No Additives Thank You!

Additive Free or Crammed with Chemicals – What’s In Your Probiotic?

Anyone who takes any kind of supplement will tell you, if you ask them why they’re taking it, that it’s because they want to be healthy. Supplements are made to help keep our bodies healthy, and probiotics are no different. Now, we know that there’s a lot that goes into how true the claims of health effects really are. What’s the research behind the main ingredients? Is there scientific proof it can work? But a lot of the time people forget to ask a very important question: what else is in there? And what does it do?

If you ask someone ‘would you prefer an additive-free probiotic?’ they will of course say yes, but how many people really know what’s in their probiotic, and what it does?

In this blog we’re going to look at some of the most common artificial ingredients, what they do, and what we can replace them with that’s natural and clean. We should note that all of these ingredients have been approved for human use by the relevant authorities, but then again, if you can have a natural alternative, wouldn’t you rather have that instead of an artificial chemical? Let’s dive in…

Excipients – Let it flow

Excipients are a group of additives that are there for one purpose, to help the supplement powder flow. Some supplements, and probiotics can be one of them, can be a bit sticky as a powder, and getting them to flow through machines is difficult. This makes mixing the ingredients harder, and also means that getting them to flow through the machines that puts the powder into the capsules is also a challenge. That’s why excipients are added to keep the powder flowing and the machinery smooth. So, what are the most common excipients used, and what can we replace them with?

Probably the most common far and away is called Magnesium Stearate, or stearic acid. This is a complex chemical that is used in a lot of supplements because it’s cheap, and it works. The thing is, in probiotics, studies have shown that this chemical can lead to problems with moisture. This is a big deal, as the bacteria in your supplements are ‘asleep’, the idea being that they wake up when you take them. But, if they get too damp or warm, they’ll wake up early! If they have no food in their capsule, they’ll die out, meaning the pill you end up taking is just full of dead bacteria. Not ideal! It’s also been known in some instances to react with FOS, a prebiotic fibre, which again can damage the actual bacteria population in the capsule.

Another commonly used one is Microcrystalline Cellulose, and just like the magnesium stearate above, it had the same issues, it couldn’t handle moisture, leading to problems with shelf life.

So, what can we use instead? Well, there are a few options, but first let’s look at another group of additives, because there is actually a natural alternative for them both!

Bulk It Out – Bulking Agents and Fillers

So, 12BN CFU of bacteria might sound like a very big number, but when you look at that as an actual little pile of powder, it doesn’t look like much! The upshot is that when you put it in the capsule, even if it’s just the perfect dose, there’s a lot of empty space left, which never looks great. So, manufacturers use a ‘bulking agent’. This is an additive to fill the empty space and get that capsule nice and full. Let’s look at some common ones…

Probably the most common is called Maltodextrin. This is a resistant starch that is typically sourced from starchy crops such as corn, wheat or rice, and it’s nice and cheap, so supplement companies love it. It’s made by taking the starches from these crops and putting them through a chemical process called ‘partial hydrolysation’. The problem is this: a lot like the excipients we spoke about, it has a habit of retaining moisture, which damages the bacteria’s chances of surviving long enough for you to take them. That’s not the only issue though. Because it’s a complex carbohydrate in itself, it has an effect on your gut microbiome! Not only that, but it digests very quickly, which can cause glucose problems for people sensitive to blood-glucose fluctuations. There are also some concerns that the crops used to produce it are often genetically modified, and are grown using a large amount of pesticides, making it hard to argue that this ingredient is truly ‘clean’.

Another one that’s often used are phosphates, specifically Calcium or Dicalcium phosphate. These are completely artificial chemicals, and are commonly used in a variety of supplements. They do the job they’re supposed to do, to be fair, however there is a big ‘but’. There have been some safety concerns. The most recent guidance from the EFSA (European Food Standards Authority) suggests that phosphate intake might be a problem, and that it should be limited, especially in people with Kidney issues, as there can be health problems associated with too much of it. Not only that but a lot of people want to avoid completely artificial chemicals, and these phosphates are just that.

The Alternative? – A Better Way

So you’re probably thinking ‘ok, so these are artificial chemicals and that’s not great, but aren’t they doing an important job?’. The answer is yes, they are doing an important job, but happily there are a few good, more natural alternatives we can use that work just as well!

One very good option is Bamboo Silica. This is a compound of Silicon Dioxide that comes from the sap in bamboo shoots, and is often considered a good dietary source of silicon. It flows well through the machines, does not accumulate moisture, and it’s naturally derived! But does it have an impact on the microbiome? Unlike a lot of the chemical alternatives, it doesn’t! It’s been studied in numerous clinical trials to investigate how it might impact gut health, and has been found to be completely inert, having no effect at all one way or the other.

It’s for this reason that we decided to use bamboo silica in our BetterGuts supplements. It comes from a natural source, does the job well, is completely inert and has no effect at all on your gut, so we know it’s completely safe. It just goes to show, sometimes you don’t need to use artificial chemicals to get results!

