Borax: Unlocking the Health Benefits of a Natural Compound

I've been taking 1/8 tsp of boron daily for about a week now and my joints feel better already, but my skin is super itchy. Is this related to the Boron or no? Thanks.

Thank you so much for your guidance! I just started this Monday and had to cut back Thursday. your words have given me so much courage to take one day at a time on the path to healing We are in charge of our health and since autoimmune will never get cured by medicine we can stop the insanity and figure this out! I cannot thank you enough!!

Peter you're suppose to drink entire 1litre solution in one day, same next day, etc. 5days on, 2 days without. Then you'll probably feel differently.

Psoriasis. Thank you Earth clinic for helping me out my flaking. I had a few spots in my scalp for over two years. Doctors confirmed me as psoriatic arthritis. I have rheumatoid arthritis for over 20 years.

After reading some comments in here I shampooed my hair a solution of borax and water and drank a mixture of borax, ACV and baking soda. I am totally cleared of flaking but my arthritis is still active. I have been clear for over ten years now. Occasions of itch at the flaking spot I will resume with one or two shampooing sessions. I am back to this page after so long for some other issue and wanted to contribute and thank this site for curing my flaking psoriasis.

Yes, it does.

Food grade 35% H202 *must* be diluted.

Use 6 drops of it p/gallon of water.

Use 1/8 c of it, with 11 oz water for a meat disinfectant. I've been using this for YEARS. Kills any germ, bacteria, parasite - anything bad that shouldn't be in the meat of fish. Pour the solution over the meat or fish, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Then > drain off the solution, rinse the meat or fish and freeze, or bake, or marinade or whatever you planned.

There are many, many remedies that are NOT in the public domain - one must search them out. They are too big a threat to the medical/pharm cartel, hence not widely seen.

Thank you so much. I had terrible plantar fasciitis and had tried everything. I read your post, took a pinch in a glass of water and within 30 minutes had no pain. Can't wait to see the long-term effects!

I suggest you take magnesium. Helps for cramps and balances excess calcium. Plus taken at night, it helps to relax and sleep better.

You mention in your dosage info that if you're not feeling the effects, for me would be detoxing, we can up the dosage. I'm currently taking 1/4 teaspoon throughout the day. What would be the suggested safe dosage if I want to increase it?

Royal Jelly is a nutritious substance secreted by worker bees to feed all of their larvae, as well it is the ONLY food that is fed to larvae to make Queen Bees. It is an amazing substance and very healing.

Please look up the lemon juice and olive oil method to dissolve kidney stones. It's here on earth clinic and it worked for me!

Boron and antioxidants complex: a new concept for the treatment of kidney stones without rigorous pain:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25110210/

Urolithiasis

Clinical data

One investigator has reported the use of boron supplementation in approximately 30 cases to facilitate dissolution and/or passing of urinary stones with minimal pain. Boron was supplemented at 10 mg/day with and without additional antioxidants for 2 to 60 days. Boron was well tolerated without observed side effects.(Naghii 2014, Naghii 2013, Naghii 2012) In the absence of a control group, it is difficult to attribute these results to boron.

https://www.drugs.com/npp/boron.html

Interesting on the kidney stones! I am curious if that would help me as well.

Must be good if they banned it for Germans.

Regarding Ankle with Bone Chip:

use Castol oil. Put like 6 drops on a piece of an old t-shirt...put it on his ankle, wrap it in plastic and put a warm water bottle on it for 30 min. Like 3x a week.

Borax has helped my bloating almost instantly. My nails are growing faster and my shoulder pain is almost gone. My skin from my hasimotos is not dry anymore. It has cured interstitial cystitis that I have had since 2006. No longer waking at night to go to the bathroom. 1.5 weeks into taking about an 1/8 tsp. Answered prayer. Saw videos on tik tok.

Those itchy watery blisters are from gluten and it's an autoimmune reaction. Not to be confused because Candida die-off also produces rashes. It looks exactly like a fungal rash.

Exactly. Walk around with your cell phone in your pocket all day...more radiation than sea salt! Internet blaring in your house, tv on, laptop on, phone near you, earths natural radiation on top of that, yeah a little or a lot of sea salt ain't gonna make no difference!

Hello! I was wondering what kind of calcification you have in your body and where? I have calcium build up that is pushing on my lungs.

