typical daily dose
500–1500 mg sodium per litre
Time to effect
Minutes to hours
Usually taken
Before and during exertion

Iodine

Minerals In the Blueprint protocol

A trace mineral found mainly in seafood, seaweed and iodised salt. Countries that stopped iodising salt have seen intake fall again within a generation.

What it does in the body

Thyroid hormone is built around iodine atoms — four in T4, three in T3. Without iodine the gland cannot make the hormone that sets the body's metabolic rate.

What the research looks at

  • Thyroid hormone production
  • Cognitive development in children
  • Intake on plant-based diets without iodised salt
Typical daily dose
150 µg
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
Morning, with food

Iron

Minerals

The most common nutritional deficiency in the world, and the one supplement that should not be taken speculatively — excess iron is stored, not excreted, and it is pro-oxidant.

What it does in the body

Iron sits at the centre of haemoglobin, where it binds oxygen, and in the cytochromes of the respiratory chain. Haem iron from meat absorbs several times better than non-haem iron from plants.

What the research looks at

  • Fatigue where ferritin is low
  • Endurance capacity
  • Absorption alongside vitamin C
Typical daily dose
Only on the basis of a blood test
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
On an empty stomach, with vitamin C

Magnesium

Minerals In the Blueprint protocol

A cofactor in more than three hundred enzyme reactions, and one of the minerals European diets most often fall short on. The salt matters: citrate and glycinate absorb well, oxide largely does not.

What it does in the body

Magnesium stabilises ATP — the molecule cells actually spend — and regulates calcium flow across membranes, which is why it affects both muscle relaxation and nerve excitability.

What the research looks at

  • Sleep quality and night-time cramping
  • Blood pressure
  • Muscle function and recovery
Typical daily dose
200–400 mg elemental
Time to effect
2–6 weeks
Usually taken
Evening, with food

Magnesium L-Threonate (Magtein®)

Brain & focus

Magnesium bound to threonic acid, a metabolite of vitamin C. It was developed at MIT specifically to get magnesium across the blood-brain barrier, which ordinary magnesium salts do poorly.

What it does in the body

The threonate carrier raises magnesium concentration in cerebrospinal fluid. Magnesium in the brain modulates NMDA receptors and synaptic density, which is the mechanism the cognitive work is built on.

What the research looks at

  • Working memory and executive function
  • Sleep quality
  • Synaptic density in animal models
Typical daily dose
1.5–2 g compound
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
Evening

Manganese

Minerals In the Blueprint protocol

A trace mineral present in wholegrains, nuts and tea. Requirements are small and intakes are usually adequate, which is why it appears in multivitamins at modest amounts.

What it does in the body

Manganese is the metal at the core of mitochondrial superoxide dismutase, the enzyme that neutralises superoxide where most of it is produced. It is also needed to build cartilage.

What the research looks at

  • Antioxidant enzyme activity in mitochondria
  • Bone and cartilage formation
Typical daily dose
2–5 mg
Time to effect
8–12 weeks
Usually taken
With food

Molybdenum

Minerals

One of the least discussed essential trace minerals. The requirement is measured in tens of micrograms, and pulses and grains supply it readily.

What it does in the body

Molybdenum is the cofactor for sulphite oxidase, which converts sulphite to sulphate, and for the enzymes that break down purines and certain drugs.

What the research looks at

  • Sulphite metabolism
  • Purine and uric acid handling
Typical daily dose
45–150 µg
Time to effect
4–8 weeks
Usually taken
With food

Potassium

Minerals

The electrolyte inside the cell, the counterpart to sodium outside it. Almost nobody eating a Western diet reaches the recommended intake, which is set at 3.5 grams a day.

What it does in the body

The sodium-potassium pump maintains the electrical gradient across every cell membrane. That gradient is what nerve impulses and heart rhythm are made of.

What the research looks at

  • Blood pressure, particularly alongside a high sodium intake
  • Stroke risk in population studies
  • Muscle cramping
Typical daily dose
3500 mg total intake
Time to effect
2–8 weeks
Usually taken
Split across the day, with food

Selenium

Minerals In the Blueprint protocol

A trace mineral whose content in food depends entirely on the soil the crop grew in. European soils are comparatively poor in it; a single Brazil nut can cover a day's requirement.

What it does in the body

Selenium is built into selenoproteins, including glutathione peroxidase and the deiodinase enzymes that convert thyroid hormone T4 into the active T3.

What the research looks at

  • Thyroid antibody levels
  • Antioxidant enzyme activity
  • Immune function
Typical daily dose
55–200 µg
Time to effect
8–12 weeks
Usually taken
With food

Silica (Silicon)

Minerals

Bioavailable silicon, usually from bamboo extract, horsetail or orthosilicic acid. Beer is, improbably, one of the richest dietary sources in Europe.

What it does in the body

Silicon is involved in the cross-linking of collagen and glycosaminoglycans in connective tissue. In binder formulations it also has a physical role, adsorbing compounds in the gut.

What the research looks at

  • Hair and nail strength
  • Skin elasticity
  • Bone collagen formation
Typical daily dose
10–40 mg
Time to effect
12–20 weeks
Usually taken
With food

Spirulina

Protein

A blue-green cyanobacterium rather than an alga, grown in alkaline lakes. It is around sixty per cent protein by dry weight, which is higher than any common food.

What it does in the body

Phycocyanin, the blue pigment, is the main antioxidant and gives spirulina its colour. It also supplies iron and, notably, no usable B12 — the form it contains is a pseudo-vitamin the body cannot use.

What the research looks at

  • Blood lipids and blood pressure
  • Exercise-induced oxidative stress
  • Iron status in anaemia
Typical daily dose
3–10 g
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
With food

Zinc

Minerals In the Blueprint protocol

A trace mineral present in the active site of hundreds of enzymes. There is no storage depot for it, so a few weeks of low intake shows up in function rather than in a reserve being drawn down.

