Boron, Arthritis, Joint Health and You...important info

[matter2003]

OK, continuing some research regarding psoriasis and its candida connection sent me into the direction of a trace mineral called Boron. Boron is needed by the human body, but in many cases is deficient in it. Fruits and vegetables have Boron in them from the soil, however, when fertilizer is used on these crops, the Boron content is reduced considerably as it prevents the absorption of Boron from the soil. Boron is also an EXTREMELY potent anti-fungicide, in fact one of the most potent ones known. It literally kills fungus on contact by disrupting their cell wall structure, which is actually how I came across it to begin with.

The treatment for systemic candida is 1/4 teaspoon of Borax(yes, THAT Borax you find in the laundry detergent section---20 Mule Team Borax that you can get for $3) with 2 drops of Lugol's 5% Iodine solution mixed in 1 liter of water sipped throughout the day. 5 Days on, 2 Days off. Iodine is also an extremely potent microbial, as every 17 minutes your blood passes through the Thyroid. If there is enough Iodine present, the thyroid acts as its first line of defense, continually weakening the microbes on each successive pass through until it finally kills them. Without Iodine, the Thyroid cannot perform this function as was intended, which helps explain the rise of chronic diseases.

Now, while this may be important for a lot of people suffering excessive candida in their system(and this is likely a LOT more than people realize---basically anyone who has ever taken anti-biotics and not taking probiotics at the same time likely has excessive candida), Boron also plays an extremely vital role in the body, one that is going to be of extreme importance to a lot of people here.

I am not sure if I would say this is as important as the mercury information I dug up, but if it isn't on par with it, it cannot be far behind, especially as it relates to working out---it can eliminate joint pain/arthritis by healing the joints and synovial fluid, regulates the parathyroid hormone, hardens bones, ensures calcium is in the bones and magnesium is in the muscles as was intended, and can raise free testosterone in males by 1/3 in a few weeks...all for about $3 for a 5 year supply, or more possibly as the yearly dosage is 65 teaspoons and the borax comes in a 4lb 12oz box. If that isn't bang for your buck I don't know what is.

Here is the article link as posted below, I bolded and italicized the major points in my opinion. It is a long article, but well worth the read, especially if you have joint issues, this might be nothing short of miraculous for you...

https://educate-yourself.org/cn/boraxcon ... ul12.shtml

Health Effects of Boron

Boron is essential for the integrity and function of the cell wall, and the way signals are transmitted in the body through cell membranes. It is distributed in the body in the highest concentrations in the Parathyroid glands, followed by bones and dental enamel. It is essential for healthy bone and joint function, regulating the absorption and metabolism of Calcium, Magnesium, and Phosphorus through its influence on the Parathyriod glands. With this, Boron is for the Parathyroids what Iodine is for the Thyroid.

Boron deficiency causes the parathyroids to become overactive, releasing too much parathyroid hormone which raises the blood level of calcium by releasing calcium from bones and teeth. This then leads to osteoarthritis and other forms of arthritis, osteoporosis and tooth decay. With advancing age, high blood levels of calcium lead to calcification of soft tissues causing muscle contractions and stiffness; calcification of endocrine glands, especially the pineal gland and the ovaries; arteriosclerosis, kidney stones, and calcification of the kidneys ultimately leading to kidney failure. Boron deficiency combined with magnesium deficiency is especially damaging to the bones and teeth.

Boron affects the metabolism of steroid hormones, and especially of sex hormones. It increases low testosterone levels in men and oestrogen levels in menopausal women. It also has a role in converting vitamin D to its active form, thus increasing calcium uptake and deposition into bone and teeth rather than causing soft tissue to calcify. Also other beneficial effects have been reported such as improvement of heart problems, vision, psoriasis, balance, memory and cognition.

The German cancer researcher Dr Paul-Gerhard Seeger has shown that cancer commonly starts with the deterioration of cell membranes. As boron is essential for cell membranes and boron deficiency widespread, this may be an important cause for the initiation of tumour growth. Boron compounds have anti-tumour properties and are "potent anti-osteoporotic, anti-inflammatory, hypolipemic, anti-coagulant and anti-neoplastic agents" (1).

This overview shows the wide-ranging influence of boron on our health. In the following I want to describe some of these health effects in greater detail.

The Arthritis Cure of Rex Newnham

In the 1960's, Rex Newnham, Ph.D., D.O., N.D, developed arthritis. At that time he was a soil and plant scientist in Perth, Western Australia. Conventional drugs did not help, so he looked for the cause into the chemistry of plants. He realized that plants in that area were rather mineral deficient. Knowing that boron aids calcium metabolism in plants he decided to try it. He started taking 30 mg of borax a day, and in three weeks all pain, swelling and stiffness had disappeared.

He told public health and medical school authorities about his discovery, but they were not interested. However, some people with arthritis were delighted as they improved. Others were scared to take something with a poison label on the container and meant to kill cockroaches and ants. Eventually, he had tablets made with a safe and effective quantity of borax.

Within five years and only by word of mouth he sold 10,000 bottles a month. He could no longer cope and asked a drug company to market it. That was a major mistake. They indicated that this would replace more expensive drugs and reduce their profits. It so happened that they had representatives on government health committees and arranged that in 1981, Australia instituted a regulation that declared boron and its compounds to be poisons in any concentration. He was fined $1000 for selling a poison, and this successfully stopped his arthritis cure from spreading in Australia. (2)

Subsequently he published several scientific papers on borax and arthritis. One was a double-blind trial in the mid 1980's at the Royal Melbourne Hospital which showed that 70% of those who completed the trial were greatly improved. Only 12% improved when on placebo. There were no negative side-effects, but some reported that their heart ailment had also improved, and there was better general health and less tiredness. (3)

Most of his later research was devoted to the relationship between soil boron levels and arthritis. He found, for instance that the traditional sugarcane islands, due to long-term heavy use of fertilizers, have very low soil-boron levels. Jamaica has the lowest level and arthritis rates are about 70%. He noted that even most dogs were limping. Next comes Mauritius with very low boron levels and 50% arthritis. The daily boron intake in these countries is less than 1 mg/day. An interesting comparison is between Indian and native Fijians. The Indians are estimated to have an arthritis rate of about 40% and eat much rice grown with fertilizer while the native Fijians with an estimated arthritis rate of 10% eat mainly starchy root vegetables grown privately without fertilizer.

