Boron is a naturally occurring vital trace mineral that is required for normal growth and health of the human body, especially the joints, bones and teeth. It is believed that it improves the natural ability of the human body to absorb important minerals such as calcium and magnesium.
Boron
More importantly, boron has been implicated with the body’s ability to detox fluoride. And for those of us who understand the implications of fluoride, this information is vital. (If you are not aware of how fluoride is affecting your health, educate yourself through our many blogs on fluoride or just google it.)
Diets with a fair amount of fruits and vegetables provide about 2 to 5 mg of boron per day, but the average intake in developed countries is 1-2 mg of boron per day. Chemical fertilizers inhibit the uptake of boron from the soil: an organic apple grown in good soil may have 20 mg boron, but if grown with fertilizer it may have only 1 mg of Boron. Fertilizers combined with poor food choices have greatly reduced our boron intake compared to a generation ago.
Boron deficiency may result in:
• Abnormal metabolism of calcium and magnesium.
• Hyperthyroidism
• Sex hormone imbalance, specifically estrogen and testosterone
• Osteoporosis
• Arthritis
• Neural malfunction (poor brain health)
• Pineal gland calcification
This last symptom on the above list - pineal gland calcification, is usually caused by excessive amounts of fluoride being deposited there. Boron is a transporter in moving superfluous fluoride out of the body. The pineal gland (located in the center of the brain) is responsible for melatonin synthesis, which plays a role in maintaining normal rhythms and sleep cycles. If our sleep cycle is out of whack, then our health will suffer. Melatonin also helps convert signals between our nervous and endocrine systems. Melatonin is believed to act as a neuro-protector that could play a role in the aging process and Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, the pineal gland can absorb a lot of fluoride -even more than our bones. Once calcification of the pineal gland takes place, significant health problems usually occur.
So that being said, it would be wise to incorporate a little extra boron in our daily diets. The best natural sources are fruits like apples, oranges, red grapes, pears, plums, kiwis, dates, as well as certain vegetables, avocado, soybeans and nuts. Chickpeas, hazel nuts, currants, peanut butter, red kidney beans, tomato, lentils, olive and onion are also notable sources of boron.
There are so many sources that one would think there is no reason to ever suffer from a deficiency. But as we noted previously, chemical fertilizers inhibit the uptake of boron from the soil, so that boron intake may be greatly reduced. And with all the overdosing of fluoride in our food supply, more boron may definitely be needed.
So how much boron is enough? The lowest active dose of boron supplementation appears to be 3mg, which is effective in supporting hormonal factors in postmenopausal women. Studies on osteoarthritis have used 6mg of Boron while studies in youth investigating hormonal changes have used 10mg.
The optimal dose is currently not known, but the above doses appear to be effective for their aforementioned goals.
And here are the health benefits:
• Prevents arthritis
• Reduces severity of rheumatoid arthritis
• Balances sex hormones
• Improves bone health
• Enhances embryonic development
• Can reduce post-menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats
• Improves cell membrane function
• Prevents congestive heart failure
• Lowers cholesterol
• Decreases fungal infections
• Improves brain function, cognitive performance, short term memory, sleep patterns
Personally, I take a boron supplement a few times a week. One needs to go slow when starting boron supplementation, as Herxheimer (die off) reactions can occur, especially when dealing with detoxing fluoride from the nervous system. In addition to detoxing the fluoride out, you should also limit the amount of fluoride coming in, by investing in a water system that filters out fluoride. When you go at a pace that feels good for you, and the fluoride leaves your system, you’ll experience overall health improvements.
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