Comment · Wed, September 30, 2020 · ND Owner
Removing magnesium stearate from capsules?
Original post in this thread
lambdaba · 1 points
I've purchased piracetam capsules when powder became unavailable. From estimates they have something like 100-150mg magnesium stearate, which I'd like to remove for many reasons (potential harm + reduction of absorption)
Is there a reliable way to do so? I've noticed part of the powder foams on top when mixing with water. I suppose this is mostly the magnesium stearate, is that enough or is there some more reliable procedure?
What they were answering
Direct reply to the original post — see the thread post above.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · ND Owner
If we can avoid using a flow agent, we do. We don't just chuck extra shit in the capsules if we don't need to. The issue is that to get accurate and consistent fills with certain powders, you need a flow agent. Sometimes powders are sticky or clumpy, and they don't flow properly over encapsulation equipment. In those instances you need something in there to stabilize the powder and help it flow properly. Magnesium stearate is THE BEST way to do that. No question, it is the best flow agent out there. We have tried others and they just don't work as well. So if the choice is having inaccurate and inconsistent capsule fills, or adding magnesium stearate, we add it in. It's literally in the single digit % range, though. You do not need to use a lot of it for it to help the flow properties. Our piracetam capsules have NOWHERE NEAR 100-150mg of magnesium stearate. That would be an insane amount, and wouldn't even fit in the 00 capsules.
Regarding the unscientific BS spread around, it's all horseshit. Magnesium stearate is ionic magnesium bound to stearic acid as a salt. Everyone knows what magnesium is, and should be consuming it every day. That means they must be scared of the stearic acid part. However, that's in foods you eat every single day as well! Also, you are consuming it in much higher amounts than what would be in capsules as a flow agent. Stearic acid is literally one of the most common long-chain fatty acids found in nature. It's in beef, poultry, fish, pork, lamb, grains, chocolate, milk, olive oil, coconut oil, etc. You are literally consuming an order of magnitude more stearic acid in your diet every day than you would ever get in a capsule that contained it. The idea that magnesium stearate is bad in supplements is complete nonsensical pseudoscience. You CANNOT listen to these unscientific blogs that make money off riling people up so you click on their articles. They quite literally build their business model around misleading people into getting upset and spreading fear about common things. Magnesium stearate is not harmful. In fact, stearic acid is beneficial for cholesterol.
Effect of Dietary Stearic Acid on Plasma Cholesterol and Lipoprotein Levels
It also improves mitochondrial function.
Dietary stearic acid regulates mitochondria in vivo in humans
Stearic acid intake is also correlated with lower cancer risk.
Fatty‐acid composition in serum phospholipids and risk of breast cancer: An incident case‐control study in Sweden1097-0215\(19991126\)83:5%3C585::AID-IJC2%3E3.0.CO;2-Z)
A prospective study of serum metabolites and colorectal cancer risk
Saturated Fatty Acids and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: Modulation by Replacement Nutrients
It's literally GOOD for you, but these unscientific propaganda blogs out there have everyone riled up in a tizzy thinking it is bad for you! It's insane to me! I have dealt with this since we first started doing capsules many years ago. I tried to avoid magnesium stearate just because I didn't want the headache of a bunch of Karens out there giving our products bad reviews. However, I had to really make a difficult decision based on the science. I should not capitulate to the whims of people spreading false and misleading information just because it is easier for us. Every time something like this comes up, I get my scientific team together and we pour through the research. We play devil's advocate as well, and try to find any scientific reason we might avoid something. The science could not be any more clear in this case. Magnesium stearate is not just "not bad" for you, it's good for you. There is absolutely no valid scientific research that it is bad or harms absorption. In fact, it's the opposite! That's the most insane part here. Stearic acid is used to IMPROVE bioavailability in many formulas!!! You know Longvida? That's a solid lipid curcumin particle. What's the thing surrounding the curcumin? Lecithin and STEARIC ACID! Just go to Google Scholar and type in "stearic acid bioavailability" and you will find countless formulations that use stearic acid as a bioavailability enhancer. So it is like these crazy propaganda sites didn't just lie about the science, they completely flipped it!!!
So there is absolutely ZERO reason you should want to remove magnesium stearate from any capsule. It's all lies and propaganda spread by sites that profit off you fearing it. There is absolutely NOT 100-150mg magnesium stearate in our piracetam capsules. There is more like 5-10mg, if even that. It's not even physically possible to fit 100-150mg of magnesium stearate in our piracetam capsules, due to the space. We assay every batch of finished piracetam capsules after they are complete, to ensure they are in spec. So it can't be hiding in there. Our latest batch of piracetam capsules assayed at pretty much 100% of fill weight. So we didn't have to use really any magnesium stearate in it. Seriously, a little goes a long way for flow properties. Sometimes you don't need any at all. It just depends on the flow properties of that specific batch of piracetam powder. Even if you do need to use it, we are talking very very small amounts. The amount you are getting is meaningless by any measure.