The US, England, Australia and New Zealand generally have average soil-boron levels with an estimated intake of 1 to 2 mg of boron and arthritis rates of about 20%. But Carnarvon in Western Australia has high boron levels in soil and water, and the arthritis rate is only 1%. It is similar in a place called Ngawha Springs in New Zealand with very high boron levels in the spa water which is curative for arthritis. Actually all spas reputedly curing arthritis have very high boron levels. These are also high in Israel with an estimated daily boron intake of 5 to 8 mg and only 0.5 - 1% arthritis.

Bone analysis showed that arthritic joints and nearby bones had only half the boron content of healthy joints. Equally, synovial fluid that lubricates joints and provides nutrients to the cartilage is boron deficient in arthritic joints. After boron supplementation, bones were much harder than normal and surgeons found them more difficult to saw through. With additional boron, bone fractures heal in about half the normal time in both man and animal. Horses and dogs with broken legs, or even a broken pelvis, have fully recovered.

Borax is also effective with other forms of arthritis, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Juvenile Arthritis, and Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus). For instance Dr Newnham saw a young girl aged 9 months with juvenile arthritis. He was able to cure her in 2 weeks.

He wrote that people can commonly get rid of their pain, swelling and stiffness in about 1 to 3 months. Then they can reduce treatment from 3 to 1 boron tablet (each 3 mg) per day as a maintenance dose so that they can avoid any future arthritis. He also stated that patients with rheumatoid arthritis commonly experienced a Herxheimer reaction [healing reaction],and that this is always a good prognostic sign. They must persevere and in another 2 or 3 weeks the pain, swelling and stiffness will be gone. (4,5)

I found this statement not only interesting, but also surprising. The Herxheimer reaction is an early aggravation of symptoms with increased pain. It is commonly due to toxins released by killed Candida and mycoplasma. This is very common with antimicrobial therapy, and borax definitely is an exceptionally good and strong fungicide. What surprises me, however, is that this fungicidal effect is already present at this rather low dose of 75 to 90 mg of borax. Equally surprising is the finding that also up to 30% of those with osteoarthritis experienced a Herxheimer reaction, suggesting that the border between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is rather fluid. I believe that in long-standing and especially resistant cases it will be advisable to use other antimicrobials in addition. For co-factors in arthritis treatment also see my article Arthritis and Rheumatism or the booklet OVERCOMING ARTHRITIS.

Osteoporosis and Sex Hormones

Boron deficiency causes greatly increased amounts of calcium and magnesium to be lost with the urine. A borax supplement will reduce the daily loss of calcium by nearly 50%. As this calcium comes mainly from resorbed bone and teeth, boron deficiency may be the most important factor in causing osteoporosis and tooth decay.

It has been estimated that 55% of Americans over 50 have osteoporosis and of these about 80% are women. Worldwide, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 12 men over the age of 50 may have osteoporosis, and this is responsible for millions of fractures each year. Rats with osteoporosis were given a boron supplement for 30 days with the result that their bone quality was now comparable with that of the healthy control group and of a group supplemented with oestradiol (6).

The beneficial effect of borax on bones seems to be due to two interrelated effects: a higher boron content of the bones which makes them harder, and a normalisation of sex hormones which stimulates the growth of new bone. Low oestrogen levels after menopause are thought to be the main reason why so many older women develop osteoporosis. In men, testosterone levels decline more gradually which seems to be reflected in their later onset of osteoporosis as a group.

Research has now shown that boron supplementation in postmenopausal women doubles the blood level of the most active form of oestrogen, 17-beta oestradiol, to the level found in women on oestrogen replacement therapy. Equally, the blood levels of testosterone more than doubled (7). With HRT [hormone replacement therapy] there is a higher risk of breast or endometrial cancer which is not known to happen with hormones produced by the body as with borax supplementation.

Some women get premenstrual problems because oestrogen levels are too high and progesterone too low, and therefore may be afraid of using boron. However, I found no evidence that boron raises oestrogen above normal healthy levels. Boron may balance levels of sex hormones similar to the action of maca root powder. Maca acts on the pituitary gland not only to increase, but also to balance our sex hormones and seems to stimulate our own progesterone production as needed.

A recent study in younger men (29 - 50) showed that the level of free testosterone (the form that matters most) had risen by one third after a daily supplementation of about 100 mg of borax for one week (8). This is of special interest for bodybuilders.

Contrary to the medical preference of chemically castrating men with prostate cancer, research with boron has shown that elevated testosterone levels are beneficial by shrinking prostate tumours and PSA levels, PSA [prostate specific antigen] being a marker for tumours and inflammation in the prostate. Also, significantly improved memory and cognition in elderly individuals may be partly due to increased levels of sex hormones and partly to improved membrane functions of brain cells (9).

I have been asked about boron supplementation for women with oestrogen-sensitive breast cancer. Breast cancer is related to calcifications in the breast. In my opinion, it is more important to normalize the calcium-magnesium metabolism and cellular membrane functions rather than feel restricted by a possibly faulty medical concept, especially as I believe that cancer can usually be controlled with long-term antimicrobial therapy. Therefore I would use boron as well as maca in this case.

Fungi and Fluoride

Being such an excellent fungicide, it is not surprising that borax is being successfully used to treat Candida. There is much interesting information on an Earth Clinic forum called Borax Cures (10). With low to medium-weight people use 1/8 teaspoon of borax powder and with heavier weight 1/4 teaspoon per litre of water. One drinks the water spaced out during the day, and does this for 4 or 5 days a week as long as required.

Many contributors wrote that it cured or greatly helped them. So for instance this post: "I also have psoriasis, so maybe the soreness in my joints is the psoriatic arthritis creeping in. I thought, after reading about borax here on this forum, I would give it a try. OMG! In one day, the soreness in my knees has vanished! .... Also, my psoriasis seems a lot better after 2 days drinking 1/4 tsp borax in 1 litre of water per day."

Another one about toe fungus: "He wet his feet and then took a handful (of borax) and rubbed it all over his feet. He said it stopped itching immediately! He was stunned. A few weeks later I asked him how his athletes foot was and he said: oh wow! it hasn't come back! that stuff totally cured it !!!"

