It’s not always easy to navigate the health jungle.
You just want to find a good supplement. Something that actually benefits the body.
But then you start looking at the ingredient list.
Magnesium. Good.
Vitamin C. Good.
Then comes the rest.
Words that are barely pronounceable.
E-numbers you’ve never heard of.
Ingredients that sound more like something from a laboratory than something the body needs.
And suddenly you find yourself trying to google every line.
Even though you just wanted to buy a simple supplement.
What exactly is polyethylene glycol?
Why are there colorants in a supplement?
And is all this really necessary?
Or maybe you don’t.
You think that if something is allowed to be sold as a supplement, it should be good for the body.
But unfortunately, it’s not always that simple.
That is exactly why we at Glimja have chosen to work a little differently.
When we choose products, we always start with a simple question.
Does the body actually benefit from this ingredient?
If the answer is no, we don’t want it in our products.
Here are some examples of substances still used in many supplements but which we consistently avoid.
Artificial sweeteners
In many supplements, especially powders, effervescent tablets, and chewable tablets, synthetic sweeteners such as:
- aspartame
- acesulfame K
- sucralose
They are added to make the product sweet without containing sugar.
The taste improves, but the substances are there only for the taste. They add no nutrition.
Research on artificial sweeteners is still debated. Several studies have, for example, looked at how they can affect gut flora and how the body reacts to sweet taste.
That does not mean they are automatically harmful in small amounts.
But when we choose products, we want a supplement to contain things the body can actually benefit from.
Not ingredients that are mostly there for the taste.
Polyethylene glycol (PEG)
Polyethylene glycol is a synthetic substance used in several different industries.
It can be found in medicines, cosmetics, and sometimes even in dietary supplements.
In supplements, it is mainly used for technical reasons. It can help ingredients stick together or make the product dissolve more easily.
So it simply makes production easier.
But it does not provide any nutrition to the body.
When there are other ways to stabilize products, we therefore choose not to use PEG at all.
Magnesium stearate
Magnesium stearate is one of the most common excipients in supplements.
It is used during manufacturing so that ingredients don’t stick to the machines when capsules or tablets are produced.
You can think of it as a lubricant in production.
That doesn’t mean the substance itself is dangerous in the amounts used.
But it also serves no function for the body.
When we choose products, we try instead to find supplements where the ingredient list consists of what the body actually needs.
Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)
Polyvinylpyrrolidone, often called PVP, is sometimes used in tablets to bind the ingredients together.
It makes the product more stable during manufacturing and transport.
But just like many other technical excipients, it adds no nutrition.
When we choose supplements, we want the ingredient list to be as clear as possible and consist of things the body can actually use.
Hardened oils
Hardened or partially hardened oils can sometimes be used in supplement production.
They make manufacturing smoother by preventing ingredients from sticking to the machines.
When oils are hardened, the structure of fatty acids changes and trans fats can form.
Even though the amounts in supplements are small, we simply choose not to use that type of ingredient.
Synthetic colorants
Some supplements contain colorants.
Not because the body needs them but to make capsules or tablets look more attractive.
Examples are substances such as:
- Tartrazine
- Azorubine
- Allura Red
They make the product more colorful.
But they don’t do anything for your health.
We think a supplement can look a bit more natural if it means the contents are purer.
BHT
BHT is a synthetic preservative sometimes used to protect fats and oils from oxidizing.
It can, for example, be found in products containing fat-soluble ingredients.
The substance is used to extend shelf life.
But it doesn’t provide any nutrition and is therefore not something we want in supplements meant to support your health.
But does that mean the supplements don’t taste good?
That’s a question we sometimes get.
If we say no to artificial sweeteners, colorants, and other additives, does that mean the products don’t taste very good?
No, it actually doesn’t.
It is perfectly possible to create good supplements without aspartame, acesulfame K, or synthetic colorants.
Instead, many of the products we choose use ingredients such as:
- pectin from fruit
- natural flavors from berries and fruit
- organic fruit powders
- natural colorants from plants
- steviol glycosides from the stevia plant
- xylitol or erythritol
This means the taste can still be good and fruity, but without the product needing to contain synthetic sweeteners or artificial colorants.
Natural flavors are also produced under strict control without substances like aspartame, GMOs, or glycols that can otherwise be found in some flavors.
An example from real life
The difference becomes clear when comparing ingredient lists.
A common magnesium supplement might, for example, contain
- magnesium oxide
- corn starch
- polyethylene glycol
- synthetic colorant
- magnesium stearate
The magnesium itself can be good.
But several of the other ingredients are there for production. Not for the body.
In a more thoughtfully made, high-quality supplement, the ingredient list might look something like this instead
- Magnesium (magnesium bisglycinate)
- Capsule shell: cellulose (hypromellose/HPMC)
- Filler: organic tapioca starch (manihot esculenta)
It’s quite a big difference.
That’s why pure ingredients matter
When talking about supplements, the discussion often gets stuck on milligrams and dosages.
But quality is just as much about what else is in the capsule.
The more unnecessary ingredients a product contains, the harder it is to understand what the body actually receives.
A short and clear ingredient list makes it easier to
know what you’re taking
avoid substances you don’t want
focus on what actually provides nutrition
So it’s not about every additive automatically being dangerous.
It’s about the body do not need them.
And when it comes to products meant to support health, we think that’s a pretty reasonable starting point.
Our philosophy
For us, it’s not enough that the main ingredient is good.
The entire product needs to maintain the same standard.
That’s why we exclude ingredients such as
does not contribute to nutrition
only used for production or appearance
makes the product cheaper rather than better
Sometimes it makes products a bit harder to develop, or that we need to say no more often than yes.
But it also means the content is closer to what we actually want to offer.
Pure, effective supplements that the body can use.
Do you want to see the full list of substances we do not allow in our range? There are over 100 of them, you can read more here.
