Are YOU eating magnesium stearate when you take your daily nutritional supplements? Do you even know if it’s in your supplements? Many people don't realize this common but highly unnatural flowing agent may be quietly tucked amongst other ingredients in your nutritional supplements.

Magnesium stearate is NOT a natural molecule. It does not occur naturally anywhere in nature. So, what is it doing in your beautiful, natural-source supplement?

Our post on the Research Forum explains what magnesium stearate is, how it's made, and why so many manufacturers choose to include it in their formulas. As to whether it's harmless. Spoiler alert: we think it’s time to kick magnesium stearate out of your supplements – and out of your life!

A COMMON FLOWING AGENT YOU DON’T WANT IN YOUR NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS

• THIS IS A Huge WAKE UP CALL
  

Are YOU eating magnesium stearate when you take your daily nutritional supplements? Do you even know if it’s in your supplements at all?

If you are not sure, don’t worry -- you may be one of many people that do not realize you may be consuming this highly unnatural flowing agent, magnesium stearate, quietly tucked amongst other ingredients in your nutritional supplements.

It’s so common that you may have been unknowingly consuming it for quite some time.

Whoa! What is magnesium stearate doing in your beautiful, natural-source multivitamin?

Hmmm! How did it get into your to-die-for, full range immune supplement?

Yep, it’s time to kick magnesium stearate out of your supplements – and out of your life.

• CHECK IT OUT
  

To avoid this undesirable agent, check the product’s “Supplement Facts” panel and look at the list of ingredients there. It’s usually listed under “Other Ingredients.” If you find “magnesium stearate” listed there, just say ‘No thank you!’

Switch to a “cleaner” supplement that has been manufactured without the use of magnesium stearate (or other undesirable excipients, for that matter!). There are better alternatives out there.

• WHAT IS MAGNESIUM STEARATE?
  

Magnesium stearate (often called ‘mag stearate’) is an inexpensive, synthetic flowing agent commonly used in many types of nutritional supplements. Unfortunately, magnesium stearate is NOT a natural molecule. It does not occur naturally anywhere in nature. Then why is it in your nutritional supplements? Please read on.

• CHEAP AND SYNTHETIC
  

Flowing agents do not have to be bad. They are often critically important to help manufacture products as capsules so they can easily be transported through encapsulation machines during high-speed processes.

The key is for a reputable manufacturer to use ONLY nutritionally sound flowing agents – ones that can help nourish the body, not ones that are compromised. Yes, there is a slightly higher cost for better ingredients the manufacturer needs to use.

That’s why it’s important to select a supplement manufacturer that really does care about the nutrient quality you get in their products.

• IS MAGNESIUM STEARATE SAFE?
  

An ongoing debate is about whether magnesium stearate is truly harmless and safe … or not. Sadly, definitive research is lacking. Although magnesium stearate is considered to have a safe toxicity profile by the FDA, in 2017, a research team performed animal studies where they found a lack of genotoxic risk but noted that “health effects of cumulative exposure to magnesium [stearate] via multiple sources present in food additives may be of concern and warrant further evaluation.”1 No human studies have been done to date.

Although anecdotal, we are aware of people who believe that magnesium stearate gave them headaches and found that their headaches went away after they stopped taking supplements that contained it.

• O-RING TESTING

We have also observed that practitioners who performed advanced kinesiology O-ring testing of mag stearate samples, found that they did not yield a beneficial test for the human body. Although a formal research study has not been done, these findings may help pave the way for future research on the effects of mag stearate on humans.

• HOW IS IT MADE?

Magnesium stearate is NOT a natural molecule. It is typically synthesized by a high-heat process that combines magnesium with stearic acid.

Some mag stearate sources claim to be vegetable-source, such as “vegetable stearate” or “vegetable-source magnesium stearate.” Although magnesium stearate can be synthesized using vegetable oils, this does not mean the process is safe or non-genetically modified. Stearic acid is made by hydrogenating oils such as palm oil, cottonseed oil, or canola oil.

During this hydrogenation process using a metal catalyst, the oil is subjected to high heat and pressure for several hours. The resultant stearates end up as altered molecules that are highly undesirable. In his book,Fats, and Oils, Udo Erasmus states that the metal catalyst used in this process may also contaminate the stearate.

Other drawbacks to using these vegetable oils are that these crops are often genetically modified and pose the risk of having been heavily sprayed with pesticides, with pesticide residues potentially retained in the oils. Palm oil (often used in creating stearates) contains high levels of palmitic acid, associated with the risk of cardiovascular issues.

Have you ever seen a nutritional supplement that said: “vegetable stearate made with non-GMO oil”? No, we didn’t think so.

When you see “vegetable stearate” listed on a product label, our advice is: RUN away!

• BAD NEWS ABOUT ABSORPTION
  

Medical studies show that magnesium stearate decreases the absorption rates of capsules and tablets. It coats a good portion of the ingredients in capsules or tablets, which requires digestive enzymes to break down the magnesium stearate coating before nutrients can be absorbed by the body.

In the journal, Pharmaceutical Technology(1985), a research study found the dissolution rate for capsules went from 90% without stearates to 25% with stearates (after 20 minutes in solution). In other words, they found that stearates in a capsule reduced the rate the capsule dissolved by 65%!

This research shows that magnesium stearate may result in capsules not being able to be properly dissolved during digestion. Individuals with impaired digestion may have more difficulty absorbing nutrients when magnesium stearate is used.

• BUT AREN’T JUST SMALL AMOUNTS USED?

Some manufacturers claim that since small amounts of mag stearate are used in their products, it’s not worth worrying about it. Is this true?

Unfortunately, definitive research to determine whether consuming small amounts of magnesium stearate have negative effects on the human body is not available. Further considerations are that small amounts may be potentially harmful over time as a person consumes more and more quantities of it. The risk of consuming synthetically produced magnesium stearate in supplements long term is not fully known.

• THE BOTTOM LINE
  

Stay your healthiest by consuming top-quality ingredients in your precious daily nutritional supplements. This includes looking at the “Other Ingredients” panel on nutritional products so you can be sure to AVOID that unnatural, synthetic flowing agent called magnesium stearate.



ENJOY LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST … NATURALLY!


Recommended Products:

Magnesium Powder

Calcium Magnesium Plus

Calcium Magnesium 2oz Powder

Remember, whenever taking a calcium product it’s advised to take D3+K2 daily. K2 removes calcium from places it’s not needed and puts it where it is.

Our heart and arteries are not a great fan of calcium clogging the way!

D3+K2