Other enthusiastic posts were about vaginal thrush [candida]. Borax appeared to be more effective than other remedies. Commonly, one large gelatine capsule filled with borax or boric acid was inserted at bedtime for several nights or up to 2 weeks. Alternatively the powder can be mixed with cool solidified coconut oil as a bolus or suppository.

A recent scientific study (11) confirms these positive observations with vaginal thrush. Boric acid at the dose of a filled capsule worked even in cases of drug-resistant Candida and against all the tested pathogenic bacteria. Because of the greater dilution, a douche may not be strong enough for bacteria and drug-resistant Candida, but it should work for normal Candida. Borax, due to its alkalinity, was more effective than boric acid.

In normal healthy conditions, Candida exists as harmless oval yeast cells. When challenged, chains of elongated cells called pseudohyphae develop, and finally strongly invasive long, narrow and tube-like filaments called hyphae. These damage the intestinal wall, and cause inflammation and Leaky Gut Syndrome.

Pseudohyphae and hyphae can be seen in the blood of individuals with cancer and autoimmune diseases. Candida can also form tough layers of biofilm. This same study shows that boric acid/borax inhibits the formation of biofilms and also the transformation of harmless yeast cells into invasive hyphal form. In other articles, I have shown that this process, commonly initiated by antibiotics, is a basic cause of most of our modern diseases, and this makes borax and boric acid primary health remedies. But this article shows that there are many more reasons to give them a top rating.

A scientific review in 2011 concluded: "... boric acid is a safe, alternative, economic option for women with recurrent and chronic symptoms of vaginitis when conventional treatment fails..." (12). But as it is so much better than drugs, why not use it as a first option, or use the even more effective borax?

Another study from Turkey (13) shows the protective effect of boric acid on food contaminated with mycotoxins, especially fungal aflatoxins. Among these, Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) causes extensive DNA damage and is the most potent carcinogen ever tested, especially affecting liver and lungs, also causing birth defects, immunotoxicity and even death in farm animals and humans.

Boric acid treatment was protective and led to increased resistance of DNA to oxidative damage induced by AFB1. The strong antifungal action of boric acid is, of course, the reason why it has traditionally been used as a food preservative.

Borax, similar to the equally endangered Lugol's iodine solution, can also be used to remove accumulated fluoride and heavy metals from the body (14). Fluoride not only causes bones to deteriorate, but also the pineal gland to calcify and the thyroid to become underactive. Borax reacts with fluoride ions to form boron fluorides which are then excreted in the urine.

In a Chinese study, borax was used to treat 31 patients with skeletal fluorosis. The amount was gradually increased from 300 to 1100 mg/day during a three month period, with one week off each month. The treatment was effective with 50 to 80% improvement.

One forum contributor suffered with Fibromyalgia/Rosacea, chronic fatigue and TMJ for over 10 years which she believed were caused by fluoride. She used 1/8 tsp of borax and 1/8 tsp of sea salt in a litre of de-chlorinated water, and drank this for 5 days each week. Within two weeks her face cleared, the redness faded, body temperature normalized, energy level increased, and she steadily lost excess weight. The only side-effect was an initial aggravation of her Rosacea symptoms.

Another post: "7 years ago thyroid cancer, the next year adrenal fatigue, then early menopause, the following year uterine prolapse followed by hysterectomy - the following year fibromyalgia and neuropathy. Early Childhood was fluorinated water along with fluoride tablets. Fall of 2008 I was looking at total disability. I could barely walk and couldn't sleep because of the pain and was throwing up daily from the pain in my back. ... After reading about fluoride I came to understand where all of my problems originated. ... I began the borax detox of 1/8 tsp in a litre of water and within 3 days my symptoms were almost gone."

Calcium-Magnesium Metabolism

There is antagonism as well as cooperation between calcium and magnesium. About half of the total body magnesium is found in bones and the other half inside the cells of tissues and organs. Only 1% is in the blood. The kidneys try to keep this level constant by excreting more or less with the urine.

In contrast, 99% of calcium is in bones, and the rest in the fluid outside of cells. Muscles contract when calcium moves into the cells, and they relax when calcium is again pumped out and magnesium moves in. This cellular pump requires much energy to pump calcium out, and if cells are low in energy, then calcium may accumulate inside cells. Low cellular energy may be due to Candida, faulty sugar or fat metabolism, deficiencies, or accumulating metabolic wastes and toxins.

This then leads to only partial relaxation of the muscles with stiffness, a tendency to cramps, and poor blood and lymph circulation. The problem gets worse the more calcium moves from bones into soft tissue. Nerve cells can also accumulate calcium, leading to faulty nerve transmission. In the eye lens, it causes cataracts. Hormonal output keeps reducing as endocrine glands increasingly calcify and all other cells become handicapped in their normal functions. In addition, it causes intracellular magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is needed to activate countless enzymes, and a deficiency leads to inefficient and blocked energy production.

A further problem is that excess calcium damages the cell membrane and makes it difficult for nutrients to move in and wastes to move out. When the intracellular calcium level gets too high, the cell will die.

Here we can see the importance of boron as a regulator of cell membrane functions, especially in regard to movements of calcium and magnesium. With boron deficiency, too much calcium moves into the cell while magnesium cannot move inside to displace it. This is the condition of old age and of the boron-deficiency diseases leading up to it.

While in good health and especially in younger years, a calcium - magnesium ratio of 2 : 1 is normal and beneficial and supplied with a good diet. But with increasing age, boron deficiency and resulting disease conditions, we need progressively less calcium and more magnesium.

For boron to be fully effective in reversing tissue calcification, ample magnesium is required. For elderly individuals, I recommend 400 to 600 mg of magnesium together with the daily borax supplementation spaced out during the day, and with protracted joint problems additional trans-dermal magnesium. However, oral magnesium may need to be adjusted according to its laxative effect. I am doubtful whether calcium supplements are needed and beneficial, even in case of osteoporosis. In my view these individuals have plenty of calcium stored in soft tissues where it does not belong, and supplementing boron and magnesium is expected to redeposit this misplaced calcium into bones. I regard the medical focus on a high calcium intake as a prescription for accelerated aging.

What and How Much to Use

In some countries (e.g. Australia, NZ, USA), borax can still be found in the laundry and cleaning sections of supermarkets. There is no "food-grade" borax available or necessary. The label usually states that it is 99% pure which is safe to use, and is the legal standard for agricultural grade borax. Up to 1% mining and refining residues are permitted. Boric acid, if available, may be used at about the dose of borax.

