Slow Release Iron

A synthetic coal-tar/petroleum-derived dye used purely for color, linked to behavioral concerns in sensitive children. The lake form adds aluminum. No health benefit — we flag all artificial colors.

IARC classifies cosmetic-grade talc not containing asbestos as Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans); perineal talc use as Group 2A (probably carcinogenic). Johnson & Johnson voluntarily withdrew talc-based baby powder from US/Canada in 2020 and globally in 2022 after extensive litigation tied to ovarian-cancer and mesothelioma cases. The 2018 FDA contamination survey found asbestos in 9 of 52 cosmetic talc products tested. As a supplement excipient talc is a pure manufacturing convenience — no nutritional or functional benefit to the user — so the asbestos-exposure risk has no offsetting upside. Safer alternatives (silicon dioxide, microcrystalline cellulose, rice hulls) are widely available.

Same petroleum-derived azo dye as Red 40, linked to hyperactivity in children (Southampton study) and carrying an EU warning label; pure cosmetic color with zero benefit.

Carboxymethylcellulose was the second emulsifier (with polysorbate 80) in Chassaing et al. 2015 (Nature, PMID 25731162), which showed mucus-barrier thinning, a microbiota shift toward pro-inflammatory species, low-grade inflammation, and metabolic syndrome in mice. Chassaing 2022 (Gastroenterology, PMID 34774538) tested CMC directly in a randomized controlled human feeding trial and found reduced microbial diversity and bacterial encroachment into the normally sterile mucus layer in a susceptible subset of participants. EFSA's 2018 re-evaluation could not establish a safe level due to data gaps. For a purely textural excipient, the gut-barrier risk profile is unfavorable when safer thickeners are widely available.

Banned in the EU (2022) over concerns that its ultra-fine particles may damage DNA in gut cells. Still allowed in the US. Used only for white coloring — provides no health benefit.

May trigger sensitivity in some individuals; behavioral concerns in susceptible children

A starch hydrolysate from tapioca used as a carrier and flow agent

A simple glucose sugar used as a bulking agent, sweetener, and tablet diluent