What Is Magnesium Stearate?

Magnesium stearate is a common additive used to lubricate capsules. It’s also a common ingredient in cosmetic products.

It’s used in supplements and pharmaceuticals because it helps keep pills from jamming up during production.

The powder also slows the breakdown of medicines in the digestive tract so they get absorbed into the body and reach your bloodstream faster. Without magnesium stearate, it would be hard to know how well your medication worked and what was happening in your body.

There are some claims that magnesium stearate is harmful to the immune system because it weakens T cells. This claim is based on a 1990 study that found that high doses of stearic acid damaged T-cell membranes.

However, this research involved mice and does not apply to humans. In fact, human T cells are protected from the toxic effects of stearic acid by a delta-9 desaturase enzyme that converts stearic acid to oleic acid.

The minute amount of magnesium stearate in most supplements is safe and doesn’t pose a threat to your health. In fact, the National Center for Biotechnology recommends that a healthy person consumes no more than 2.5g/kg of body weight of magnesium stearate daily.

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