Firstly, dissolve a lightly rounded teaspoonful (5-6 grams) of borax in 1 litre of good quality water free of chlorine and fluoride. This is your concentrated solution. Keep the bottle out of reach of small children.

· Standard dose = 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of concentrate. This has 25 to 30 mg of borax and provides about 3 mg of boron. Take 1 dose per day mixed with drink or food. If that feels right then take a second dose with another meal. If there is no specific health problem or as a maintenance dose you may continue indefinitely with 1 or 2 doses daily.

If you do have a problem, such as arthritis, osteoporosis and related conditions, menopause, stiffness due to advancing years, and also to improve low sex hormone production, increase intake to 3 or more spaced-out standard doses for several months or longer until you feel that your problem has sufficiently improved. Then drop back to 1 or 2 doses per day.

If you want to try the higher doses recommended by Earth Clinic for treating Candida and removing fluoride from the body - using your bottle of concentrated solution - then use:

· Lower dose for low to normal weight - 100 ml (= 1/8 teaspoon of borax powder); drink spaced out during the day.

· Higher dose for heavier individuals - 200 ml (= 1/4 teaspoon of borax powder); drink spaced out during the day.

Always start with a standard dose and increase gradually to the intended maximum. Take the maximum amounts for 4 or 5 days a week as long as required.

Borax is rather alkaline and in higher concentrations has a soapy taste. You may disguise this with lemon juice, vinegar or ascorbic acid. Keep the bottle with the concentrated solution out of reach of small children.

Borax and boric acid have been classified as reproductive poisons in Europe, and since December 2010 are no longer available to the public within the EU.

Presently, borax is still available in Switzerland (15), but shipment to Germany is not permitted. In Germany a small amount (20 - 50 grams) may be ordered through a pharmacy as ant poison (it will be registered).

Boron tablets can be bought from health shops or the Internet, commonly with 3 mg of boron. These contain tightly bound boron not present in ionic form as with borax or boric acid. While suitable as a general boron supplement, I do not expect them to work against Candida and mycoplasmas, or as a quick arthritis, osteoporosis or menopause cure. Most scientific studies and individual experiences were with borax or boric acid. To improve effectiveness, I recommend 3 or more spaced-out boron tablets daily for an extended period combined with sufficient magnesium and a suitable antimicrobial program (16).

Possible Side-Effects

While side-effects from pharmaceutical drugs tend to be negative and often dangerous, with natural medicine, such as borax therapy, these are usually healing reactions with beneficial long-term effects. Most common is the Herxheimer reaction from eliminating Candida.

In some of the above forum posts, rapid improvement was experienced within days. This is always a functional response. High cellular calcium levels cause muscle contraction with cramps or spasms as a common cause of pain. Boron, especially together with magnesium, can rapidly relax these muscles and take away the pain.

However, with long-standing severe calcifications a large amount of calcium cannot be redistributed in a short time. This leads to increased calcium levels in the affected area, especially the hips and shoulders, and can cause problems for a considerable time, such as a tendency to severe cramping and pain, or problems with the blood circulation, or nerve transmission. Nerve-related effects in hands and feet may be numbness, or reduced sensitivity or feeling in the skin. Higher amounts of calcium and fluoride passing through the kidneys may cause temporary kidney pain. Such healing reactions cannot be avoided when aiming for a higher level of health.

Whenever you experience an unpleasant effect reduce or temporarily stop borax intake until the problem subsides. Then gradually start increasing again. Helpful additional measures are a) a greatly increased fluid intake, b) using more organic acids such as lemon juice, ascorbic acid or vinegar, and c) improving lymph flow as with rebounding, walking or inverted positions.

Toxicity Issues

Government health agencies are concerned about boron toxicity. You might be concerned as well if you read the following, pertaining to sodium chloride (or more commonly known as table salt (17):

'Acute oral toxicity (LD50 - the dose at which half of the tested animals die): 3,000 mg/kg [Rat]. Chronic Effects on Humans: Mutagenic for mammalian somatic cells. Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact, ingestion or inhalation. Lowest Published Lethal Oral Dose in Man: 1000 mg/kg. Causes adverse reproductive effects in humans (fetotoxicity, abortion) by intraplacental route, may increase risk of Toxemia of Pregnancy in susceptible women. May cause adverse reproductive effects and birth defects in animals, particularly rats and mice - fetotoxicity, abortion, musculoskeletal abnormalities, and maternal effects (on ovaries, fallopian tubes). May affect genetic material (mutagenic). Ingestion of large quantities can irritate the stomach with nausea and vomiting. May affect behavior (muscle spasicity/contraction, somnolence), sense organs, metabolism, and cardiovascular system. Continued exposure may produce dehydration, internal organ congestion, and coma.'

Now compare the sodium chloride toxicity with the Material Safety Data Sheet or MSDS for borax (18):

'Low acute oral toxicity; LD50 in rats 4,500 to 6,000 mg/kg of body weight. Reproductive/developmental toxicity: Animal feeding studies in rat, mouse and dog, at high doses, have demonstrated effects on fertility and testes. Studies with boric acid in the rat, mouse and rabbit, at high doses, demonstrate developmental effects on the fetus, including fetal weight loss and minor skeletal variations. The doses administered were many times in excess of those to which humans would normally be exposed. No evidence of carcinogenicity in mice. No mutagenic activity was observed in a battery of short-term mutagenicity assays. Human epidemiological studies show no increase in pulmonary disease in occupational populations with chronic exposures to borate dust and no effect on fertility.'

Here you see that table salt is 50 to 100% more toxic than borax. Table salt changes the genetic material and is mutagenic, while borax is harmless in this regard. Infants are most at risk from high borax ingestion. It has been estimated that 5 to 10 grams can cause severe vomiting, diarrhoea, shock and even death, but it also says that lethal doses are not well documented in the literature.

The following toxicity data are from documents of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control(19, 20).

A review of 784 accidental human poisonings from 10 - 88 grams of boric acid reported no fatalities, with 88% of cases being asymptomatic, meaning they did not notice anything. However, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, hepatic, renal, and central nervous system effects, dermatitis, erythema, and death have been observed in some children and adults exposed to more than 84 mg boron/kg, corresponding to more than 40 grams of borax for 60 kg of body weight.