Himalayan pink salt is radioactive.

EC: Himalayan pink salt indeed contains trace amounts of naturally occurring radioactive elements such as uranium, radium, and polonium. However, the levels of radioactivity in Himalayan pink salt are so low that they are not considered harmful to human health. The amount of radiation exposure from consuming Himalayan pink salt is negligible and comparable to the background radiation that we are exposed to in our daily lives. 

I have stopped and started it several times without issue. It's just a boron supplement. My favorite thing about it is the wild dreams.

So is the liter of solution to last five days or is one supposed to drink a liter a day?

EC: One liter per day.

Loretta,

I've been taking borax for well over a decade and have stopped for months, several times with no problems. Now I take it regularly to get all of the benefits that borax may offer. I did however, see a friend who discontinued borax at her doctor's request for well over a year and when she started taking it again, it no longer worked for her osteoarthritis.

Art

Can I take Borax if I have high blood pressure and am on medication for it?

Please clarify the dosage for women. Some reviewers have stated there are discrepancies and I don't want to OD.

EC: Hi Cindy, you can read Earth Clinic's main article about borax for clarification. For women, it's generally 1/8 teaspoon of borax dissolved in 1 liter of distilled water sipped throughout the day, 5 days on, 2 days off.

Note: Some experience side effects the first week as they detox (upset stomach, headaches, etc), so you can start with less than 1/8th for the first few days. Also, for some people, 1/8th teaspoon isn't enough to help their symptoms so they increase slowly to the men's dosage.

I have read the reviews, once you start taking borax, 5 days on 2 days off but it doesn't sound like stopping is an option? People seem to feel reactions when stopping

For a Borax solution 4% see Amazon.com.lt says lab use but this is a simple disclaimer.

l use many products over the years and personally know manufacturers that say lab use only, but the product is pure. They don't want to be blamed for any ‘wrong' uses. Can't blame them.

Much easier to use premade totally dissolved in solution borax pure lab grade to use in topical applications.

This is the principle of homeopathy micro amounts of the remedy in pills or liquid after it's diluted and drop shaken many times. Borax is a homeopathic remedy it works with no side effects. I have taken it.

That's wrong! 1 teaspoon is about 4 gram which is 4000 milligram. So, a third tsp is about 1400 mg and not 140... cheers

EC: David's calculation is more or less correct. The confusion is borax powder vs boron.  Borax powder is about 11.3% boron, meaning a ¼ teaspoon contains approximately 113 mg of boron. 

Therefore, 1/3 teaspoon of borax contains approximately 150.67 mg of boron.

The description of this article says 1/4 teaspoon contains 940-1000mg. of boron in 1 liter of water. Just before reading this I watched a video from the same Earth Clinic site, titled ''Borax Cures and Health Benefits". In this, at 4:18 the lady says 1/4 teaspoon of Borax in 1 liter of water provides 110 mg. of boron. One of these should have a correction.

EC: Hello Denise,

Thank you for bringing to our attention that the paragraph in the article is confusing. We will revise it to ensure clarity.

Additionally, there seems to be an error in the word you typed. Instead of "940-1000mg of boron," it should be "940-1000mg of borax."

As mentioned in the paragraph above the one you copied from our article, one gram of borax contains 11.3% boron. Therefore, ¼ teaspoon of borax is roughly equivalent to 113 mg of boron, which is close to the amount we stated in our previous 2016 borax video.

Even less toxic than table salt.

If you were to ingest 350 grams though, then you would die.

With any detox, the kidneys should always be tested first before starting and strengthened if necessary otherwise the outcome will be unnecessarily less than expected and sometimes significantly negative.

A product (Kidney MTX) will usually prevent the negative reactions and resolve if they occur.

Hi Belinda,

What kind of magnesium are you referring to? Thanks

How do you know how much borax to put in a gel capsule

And what borax do you use?

In reply to the long thread on borax side effects and measurements here: https://www.earthclinic.com/borax-remedy-for-arthritis3.html#arthritis_124826

I have used it for 2 Years, 1/4 tsp Borax in a liter of water 5 days a week. No bad effects, but Gout, Joint Pain, Body stiffness, skin Spots, mental clarity, vivid dreams, 2x Hearing, Hearing came in three weeks, joint pain a week, Gout hasn't returned, dreams 4 weeks. It is a life thing because foods are Boron deficient, synthetic fertilizers grow crops. Chicken fertilizer is best so I'm trying thing in my garden, land not been in production before. If I take a break, body stiffness is the first effect to return. I'm 57.

