The Safety of Magnesium Stearate

"On reading your wonderful book I've dramatically cut down on supplements. I read elsewhere (Dr Mercola) that Magnesium Stearate is a dangerous ingredient used in supplements as an anti-caking agent. According to Mercola, this ingredient could be detrimental to health because stearic acid has been linked to the suppression of T cells. I have Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and know that these 'killer' cells play an important role in the illness; by attacking the myelin sheath, which protects the nerves. If Magnesium Stearate suppresses T cells -- as Mercola suggests, might this not be positive in the case of over-active T-cells such as in MS?

"A while back I decided to cut out all supplements and this resulted in a relapse. So I started taking them again and sure enough I improved and am back in good health once more. Do you think this could have anything to do with the suppression of over-active T-CELLS caused by the presence of Magnesium Stearate in my supplements? Thank you for your time and the important service you offer."

The best advice that we could possibly give to you is stop reading Dr. Joseph Mercola. He had his glory days of yesteryear, but now he is almost as bad as Mike Adams and Dr. Weil. Doctors do not understand a tenth of what they pretend to know. They know about as much about what T-cells attack as they know when space aliens are in a galactic war. Most doctors are so ignorant about the human body that they believe inflammation and an immune response are always the same thing. They tend to blame the immune system categorically, as a way to deflect the blame away from their own chemical industry. Their white, chemical, laboratory coats attest to their allegiance.

In actuality, magnesium stearate is not a danger. The only concern is the unlikely possibility of getting too much overall magnesium, so that it begins stripping other minerals out of the body, which magnesium has a tendency to do with overdoses. Judging from his history, we are betting that Mercola is selling supplements that lack the 'dangerous' magnesium stearate. He has become easy to predict. We lost much of our respect for Mercola after he made a video pushing his krill oil product, wherein he suggested that flax oil supplements were inferior. Everybody makes his living by either providing a product or a service, but hurting one's own people for profit crosses a line. It's a shame. We admired Mercola in our early days.