As you all have heard me say time and time again, “the most important thing to look at when purchasing a supplement is the ingredient section.”
This is why…one of the most commonly used binders you will see listed on the “other ingredient section” is magnesium or calcium stearate. So what is a stearate?
Magnesium stearate, stearic acid and calcium stearate, are made by hydrogenating cottonseed or palm oil which are used throughout the supplements industry as lubricants. They are added to the raw materials in supplements so that production machinery will run at maximum speeds. This ensures that production schedules will meet profit targets.
Cottonseed oil has the highest content of pesticide residues of all commercial oils; cotton crops are heavily sprayed. In the hydrogenation process, the oil is subjected to high heat and pressure in the presence of a metal catalyst for several hours, creating a hydrogenated saturated fat. Hydrogenated vegetable fats contain altered molecules derived from fatty acids that may be toxic and are certainly harmful to your health.
Another problem with stearates: concentrated doses of stearic acid suppress the action of T-cells, a key component of the immune system. The article “Molecular basis for the immunosuppressive action of stearic acid on T cells” appeared in the journal Immumology in 1990.
So how much stearic acid are you actually getting from your daily intake? Up to 5% of the average 1000 mg capsule or tablet is magnesium stearate. That’s 50 milligrams. Suppose you take 8 capsules or tablets a day. That’s 250 a month – or 12,500 mg of this hydrogenated oil, nearly half an ounce. That works out to about 6 ounces of hydrogenated oils a year, from just 8 pills a day. Many people take more supplements, and ingest pounds of this toxic oil we try to avoid in our diets – while directly inhibiting the utilization of the nutrients they’re supplementing!
So remember to read labels and know that there are supplements out there, generally those sold through health-care practitioners that are “nutraceutical-grade”, to avoid these harmful and useless substances.