Animal studies have identified reproductive toxicity as the most sensitive effects of boron ingestion. Exposure of rats, mice, and dogs for several weeks showed some damage to the testes and sperm at doses of more than 26 mg boron/kg which corresponds to 15 grams of borax/day for 60 kg body weight.

Most at risk is the developing foetus, and in the studied animals rats were most affected. In one study slight reductions in the foetal body weight were already found at 13.7 mg boron/kg/day used during pregnancy. The [has] no effect dose was set at less than 13.7 mg/kg/day corresponding to about 7 grams of borax per day for 60 kg body weight. With an added safety factor, a no effect value of 9.6 mg boron/kg/day was calculated corresponding to 5 grams of borax for 60 kg.

However, a rat study lasting for 3 generations found no reproductive toxicity or effect on the parents or offspring at 30 mg boron/kg/day. This dose corresponds to 17 grams of borax for 60 kg ingested for 3 generations! In another 3-generation study no problem was found at 17.5 mg boron/kg/day, corresponding to 9 grams of borax/60 kg, while the next higher tested dose of 58.5 mg/kg/day, corresponding to 30 grams of borax/60 kg, resulted in infertility. Therefore we can assume that the safe reproductive dose is up to about 20 grams/60 kg/day.

Human studies of the possible association between impaired fertility and high boron levels in water, soil and dust in a Turkish populations, and boron mining and processing workers, found no effect. One study even reported elevated fertility rates in borax production workers as compared to the U.S. national average.

All this is important because possible reproductive toxicity is the official reason for the present assault on borax. The sodium chloride MSDS mentioned above also states: "While sodium chloride has been used as a negative control in some reproductive studies, it has also been used as an example that almost any chemical can cause birth defects in experimental animals if studied under the right conditions." Keep this in mind when you read the following.

The Assault on Borax

Arthritis in its various forms and its close relative osteoporosis affect about 30% of the population in developed countries. Osteoporosis is responsible for more long term hospital care than any other individual disease. This is due to the very high incidence of fractures, and especially the protracted nature of hip fractures. This is a main source of income for the medical-pharmaceutical system. If the boron-magnesium cure for these diseases should become widely known, this vital income stream would dry up and the system collapse. As this is the biggest and most profitable industry in the world, this cannot be allowed to happen.

When Dr Newnham discovered the boron-arthritis cure, it was not a big problem for the pharmaceuticals because news traveled slowly and was easily suppressed. This is very different now with Internet communication. Most research funding comes from the pharmaceutical industry, and nothing has come forward to duplicate Dr Newnham's findings and other positive osteoporosis studies. Instead, funding goes into the development of patentable boron drugs for limited application as in chemotherapy, or even to discredit boron. A test-tube experiment found that a relatively low dose of about 4 grams of borax can damage lymphocytes, just like an earlier test-tube study showed that vitamin C supplements are toxic. Most positive borax studies now come from China, Japan and Turkey.

Furthermore, PubMed is a publicly funded search facility for bio-medical research publications. While other articles for Newnham R.E. and Zhou L.Y. are still listed, the two important borax publications mentioned earlier - about the arthritis trial at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the treatment of skeletal fluorosis in China - are no longer listed, but they belong there and obviously had been there originally. I suspect that they have been deliberately removed to prevent them from being quoted in other research.

In addition, increasing effort goes into publicly demonizing borax for its alleged reproductive and infant toxicity. As an example, I recently read an article by a 'senior scientist' of the supposedly 'green' Environmental Working Group. In it, the perceived dangers of borax were so exaggerated that most comments in effect said: "Thank you for opening my eyes. I did not know how poisonous and dangerous borax is, I certainly will not use it anymore in my laundry, or for cleaning my toilet and kitchen" .

This is obviously a deliberate campaign to make people grateful for banning borax from public sale. For laundry and cleaning purposes Borax Substitute now replaces the product previously sold as Borax. The EU has spearheaded this campaign. In June 2010, borax and boric acid were reclassified as “Reprotoxic Category 2“, suggesting that they may be harmful to the reproductive functions of humans in high doses, and the product package must display the skull and crossbones symbol. From December 2010, these products were no longer available for public sale within the EU. While this classification now applies for all of Europe, non-EU countries still have some leeway in regard to public sales. This initiative is part of a Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) which is to be implemented as soon as possible. Australia is well-advanced on preparing regulations to implement the GHS for industrial chemicals, with new regulations expected in 2012 (21).

The European Chemicals Agency gave as reason for their reclassification of boron products (paraphrased):

'The available data do not indicate major differences between laboratory animals and humans, therefore it must be assumed that the effects seen in animals could occur in humans as epidemiological studies in humans are insufficient to demonstrate the absence of an adverse effect of inorganic borates on fertility. 17.5 mg boron/kg/day was derived as a NOAEL (no event level) for male and female fertility. For the rat decreased foetal weight occurred at 13.7 mg boron/kg/day, and a safe limit of 9.6 mg/kg/day has been derived.' (22)

What they are really saying is this: 'While we have no human data, animal studies suggest that for adult reproductive functions a daily ingestion of about 2 teaspoons of borax is safe. But to be absolutely sure that no-one is harmed, we will ban it totally.' Importantly, this ruling is not related to borax in foods or supplements where it is already banned, but only for general use as in laundry or cleaning products or as insecticides. Because borax is not readily inhaled or absorbed through intact skin, it is difficult to see how even a few milligrams daily could get into the body with the conventional use. If the same standard would apply to other chemicals, there would be none left.

The key study in this assessment was published in 1972. Why is this being dug up now to justify banning borax when it was of no concern for the past 40 years? It does not make any scientific sense, especially if you consider that the main chemical in the new borax substitute, sodium percarbonate, is about three times more toxic than borax. Acute oral LD50 values for animals are from 1034 to 2200 mg/kg/day (23). Even the commonly used sodium bicarbonate, with an animal LD50 of 3360 mg/kg, is nearly twice as toxic as borax (24). Both of these chemicals have not been tested for long-term reproductive toxicity at the high doses that caused fertility problems in rats and mice.

The same applies to washing powders [laundry detergents], it has been stated that no toxicity is expected if used in the approved way, or that reproductive tests have not been done. Ingredients in these products are more toxic than borax, why can they be used in the approved way but not borax? And how about really toxic items such as caustic soda and hydrochloric acid? Why do they remain available to the public when one of the safest household chemicals is banned despite the fact that it is absolutely impossible to cause any reproductive harm with the approved use?