Thank you for your post. What are the dosages you use and frequency. Did you experience adverse side affects at any time and needed to adjust or take a break?

My son went on an all meat diet and his psoriasis cleared up. Nothing else worked.

Hi Ashley,

Yes, I can confirm I purchased the exact same Borax Dehydrate. I didnt purchase it from a chemical company, I bought it from a seller on Ebay.co.uk for about £20.00 a kilo I think. I had no problems with the seller who was very nice, and I received it within a few days. I also live in the Uk, East end of London lol. I hope this eases your mind. Rosina Lock from london UK

Hi Dee,

How much borax do you take per day?

Do you dissolve the powder in hot water first and then drink or place the powder on tongue and wash it down?

When do you take your borax doses during the day, I.e. first thing in the morning and before sleep or at noon?

When do you take your doses in relation to meals, I.e. 30- 60 min before a meal and or 2- 3 hours after a meal on empty stomach or right after a meal or during a meal (like sprinkling it on the food)?

And could you please post the link from where did you get your borax? Not all borax products are the same... I tried some without success... your borax source obviously is genuine and works.

Thank you

The same with me! I stopped taking borax. My knees hurt so bad and I remembered I wasn't taking borax and went back on, and my knees stop hurting in around a week!

Going on a carnivore diet helped me with all of that! Especially broth with unflavored gelatin! It's the “glue” that keeps you together (my grandmother always said)! Now I'm strict carnivore! Love it!

I soak shoes with borax-saturated water and let them dry, in order to prevent foot fungus.

Hi just wanted to reach out and tell my story about using borax. I'm 36, am a stone mason by trade and used to power lift. I've been suffering chronic inflammation, extreme muscle soreness and extreme cramping to the point that I was tearing muscles. My last major tear was an abdominal muscle. Just for reference, I used to squat 551 bench 345 and deadlift 685 as a natural athlete. I had to completely stop all lifting and working far less hours due to these issues. By 7 pm I would start cramping and my joints would ache so bad I started using cannabis heavily to medicate so I would relax and be able to sleep. I've been to drs and specialists and have had all kinds of tests but everything has always been normal.

Found a video with a Phd talking about consuming borax and the dosages etc etc. To make it less complicated, I started out with a pinch 2x a day and worked my way up to 1/8 tsp, 2xD.

Within 3 days - spasming stopped. 5 days - joint pain and all muscle inflammation next to vanished. I have had the same length of goatee since I was 19. It grows to a certain length and falls out. At about week 3, my facial hair was growing more so than usual and by about week 5 it had doubled in length and I was having to shave far more often. I have had 3 bone spurs in the last decade. One in my right shoulder, my left heel, and recently my right heel. It was digging into my achilles and causing a lot of issues. I did some reading that talked about cal build up and on my search I found that video about taking borax. Also around the 5 week mark it is 90% heeled up. Full rom, 3/10 pain but only 1/10 constant.

Recently decided to stop drinking coffee and stop consuming cannabis. I stopped taking borax, and within a week my joints started to ache again and my nails are chipping and have all kinds of lines like they are going to split.

As I'm writing this I have hot water beside me ready to drink. Just wanted to reach out and share my story.

To Iris in Houston, can you please specify what you are calling a homeopathic dose? Many people misuse the homeopathic term, as small amount, or even natural remedies in general, but homeopathy is entirely different. A homeopathic dose in real homeopathic terms would be a 6C, 30C, 200C type of potency. (There's a ton more types of homeopathic potencies)

I make my own homeopathic remedies by hand, but also using a remedy maker. With the remedy maker device, I can create megapotencies up to 10MM.

If I create a homeopathic potency of 1X, that is the closest to taking borax in it's natural state, but will be gentler on the body. I am going to make it a 6C potency, and see how I do with that.

I hope to hear a reply from you, as to what dose you are taking. Thank you!

could you explain about the imprinting holographic stickers?

