Supplement labels are designed to be skimmed, and the numbers on them are easy to misread in a brand's favour. Two figures matter most and are most often misunderstood: the extract ratio, like 5:1 or 10:1, and the milligram dose. Get comfortable with both and you can walk down the supplement aisle and tell, in seconds, who is being straight with you and who is hoping you will not look too closely.
What an extract ratio means
An extract ratio describes concentration. A 10:1 extract means ten kilograms of raw mushroom were concentrated into one kilogram of finished extract. So 100 mg of a 10:1 extract represents roughly one gram of raw mushroom equivalent. A 5:1 extract is less concentrated: five kilograms in, one kilogram out, so 200 mg of a 5:1 represents about one gram of raw equivalent. Neither ratio is automatically better. A higher ratio is more concentrated, but concentration only matters alongside what was extracted and how much you are actually getting.
The trap of ratio without dose
Here is the sleight of hand. A label can shout a big ratio, say 10:1, while quietly providing a tiny milligram amount. A high ratio on a small dose can still add up to very little raw equivalent. The ratio is only half the equation. The number that completes it is the milligrams of extract in each serving. A brand that gives you the ratio but hides the milligrams, or hides them inside a proprietary blend, is showing you the impressive half and concealing the half that would let you do the math.
An extract ratio like 10:1 tells you concentration, not quality. To know what you are actually getting, you need the ratio and the milligrams together. A big ratio on a small dose is still a small dose. The full-gram story is about putting a clinically meaningful amount in the scoop and printing it plainly.
The full-gram dose story
This is the standard we hold ourselves to. Rather than dusting the formula with token amounts and leaning on an impressive ratio, the aim is a clinically meaningful dose of each key mushroom, stated in plain milligrams. Thunder Honey Daylight provides 1,000 mg each of Lion's Mane, Cordyceps and Chaga per scoop. The Lion's Mane, Chaga and Rhodiola are 5:1 extracts and the Cordyceps is a 10:1 extract, and we name each ratio next to each milligram amount. Note that we use a 10:1 cordyceps ourselves, so we would never pretend that 10:1 extracts are inherently a problem. The point is not which ratio you use. It is whether you tell the buyer both numbers.
How to read any label in thirty seconds
Three checks settle most of it. One, does it name the part used, fruiting body versus mycelium-on-grain? Mycelium grown on grain and left attached can be mostly starch by weight. Two, does it give the milligrams per serving, not buried in a blend? Three, does it state the extraction and ratio? If all three are present, you can calculate what you are getting. If any is missing, treat the dose as unknown and price accordingly.
Why we refuse proprietary blends
A proprietary blend lists several ingredients under one combined weight, so you can see the total but never the individual doses. It is legal and it is everywhere, and it exists mainly to stop you knowing how little of the expensive ingredients you are paying for. We do not use them. Every one of the 11 actives in Daylight has its own milligram amount on the label, because the entire value of an honest dose disappears the moment you hide it.
Ratios describe concentration, not magic, and they only mean something next to the milligrams. The full-gram approach is simple: put a meaningful dose in the scoop and print every number. Read three things on any label, the part used, the milligrams, and the extraction, and refuse anything that hides the dose in a blend.
References
- Wasser, S. P. (2002). Medicinal mushrooms as a source of antitumor and immunomodulating polysaccharides. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 60(3), 258–274.
- Friedman, M. (2015). Chemistry, nutrition, and health-promoting properties of Hericium erinaceus. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 63(32), 7108–7123.
- European Food Safety Authority (2023). Food supplement labelling guidance, chapter on proprietary blends.
This article is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Daylight is a food supplement. If you take prescription medication or are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to your doctor before starting.
