Additive Free Supplements

Additive Free Supplements - Why?

Today's supplement industry commonly uses many additives, also called excipients. Within the EU there are 323 approved additives and we do not use any of them.  While some supplement manufacturers are improving their standards, we set the bar.

Supplement additives are used to improve the appearance of tablets and add volume. Additives that act as lubricants may provide financial benefits by enabling machines to run much faster, but none of these additives improves nutritional value.

We are proud to say our supplements are additive free! Of course, there are a few supplements that require a carrier to run through the machinery and in these few cases we use rice flour - natural, healthly and nutritious.

Additives & Excipients

There is a very long list of additives and excipients of many types, so to make things a little simpler, we are going to look at four main groups: anti-frictional agents, binders, disintegrants and fillers.

Anti-frictional agents include lubricants, anti-adherents and glidants. As you would expect from the name, these additives help powders flow, reduce sticking of powders and tablets to machinery and help tablets to be easily removed from the mold or die.

Binders (again, the name explains it all) are used in tablet formulation to help compress powders into solid dosage forms (tablet or pill).

Disintegrants are added to formulations to facilitate the breakup of the tablet, once ingested. They work in the following ways: swelling; porosity and capillary action (wicking); and deformation.

Fillers, also called diluents, and bulking agents are used to bulk up the size of the tablet or capsule.

Are Additives and Excipients Necessary?

Supplements can be made without excipients by using gelatin or vegetarian hard capsules and, if necessary, rice flour as a carrier. However, the main stream manufacturers still use anti-frictional agents with capsule formulations. One excipient prevalent in most supplements is magnesium stearate. This additive is widely used as a lubricant, binder and filler, but more and more people are becoming aware that high amounts can affect bioavailability, possibly making some of the nutrients unavailable.

Are There Health Risks Associated With Common Additives?

It is known that additives can affect absorption, and this can lead to reduced bioavailibilty when the nutrients are consumed. In the pharmaceutical industry it is well known that stearates affect disintegration time. Other research indicates that specific additives may be immunosuppressive in some people.

Why Are They Still Used?

It boils down to really one thing, an unwillingness to change. Additives guarantee fast production times. And some additives increase the shelf life, so huge batches can be made each time. Even though these fillers, binders, lubricants, glidants and anti-frictional agents have no nutritional value and it is known that some additives prolong disintegration and affect bioavailability, manufacturers still use them.

Health Leads Supplements Additive Free!

We care about you! We take our purity and quality promise very seriously. We don't use other manufacturers to make our supplements, as they are most likely using additives on other products. We make our own supplements in our purpose built clean room, with machinery that has never even seen additives! Most importantly, you receive high quality capsule supplements.