Unfortunately there has been a lot of misinformation spread
online about magnesium stearate (or
stearic acid), the totally harmless and very effective lubricant long used as the industry standard in manufacturing nutritional supplements.Those who are spreading
the misinformation (a nice way of saying
outright lies) are generally ignorant
(don t know any better), but those who are responsible for the lies have an
evil and self serving agenda.
Rather than competing
based on the quality of their products (which they apparently can't do), they are actually
compromising quality and using fear mongering tactics to attempt to create a niche market for
themselves based on providing an
alternative to products made with the supposedly harmful magnesium stearate.
Stearic acid is a very common fatty acid found in meat, poultry, fish, grains, eggs, butter, and milk products. The average
American takes in between 5,000 and 10,000 mg
of magnesium stearate per day in
their diet.
Because so few people have an understanding of organic
and biochemistry, they fall victim to baseless claims about impaired immunity based
primarily on the total misrepresentation of data from one small in vitro trial
that had nothing to do with the use
of stearic acid in humans, especially in the minute doses commonly used in
supplements.I say this without
hesitation or reservation: There is no credible scientific data that indicates
that magnesium stearate is harmful
in any way!
The truth is that although
stearic acid comprises only one or two percent of a typical supplement's ingredients, it is an integral
component in dietary supplement (and for that matter, prescription drug) formulation for quality control purposes. Once
the raw materials of a vitamin formulation have been mixed together, maintaining
the mix consistency is very important to ensure that uniform doses of each
nutrient is delivered in every capsule.
Adding
a tiny amount of magnesium stearate to
the mix keeps the nutrients from sticking
together, thereby allowing a consistently maintained mixture. Stearic
acid also prevents dosage
inconsistency due to certain ingredients
sticking to the encapsulation
machine. Companies not using
the industry standard magnesium
stearate may be hard pressed to prove that their vitamin capsules or tablets
have a consistent dose.
So the greatest benefit of mag
stearate to manufacturing is not
speed, but uniformity of dosage per
capsule.,, which is all the more important in natural medicines, because we
typically utilize a broad range of nutrients to capitalize on the power of
synergy (a totally foreign concept to Big Pharma, which is after a single
active ingredient they can isolate and patent).
Making superior quality dietary
supplements is far more complex than most people realize. There are
numerous variables involved with nutrients that affect flowing and sticking,
including particle size of the ingredient, moisture and oil content, chemical nature,
solubility, and binding properties.
These factors vary based on the ingredients
in any product and become more complex as the number of different ingredients in the product increases.
Suffice it to say that magnesium stearate is proven safe, and anyone originating
(as opposed to innocently but wrongly
repeating) claims to the contrary
has questionable intent or intelligence,
or perhaps both.
If I believed there was any
potential for harm with mag stearate, it would not be used in any Logos Nutritionals
formula. Why would we want to put something
in our products to inhibit their absorption? That makes no sense. We want our products to be as efficacious as
possible so that you get positive results with them and share that with your
family and friends.
Purity of intent is the single most important ingredient in our
products; one that will never be compromised for competitive advantage.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