Regardless of the lack of any scientific credibility, the stage has been set for borax and boric acid to be globally removed from public sale at short or no notice. Even low-level and less effective boron tablets are now tightly controlled by the pharmaceutical industry, and may be restricted at any time through Codex Alimentarius regulations. With this, the medical-pharmaceutical system has safely defused any potential danger that borax may have posed to its profitability and survival.
[/url]

[Street-dreams]

Thanks for this!

[BrainSquirt]

Thanks. Great post.

Big servings of black walnuts for breakfast once or twice a week provides plenty of biologically available boron .

A tsp. of green hull juice from black walnuts every morning for a week will blow some dam 'overgrowths' clean out of the water Note: do it in something to make it palatable and wash down fast!!!! It will 'taste' not just in your mouth... you can literally (worse than) taste this stuff all over your head and insides.
Seasonally coming up now! Squeeze a few wildcrafted hulls for now and save some in brandy to dose again in a month...

[matter2003]

Thanks. Great post.

Big servings of black walnuts for breakfast once or twice a week provides plenty of biologically available boron .

A tsp. of green hull juice from black walnuts every morning for a week will blow some dam 'overgrowths' clean out of the water Note: do it in something to make it palatable and wash down fast!!!! It will 'taste' not just in your mouth... you can literally (worse than) taste this stuff all over your head and insides.
Seasonally coming up now! Squeeze a few wildcrafted hulls for now and save some in brandy to dose again in a month...

Interesting...never knew about that, but why spend the money on that when I can buy a box of 20 Mule Team Borax for $3 and its strongly alkaline to boot...

[BrainSquirt]

... but why spend the money on that when I can buy a box of 20 Mule Team Borax for $3 and its strongly alkaline to boot...

There’s no good scientific, clinical, medical, etc. reason at all…
Serious issues demand serious treatment... definitely not saying "never"... just offered the info in case others seek it.

…whenever possible I seek minimally processed (even wild crafted, if possible) food sourced nutrients and treatments instead of misbalancing, etc chemicals and allopathic medicines. So, personally, I would be a little bit leery of ‘prescribing’ close to daily MuleTeam (and also non food based iodine sources like Lugol's /SSKI, etc) to myself… cautious it might be liable to have unintended consequences of cascading back to triggering overexpression of NFkB, increased stressor on liver functions, etc etc….

"...passion and gradualness..." Pavlov

[RobRegish]

Matter, time for you to write a book... Hell, you almost did here! GREAT post.

Brain + Matter = EPIC. Two of the BEST minds on this (or any) board. Please do take advantage of their knowledge to LEARN, SHARE and GROW!

[matter2003]

... but why spend the money on that when I can buy a box of 20 Mule Team Borax for $3 and its strongly alkaline to boot...

There’s no good scientific, clinical, medical, etc. reason at all…
Serious issues demand serious treatment... definitely not saying "never"... just offered the info in case others seek it.

…whenever possible I seek minimally processed (even wild crafted, if possible) food sourced nutrients and treatments instead of misbalancing, etc chemicals and allopathic medicines. So, personally, I would be a little bit leery of ‘prescribing’ close to daily MuleTeam (and also non food based iodine sources like Lugol's /SSKI, etc) to myself… cautious it might be liable to have unintended consequences of cascading back to triggering overexpression of NFkB, increased stressor on liver functions, etc etc….

"...passion and gradualness..." Pavlov

Well, Borax, or Sodium Tetraborate, is actually roughly as safe as table salt if you look at the MSDS. Its LD50(amount that kills 50% of the test animals) is 2,400 mg/kg of body weight versus 3,000 mg/kg of body weight of table salt, and MUCH safer than something like Advil, which people don't even think twice about popping, which has an LD50 of 636 mg/kg...

Either way you look at it, a potentially lethal dose of borax would be in the range of 230 grams for myself, which is much lower than the 1/4 teaspoon dose recommended for males or the 1/8 teaspoon dose recommended for females.

20 Mule Team Borax is 100% Sodium Tetraborate with no added fillers or anything else in it. I thoroughly researched many people who are following this protocol with 20 Mule Team Borax on Earthclinic with no ill effects reported.

I also thoroughly researched Lugol's iodine solution which differs from other iodine because it is pure molecular iodine, mined from crystals, not from seaweed or kelp. Japan has one of the highest iodine intakes in the world, at an average of 12-14mg a day and is one of the longest lived populations on earth, along with one of the lowest rates of mental health issues.

Personally, for myself, I am looking at the borax/iodine solution in regards to my psoriasis, which many have said it is highly effective in dealing with...both candida and the underlying other causes, including lack of thyroid hormone in the body, which leads to excessive prolactin release which is an inflammatory hormone. I am not necessarily looking at this as a long term thing, but I want to see how it works out for about a month or so.

According to Dr. David Brownstein, a champion of iodine usage and its health benefits:

"Of all the elements known so far to be essential for human health, iodine is the most misunderstood and the most feared. Yet, iodine is the safest of all the essential trace elements, being the only one that can be administered safely for long periods of time to large numbers of patients in daily amounts as high as 100,000 times the RDA. However, this safety record only applies to inorganic, nonradioactive forms of iodine. Some organic iodine containing drugs are extremely toxic and prescribed by physicians. The severe side effects of these drugs are blamed on inorganic iodine although studies have clearly demonstrated that it is the whole molecule that is toxic, not the iodine released from it.”

More information regarding iodine, Lugol's solution and Dr. Abraham, of whom Dr. Brownstein based a lot of his practice on:

" Dr. Guy Abraham has proposed that the optimal daily dose of iodine for a person is approximately 12.5 mg, which is 100 times the RDA of 0.125 mg. He believes that the current prevailing medical opinion that more than 2 mg a day of iodine is toxic is wrong. He traces the source of this major blunder to a scientific experiment on rats that was published in 1948 by Drs. Wolff and Chaikoff, which erroneously concluded that iodine inhibits the thyroid gland at doses of about 20 times the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for iodine. This conclusion was later generalized to humans and can be found in medical textbooks, including endocrinology and nutrition textbooks.

