Magnesium Stearate and Juice Plus+

Magnesium stearate is an ingredient widely used in food and pharmaceutical products.  It is used as a functional ingredient, helping to keep the different powders mixed.  If we removed it, even if we mixed the different ingredients properly, by the time they are transferred to the encapsulation process, the powders would separate because of their different densities, and the content of the capsules would never be consistent.  We want every capsule, the first and the last of the batch, to have the same blend of all ingredients.

The magnesium stearate we use is derived from vegetable sources, coconut and cocoa beans among them.  As a side note, if you happen to enjoy a good dark chocolate (like I do), in a regular 40 g serving you get over 300 times the amount of stearate you get from the daily ration of Juice Plus+!   

Magnesium stearate is only present on our Berry Blend Capsules. Our other blends use alternative ingredients for the same anti-clumping properties (silicon dioxide and calcium stearate for Fruit blend, Calcium Carbonate for Veggie blend and our Omega blend does not require such ingredients as the contents are oils not powders).

Therefore, if you have a customer concerned with magnesium stearate or its sources including cocoa and coconut, our fruit, vegetable and omega blends should be a suitable alternative.

Finally, magnesium stearate is basically a combination of magnesium, a mineral we certainly need in our diet, and stearic acid, a very common fatty acid. Please note that the body may also convert stearic acid to oleic acid, one of the most useful fatty acids in the body. 

If you want to read an independent opinion;

http://www.expertclick.com/NewsReleaseWire/ReleaseDetails.aspx?ID=26285&CFID=27945307&CFTOKEN=57410536

Juice Plus+ Quality and Technical Services