Summary
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What are Inactive Ingredients?
Inactive ingredients are inert substances added to dietary supplements to help form and/or enhance the consistency of formulations — for example, to add color or bulk, to improve resistance to moisture, or to increase shelf life. These can include coating and coloring agents, binders, fillers, and thickeners, disintegrants, emulsifiers, flavor and flow agents, preservatives, and humectants (see Types and Examples of Acceptable Inactive Ingredients).
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How do I know if my supplement contains preservatives, artificial colors, flavorings, or other inactive ingredients?
Inactive ingredients are listed in the Supplement Facts Panel on dietary supplement labels as "Other Ingredients" (also referred to as "excipients") following the list of Active Ingredients (see Where to Look on the Label). ConsumerLab also provides the full list of ingredients, including Inactive Ingredients, for each supplement it tests in the Results tables in its Product Reviews.
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Are Inactive Ingredients regulated by the FDA?
All inactive substances used to make dietary supplements are regulated as food additives. Every inactive supplement ingredient must be (1) an approved food additive (this includes color additives) or (2) a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substance based either on (a) the FDA GRAS list or (b) being a "self-affirmed GRAS substance," i.e., having been safely used in foods after 1997 (see How the FDA Regulates Inactive Ingredients in Supplements).
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What are common Inactive Ingredients in supplements? Are they safe?
Learn about different types of Inactive Ingredients, why they are used, and safety information:
Also see Concerns and Cautions.
+— 35 sources
In addition the results of its expert testing, ConsumerLab uses only high-quality, evidence based, information sources. These sources include peer-reviewed studies and information from agencies such as the FDA and USDA, and the National Academy of Medicine. On evolving topics, studies from pre-print journals may be sourced. All of our content is reviewed by medical doctors and doctoral-level experts in pharmacology, toxicology, and chemistry. We continually update and medically review our information to keep our content trustworthy, accurate, and reliable. The following sources are referenced in this article:
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Learn about the "other ingredients" in dietary supplements.
In this Review Article, you will learn about 70 common inactive ingredients and their function, so you'll better understand what's in your supplement.
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