The commonly accepted medical opinion is that iodine’s only role in the body is to help make thyroid hormones. Although this is an extremely important function, Abraham demonstrates that the role of iodine in the body goes far beyond its function of making thyroid hormones. Other possible functions include: helping to regulate moods, preventing cancer (especially in breasts, ovaries, uterus, prostate and thyroid gland), preventing and treating fibrocystic breasts in women, helping to regulate blood pressure, helping to regulate blood sugar and prevent and treat diabetes, and helping to prevent abnormal cardiac rhythms. For example, Japanese women, who have one of the lowest breast cancer rates in the world, ingest more than 13 mg of iodine daily from seaweed without suffering any adverse consequences. He further demonstrates that iodine tends to be antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic, and antifungal and that it enhances immune function. Furthermore, he suggests that suboptimal iodine intake may contribute to various thyroid abnormalities commonly seen today, including hypothyroidism (underactive), hyperthyroidism (overactive) and autoimmune inflammation of the thyroid (Hashimoto’s Disease)

Dr. Abraham started his Iodine Project around 1998 when he became aware of the many benefits of treating patients with iodine using doses far beyond the 2 mg a day, which most physicians consider to be potentially toxic. He noted that starting in the 1820s, the French physician Jean Lugol used these higher doses to treat a wide variety of conditions. Dr. Lugol combined elemental iodine (5 %) and potassium iodide (10%) with 85 % water. Since iodine kills infectious agents, Dr. Lugol successfully treated many infectious conditions with this solution, which became known as Lugol’s solution, and which is still available today by prescription. Prior to World War II, many American and European physicians used Lugol’s solution to treat thyroid conditions, using doses higher than 2 mg daily without apparent significant adverse effects."

Now, a few very interesting things happened within the first 3 days of me taking the borax/iodine(was using LifeFlo Plus iodine a much weaker solution becasue my Lugol's hadn't come in yet---just got that today). The first day I had some kidney discomfort, which from what I was reading was due to the borax pulling out and combining with excessive fluoride in the body, creating a compound that gets removed by the body through the kidneys, which puts a little extra strain on the kidneys for a day or so. After the first day it completely disappeared and has not reappeared. On the 3rd day, I started getting some pain in my ankle in the morning as I was drinking the borax solution, in the same ankle I had my bad gout in twice before. For a few hours it got worse and worse, to the point I almost popped a Indomethicin because I thought I was having a gout flare up. Then I remembered reading about potential aggravation or worsening of conditions referred to as a Herxheimer reaction. After about 3 or 4 hours, the pain gradually diminished and then vanished, which leads me to believe whatever was responsible for causing the gout(from what I read, an amoeba is suspected as a causitive agent in rheumatoid arthritis, which gout is a form of) was being destroyed by the borax and was releasing its toxins and causing a minor flare up...it has not reoccurred at all since, so I am thinking this was likely the reason for it.

As you read and read about researchers and doctors who spend their life's work dealing with certain conditions and the way they recommend healing it or curing it and their beliefs that either microbes, parasites or fungus is the causitive agent in virtually every disease or condition that occurs along with long term mineral imbalances or deficiencies, you realize what a stark contrast this is in relation to modern day medicine, which really almost treats those ideas as a joke or laughingstock. The difference for me becomes the researchers and doctors who spend their life trying to cure and discover the cause of these conditions have no vested interest in making drug companies richer or gaining any benefit from prescribing them. They also seem to look into things themselves much deeper and with a more open mind than the doctor's who are basically told what to believe by the medical schools and then when any evidence arises that is contrary to what the "establishment" says, it is quickly and utterly dismissed out of hand without even giving it any consideration at all, which makes it seem as if there is some type of agenda that is being run by the medical profession(obviously there is---to sell drugs to everyone for every condition).

I mean, these ideas are just so common sense, that it makes no sense as to why the medical profession doesn't even consider it. If the body needs a certain mineral or element to carry out a function and without it, it cannot carry it out or carries it out in an impaired way, how is it that correcting this deficiency isn't at the forefront of their efforts? It would be like trying to build a house and needing bricks, running out of bricks and then when the house falls down because half of the foundation isn't finished, the engineers not even considering that the lack of bricks was the cause of the problem, and saying it was something else. It makes virtually no sense. If tests are available and show that severe mineral deficiencies or imbalances exist in virtually every person once they reach a certain age, how is that not a problem? Those minerals are needed by the body. The fact that most of these conditions happen after a certain age leads even more credence to this as over time the body becomes depleted, or the minerals are misused due to other minerals not being able to carry out functions to process those minerals(ie, boron controlling the parathyroid which controls the calcium/magnesium levels of the body and their proper placement). The body is so intricate that one moving part that goes wrong just doesn't screw up that part, it ends up causing a cascade of effects that screws up a whole host of other functions as well that are dependent on each other.

Same goes for various microbes or parasites causing diseases. Time and again, it has been shown that organisms like this have been responsible for many issues inside people, but again it is dismissed as quackery by the medical profession to suggest this.

Bottom line is, you as an individual need to take your health into your own hands. Stop allowing the FDA, AMA, doctors and drug companies to tell you what you should be doing and what is "safe" and start doing your own research into the cause and cure of your problems. It likely doesn't have anything to do with taking a prescription drug that only masks the symptoms and does nothing to solve the real problem, and you are the one who will suffer the consequences if it isn't corrected, not them.

[matter2003]

Matter, time for you to write a book... Hell, you almost did here! GREAT post.

Brain + Matter = EPIC. Two of the BEST minds on this (or any) board. Please do take advantage of their knowledge to LEARN, SHARE and GROW!

Rob,

thanks for the kind words, but the only credit I really deserve is an unending thirst for the truth and the bottom line of what ails me and the fix for it. I follow every link to the end and sometimes those links lead me in a totally different direction that seemingly has nothing to do with anything, but after reading it, it becomes another piece of the puzzle that I am putting together.

