Why does Vitality contain magnesium stearate?Updated 21 days ago

Magnesium stearate is a commonly used additive in dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals that is a lubricant and anti-adherent. It is often used in minimal amounts, typically less than 1% of the formulation, to improve capsule consistency and quality. This is why you’ll find it included in our supplement pamphlet's “other ingredients” section.
 

While claims have been made for raising cholesterol levels or suppressing the immune system, there is no scientific evidence to justify these concerns. Magnesium stearate is considered safe for consumption in small amounts (fewer than 2,500mg per kilogram body weight daily) and has been designated by the FDA as generally recognized as safe (GRAS). A person would need to consume 1,000 times the amount of magnesium stearate found in supplements even to come close to the safety threshold. 

Citations:

CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21. accessdata.fda.gov. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=184.1440. 

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Food Additive Status list. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/food-additive-status-list. 

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Gras substances (SCOGS) database - select committee on gras substances (SCOGS) opinion: Magnesium salts. Archive. http://wayback.archive-it.org/7993/20171031063510/https://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/SCOGS/ucm261275.htm. 

C.A. Hobbs; K. Saigo; M. Koyanagi; S.M. Hayashi.Magnesium stearate, a widely-used food additive, exhibits a lack of in vitro and in vivo genotoxic potential.. Toxicol Rep. 2017;4:554559. doi:10.1016/j.toxrep.2017.10.003