Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions. Here you'll find the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions posed by Healthy Talk fans. Listen in because what you know helps ensure healthy choices you can live with. Today on Healthy Talk, you wanted to know:What is the deal with magnesium stearate? It seems like most supplement companies put this in all their products.Dr. Mike wants to be clear that magnesium stearate is not a preservative, it's actually used as a flow agent. This means it helps prevent clumping within the manufacturing process. This could explain why some of the magnesium citrate ends up in the supplement. However, it's a very small amount and you shouldn't be worried.I understand that a breakthrough occurred with peanut allergies, called the Leap study. Can you explain that please?Peanut allergies (along with other allergies) have been drastically on the rise. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), up to 15 million Americans have a food allergy.The Leap study was conducted to look into a way to prevent peanut allergies in high-risk infants and young children. To determine if your child has a peanut allergy, you would need to have a skin test done. The leap study shows that after the skin test is done on high-risk infants, exposing them to small amounts of a peanut product can actually decrease the risk of developing a full-blown allergy later in their life.If your child already has a peanut allergy, this approach would not work. Dr. Mike wants to make it clear that you cannot treat them with peanuts.If you have a health question or concern, Dr. Mike encourages you to write him at askdrmikesmith@radiomd.com or call in, toll-free, to the LIVE radio show (1.877.711.5211) so he can provide you with support and helpful advice.