So far, the pieces I have put together go something like this:

Mercury released from my fillings long term has destroyed the majority of my bacteria flora, and changed the remainder to turning the inorganic mercury from the fillings into much more dangerous methyl mercury. With the destruction of this bacteria, the normal flora of the intestinal tract is upset leading to an explosion of candida, which took advantage of the lack of bacteria that would keep it in check, and the body encouraging further growth due to the fact the candida absorbs mercury and also changes it back from methyl mercury to inorganic mercury, making it safer to the body. The candida then starts branching out of the intestinal tract, sending out "branches" which perforate the intestinal lining leading to "leaky gut syndrome", allowing partially undigested particles of food to enter the bloodstream. These particles are toxic to the body and get sent to the liver to be neutralized. At the same time, the body sees these as "invaders" because it doesn't recognize them and ramps up the immune system response. At the same time all this is happening, the mercury has blocked the absorption of zinc and magnesium, leading to excessive copper building up in the liver, mercury being stored in various tissues and organs throughout the body, and it changing the cell membranes of the body's cells, which causes the body to think of them as "invaders" and also attack them---an immune reactive condition. Between the excessive copper building up in the liver and the overload of toxins, the liver becomes completely overwhelmed and cannot properly detoxify the body, leading to the desperate attempt of clearing these toxins through the skin, the body's largest organ. All the while, the mercury starts to impeded the adrenals, changes the body's hormonal balance, causing it to becomes estrogenic in nature, and starts impeding the thyroid by preventing the conversion of T3 into the active T4.

Right now, I am trying to undo 25+ years of damage, and am making some good progress, although I think I was a little too optimistic about how quickly it would happen. I am a little more than a month in, and have so far cleared the dark circles under my eyes 100%(a sign of poor liver function), several areas of psoriasis have disappeared completely and many others have improved, but the frustrating thing is the areas are not completely disappearing yet, they clear partly and then the body seemingly decides to start clearing other areas, which again clear partly and then continues to move on to other areas. So I have many spots that have white patches inside the outer rings of psoriasis, but where the whole area hasn't cleared up yet. The complete energy drain or malaise I felt around 5 or 6pm every day is gone, and I feel awesome. The tiredness I felt pretty much all day is gone, I feel wide awake now, even when I only get a few hours sleep. Body seems to be awakening from a long slumber, but it also seems to be a little weary of what is going on...almost like it is holding something back because it is not sure yet if this is a long term thing or if it needs to continue protecting itself because the problems are going to come back. I have heard the body starts dumping huge amounts of mercury out of the tissues between 3-6 months after the mercury is removed from the body, so I am diligently trying to clear as much as possible to prevent any re-toxification symptoms....

[Dragon]

Matter, time for you to write a book... Hell, you almost did here! GREAT post.

Brain + Matter = EPIC. Two of the BEST minds on this (or any) board. Please do take advantage of their knowledge to LEARN, SHARE and GROW!

Rob,

thanks for the kind words, but the only credit I really deserve is an unending thirst for the truth and the bottom line of what ails me and the fix for it. I follow every link to the end and sometimes those links lead me in a totally different direction that seemingly has nothing to do with anything, but after reading it, it becomes another piece of the puzzle that I am putting together.

So far, the pieces I have put together go something like this:

Mercury released from my fillings long term has destroyed the majority of my bacteria flora, and changed the remainder to turning the inorganic mercury from the fillings into much more dangerous methyl mercury. With the destruction of this bacteria, the normal flora of the intestinal tract is upset leading to an explosion of candida, which took advantage of the lack of bacteria that would keep it in check, and the body encouraging further growth due to the fact the candida absorbs mercury and also changes it back from methyl mercury to inorganic mercury, making it safer to the body. The candida then starts branching out of the intestinal tract, sending out "branches" which perforate the intestinal lining leading to "leaky gut syndrome", allowing partially undigested particles of food to enter the bloodstream. These particles are toxic to the body and get sent to the liver to be neutralized. At the same time, the body sees these as "invaders" because it doesn't recognize them and ramps up the immune system response. At the same time all this is happening, the mercury has blocked the absorption of zinc and magnesium, leading to excessive copper building up in the liver, mercury being stored in various tissues and organs throughout the body, and it changing the cell membranes of the body's cells, which causes the body to think of them as "invaders" and also attack them---an immune reactive condition. Between the excessive copper building up in the liver and the overload of toxins, the liver becomes completely overwhelmed and cannot properly detoxify the body, leading to the desperate attempt of clearing these toxins through the skin, the body's largest organ. All the while, the mercury starts to impeded the adrenals, changes the body's hormonal balance, causing it to becomes estrogenic in nature, and starts impeding the thyroid by preventing the conversion of T3 into the active T4.

Right now, I am trying to undo 25+ years of damage, and am making some good progress, although I think I was a little too optimistic about how quickly it would happen. I am a little more than a month in, and have so far cleared the dark circles under my eyes 100%(a sign of poor liver function), several areas of psoriasis have disappeared completely and many others have improved, but the frustrating thing is the areas are not completely disappearing yet, they clear partly and then the body seemingly decides to start clearing other areas, which again clear partly and then continues to move on to other areas. So I have many spots that have white patches inside the outer rings of psoriasis, but where the whole area hasn't cleared up yet. The complete energy drain or malaise I felt around 5 or 6pm every day is gone, and I feel awesome. The tiredness I felt pretty much all day is gone, I feel wide awake now, even when I only get a few hours sleep. Body seems to be awakening from a long slumber, but it also seems to be a little weary of what is going on...almost like it is holding something back because it is not sure yet if this is a long term thing or if it needs to continue protecting itself because the problems are going to come back. I have heard the body starts dumping huge amounts of mercury out of the tissues between 3-6 months after the mercury is removed from the body, so I am diligently trying to clear as much as possible to prevent any re-toxification symptoms....

Brain has a point about taking one mineral to an extreme. Those doctors have a clinical practice and are able to moniter their patients. Some are so experienced and skilled that they can look in your face and tell what you are deficient in. But they've been doing it IN PRACTICE for decades. It seems to me that what u are looking for might be helped with oxygen. Ozone therapy is one of the most potent medicines on earth.

[askmass]

I think you are making fast and fantastic progress, Matter!

It's easy to want it all ASAP and feel it's due because of the years of suffering. I can especially relate re mercury fillings, but steady at it my friend you are doing great.

On the psoriasis, try rubbing (alternately) vegetable glycerin and 2% coal tar several times daily to the stubborn areas. I think you will see a speeding of the healing.

You are spot on about the mercury detox and healing transition periods, I believe. The body will establish set points along the way - and start to seek out the remaining mercury within the body.

Anything we can do at those points to nudge the flow as far forward and past the former mercury dominated state is the winning ticket.

You are so far ahead of the game, because you know upfront of the battles yet to come and have used your time wisely to prepare.

Knowledge is power.