An honourable mention should also go to Acacia Gum, or gum Arabic as it’s sometimes called. This is a plant fibre that comes from the Acacia tree, and is widely used in a lot of foods and supplements. It’s been shown to have some prebiotic effects of its own, it’s tolerability is great so we know it’s safe, and it comes from a natural source, not a chemical plant. It also aids in flowing through machines and makes a good bulking agent, so alongside bamboo silica it’s another good alternative!

But these chemicals we’ve talked about all serve a purpose we can’t do without. But what about chemicals that are optional?

Taste and Smell – Making Supplements Attractive

So, we’ve covered chemical ingredients that are ‘needed’ in manufacture for different purposes, but we should touch upon ones that are optional but added anyway, and these typically come in the form of flavourings and humectants (chemicals that smell nice), as well as artificial colours, intended to make the supplement more attractive.

Products that come in a capsule don’t really need these because you never taste the powder, you just take the capsule, so it’s no problem. But we’ve all seen probiotic products as well as various other supplements, normally aimed at kids, that come in bright coloured and fruity flavoured gummies in order to make them taste nice. But what are they adding in there exactly?

There are a few problems here. The first major issue is, you guessed it, moisture. A lot of the flavourings and humectants, as well as other compounds added for texture, have a habit of accumulating moisture. This risks waking the bacteria up early and damaging their numbers before you ever have a chance to take them, so shelf life is a real concern. To combat this a lot of the time companies add artificial preservatives on top!

There are of course some pretty significant human health aspects to think about here too. Some of the most popular sweeteners are Polyols (xylitol, sorbitol, or maltitol). These have been found to cause diarrhoea in larger quantities, as well as having other effects on the microbiome and it’s balance, and governments have cautioned against excessive use of them. Even sucralose, often used in supplements as an artificial sweetener, has been investigated for how it effects the human microbiome, and the truth is we still don’t really know what impact it has.

The crazy thing is, you don’t actually need any of these ingredients at all! If it’s just put in a capsule instead it can all be cut out, and all those artificial additives can be avoided.

So, What Do I Do?

We’ve looked at a number of different chemicals in this article, some of them important with important jobs to do, and some of them completely unnecessary, even if they are pleasant to smell. When it comes to ingredients that are needed, there are natural alternatives that can be used, so you don’t always have to rely on artificial chemicals. When it comes to flavourings and humectants as well as artificial sweeteners, we know that we don’t really need these.

The moral of the story is, check your label! It’s important to know what’s in your supplements because you take them every day, and so any long-term effects of the ingredients are going to come into play.

It’s for this reason that at BetterGuts we’ve made a point of keeping our formulae clean. We use bamboo silica as our one and only excipient and bulking agent. No maltodextrin, no other chemicals. Our supplements are also free of any flavourings, colourings, preservatives or humectants, making our formula as clean as possible. This means a formula that’s free of GMOs (genetically modified organisms), gluten, gelatin, or other allergens, and is vegan friendly. It’s all part of our commitment to transparency, no hidden extras, so you know what’s in your supplement, and you can have faith in what you’re taking.

References:

- Magnesium Stearate and MCC moisture issues. https://www.colorcon.com/hubfs/Improving%20Probiotic%20Stability%20with%20Nutracore%20Label%20Friendly%20Excipients%20and%20Molecular%20Sieve%20Desiccants-1.pdf

- Arnold AR, Chassaing B. Maltodextrin, Modern Stressor of the Intestinal Environment. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019;7(2):475-476. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2018.09.014. Epub 2018 Oct 17. PMID: 30827413; PMCID: PMC6409436.

- Almutairi R, Basson AR, Wearsh P, Cominelli F, Rodriguez-Palacios A. Validity of food additive maltodextrin as placebo and effects on human gut physiology: systematic review of placebo-controlled clinical trials. Eur J Nutr. 2022 Sep;61(6):2853-2871. doi: 10.1007/s00394-022-02802-5. Epub 2022 Mar 1. Erratum in: Eur J Nutr. 2023 Aug;62(5):2345. doi: 10.1007/s00394-023-03190-0. PMID: 35230477; PMCID: PMC9835112.

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- Haslam DE, Abirami K, Starr JR, Unnikrishnan R, Lasky-Su J, Gayathri R, Gokulakrishnan K, Manasa VS, Rimm EB, Anjana RM, Krishnaswamy K, Hu FB, Sudha V, Mohan V, Bhupathiraju SN. Effect of Replacing Added Sugars with Sucralose on Gut Microbiome Composition Among Asian Indian Adults in Two 12-week Randomized Controlled Trials. Curr Dev Nutr. 2025 Nov 12;9(12):107600. doi: 10.1016/j.cdnut.2025.107600. PMID: 41451263; PMCID: PMC12731820.

- UK Government food additive guidance, 2026: https://www.gov.uk/food-labelling-and-packaging/food-and-drink-warnings

- Calame W, Weseler AR, Viebke C, Flynn C, Siemensma AD. Gum arabic establishes prebiotic functionality in healthy human volunteers in a dose-dependent manner. Br J Nutr. 2008 Dec;100(6):1269-75. doi: 10.1017/S0007114508981447. Epub 2008 May 9. Erratum in: Br J Nutr. 2009 Aug;102(4):642. PMID: 18466655.

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