What it does in the body

Zinc is structural in zinc-finger proteins that read DNA, required for T-cell maturation, and a cofactor in the enzymes that build collagen and keratin.

What the research looks at

  • Duration of common colds
  • Wound healing and acne
  • Testosterone levels where intake is low
Typical daily dose
10–25 mg
Time to effect
4–12 weeks
Usually taken
With food, away from iron and calcium

Why the form and the dose matter

Two products can name the same ingredient on the label and behave completely differently. Magnesium oxide and magnesium glycinate are both magnesium; only one of them is absorbed properly. Ethyl ester fish oil and triglyceride fish oil are both omega-3. Folic acid and methylfolate are both folate, but not for everyone.

That is the difference this page is written to make visible. Where a form matters we have given it its own entry rather than hiding it inside a general one, and the dose listed is the one used in the research — not the smallest amount a manufacturer can put on a label and still name the ingredient.

We only describe a product as third-party tested when there is documentation behind the claim. Below is what each of our brands actually documents, brand by brand.

Third-party testing

Certificates of analysis

Pick a brand to see what is actually tested and who tests it. Four of the seven publish reports you can open right here — and they publish different amounts, from a certificate for every batch down to a single lot. The other three document their testing and hand over the paperwork for a specific batch when you ask. That difference is worth knowing before you buy, so we have not smoothed it over. Every report is also linked from the product it covers.

Blueprint 24 reports published

Every batch goes to an independent accredited laboratory in the United States, which checks the contents against the label and screens for heavy metals, microbes and other contamination. Blueprint publishes the full report for every batch, and a new one follows each production run.

Supplements

Nutrition

Skincare

Haircare

Lineage Provisions 9 reports published

Samples from every batch are run on ICP-MS, LC-MS and GC-MS and screened for more than three hundred contaminants, among them heavy metals, glyphosate, pesticides and mycotoxins. The analyses are done by Light Labs, who publish a running report per product with every test result in it — not a single certificate but the whole series, with the date of the most recent test.

Supplements

Nutrition

Designs for Health 14 reports published

Raw materials are tested for identity, purity and potency at external ISO-certified laboratories and screened for heavy metals, pesticides and microbiological contamination. A supplier’s own certificate is treated as a claim to verify rather than a result to accept. Certificates are published per lot rather than for the product as a whole, so the one below covers the lot number printed on it and no other — for a different lot, ask us and we will request it.

Supplements

SALTE 1 report published

Each batch is sent to Eurofins, an independent accredited laboratory, which confirms that the sodium, potassium, magnesium and chloride in a sachet match the amounts on the packet. The published report covers five flavours in one document and is the laboratory’s own, in Swedish.

Supplements

ARMRA Testing documented

Every production run is audited by ISO/IEC-accredited third-party laboratories for heavy metals, glyphosate, other contaminants and microbiology before any of it is released for sale. ARMRA documents the programme and its certifications publicly; the report for a specific batch comes from the manufacturer on request.

Quicksilver Scientific Testing documented

Made in an NSF/ANSI 455-2 GMP-certified facility in Colorado with its own ISO/IEC 17025-accredited testing laboratory. Every batch is tested both in-house and by outside laboratories for potency and purity; the certificate for a batch comes from the manufacturer on request.

Solgar Reports on request

Solgar tests raw materials on arrival and finished products before release in its own quality laboratory, and manufactures to GMP. That is an in-house programme, not an outside verification: Solgar carries no NSF or USP certification, so we do not describe it as third-party tested. Batch documentation is available from the manufacturer on request.

Vital Nutrients Testing documented

Vital Nutrients documents a Quality Assurance Programme that engages third-party laboratories — every batch of GMO-susceptible ingredients, for example, is tested for GMO markers at an independent genetics laboratory, and even the bottles are third-party verified BPA-free. Individual lot certificates are not published; documentation for a batch comes from the manufacturer on request.

T.A. Sciences Testing documented

T.A. Sciences documents an end-to-end testing and analysis programme across sourcing, formulation and US manufacturing, and TA-65 has been determined Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by an independent expert panel. That safety assessment is not batch testing, and no lot certificates are published — documentation comes from the manufacturer on request.

Why testing matters

Why does a supplement need testing at all?

Because nothing else verifies the label. A supplement is regulated as a food, not as a medicine, which means no authority checks each batch before it reaches a shelf. Testing is what turns the number on the tub into something you can look up.

What is being tested for?

Two separate things. Identity and quantity — is the ingredient present, and in the amount the label states. And contamination — heavy metals, microbes, solvent residues and traces from the packaging, which can come from the raw material, the production line or the container.

How often is the label actually wrong?

Often enough to be worth checking. Of 272 supplements implicated in liver injury in the United States, 51 per cent had contents that did not match the label (Hepatology Communications, 2019). Among 57 botanical sports supplements, 89 per cent were inaccurately labelled and 40 per cent contained none of the labelled ingredient at all (JAMA Network Open, 2023).

What can I ask you for?

The report for the batch you were sent. Where a manufacturer does not publish one, we ask them for it — tell us the product and the batch number on the tub and we will come back with what they give us, or with the fact that they would not.

The certificates are the property of the manufacturers and their laboratories, and are linked here in their original location. Blueprint’s reports may not be reused without Blueprint’s permission.

This page is general information about ingredients, not advice for you. Food supplements are not medicines and do not cure, treat or prevent disease. They do not replace a varied diet, sleep, movement or medical care. Doses and timings are those used in published research and on product labels; they are not a recommendation. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or living with a medical condition, talk to a doctor or pharmacist before starting anything new.