I purchased rife machine, Spooky2, and am very pleased with results for insomnia, add, ocd, and weight loss. I use mine to imprint holographic stickers, which I then put in my bra or sock so it's close to me pretty much 24/7. I gave several for back pain to some co-workers and didn't tell them what it was for, just told them put it in your pocket and I'll explain later. One got so much relief she is purchasing her own unit, the other is skeptical that it did anything--may have been having a good day, etc. Ok. Your mileage may vary but, for me, I think there is something to it.

Re: bone chip - read about micro current device to heal fractures

With borax, need to take amaranth seeds or magnesium. also for the gut eat papaya seeds

I've been taking the homeopathic dose of borax and my toenail fungus is 80% better at 6 months treatment. I started it to treat bone pain and other ailments and I'm 80% better with bone pain as well. I'm very hopeful to clear all the pain but I know it takes longer on the low dosage. It works!
I wish I can hear about more experiences on the low dosage.

I have used a boron solution for over a year and got rid of a 30% block in my carotid artery, according to a series of doppler ultrasound studies.

It should be noted that with all the good things boron can do it also removes magnesium and iodine from the system. I supplement with kelp tablets and eat fish twice a week. Epsom salts are the cheapest form of magnesium, I add a half teaspoon to the water and boron solution.

Thank you so much! I didn't want to use a synthetic or something with other ingredients. I also read it's hard to get this product in Europe ( I'm in the uK) . perhaps that's why I was able to obtain it since we are no longer eu.. who knows!

Anyway Thankyou x

Hi Ashlee,

Unfortunately, Borax goes by many names, but it is the same chemical. (Unfortunately, only because it causes confusion.)

Here are a couple of links showing that borax decahydrate is the borax being discussed here at EC.

Find U.S. Borax Products | U.S. Borax

Borax Decahydrate

You could try dissolving it in warm water. I add a pinch to my coffee and don't notice a residue, but then again, I may not be very observant. :)

~Mama to Many~

Hi, I'm sure this is an old question.. but I bought borax decahydrate 99.9%

it's called HD chemicals brand. With all the hazardous warnings. I've only just started looking again at dosage and want to check I've bought the correct type!
not also doesn't disolve that easily.. leaves a little residue at bottom of a glass when stirred..

:) new here .. any help appreciated before I start x

Hi I have a infestation demodex mites so I will wash my hair now in borax which I just started to drink in water.. Thank you so much Julie from sydney Australia

Kathleen,

Please keep us updated on your progress.

Art

Thank you Art. I started the borax today 1/8 teaspoon in a liter. So far so good. Your Math ability is amazing and over my head. The mgs explanation is worth noting. I hope this helps without stomach issues. If it is then I will lower the dose.

Kathleen,

Borax may still be worth a try despite the stomach issue. Keep in mind that the person who originally founded borax and boron as a potential arthritis treatment before, Ted, Rex Newnham, found benefit at dosing much lower than Ted recommended.

He reported dosing of boron as low as 6mg/day was effective for some people(50%) which would equate to roughly 55 mg/day of borax :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1566627/pdf/envhper00403-0084.pdf

I have to say that that dose was not effective for me, but according to the PubMed link above, it worked for 50% of the people studied. Compare this dose of borax to Ted's recommended dose for women of roughly 500 mg/borax per day for 5 days of the week which averages out to 2500 mg/week / 7 = 357 mg/day compared to the approximate borax dose that would be needed in the link above of 55 mg/day of borax to be equivalent to 6 mg of boron actually used.

As far as cost, borax costs pennies per year.

So it seems possible that you may find borax effectiveness at some point between 55 mg and 357 mg/day. One strategy might be to start at the low dose and see how it goes after a month. If not enough benefit after a month, a slow and low dosage increase could be considered until benefit is found before reaching Ted's recommended dose of 357 mg/day of borax.

Such a strategy could potentially prevent gastro issues from ever occurring.

Art

Diagnosed with RA. Have tried several meds all made me sick or had side effects. Have a very sensitive stomach. Considering taking borax because it seems less toxic and easy to take. However the stomach issue, someone mentioned charcoal. So many supplements, and suggestions, makes me confused with so many options. Also, limited income. The thought of taking this is scary but so does all the toxic med RA is recommending. Help

Michele,

You can make this claim about money to be made in the US but the argument falls flat on those countries that have a single payer system that does not profit from pain and misfortune. Those countries are not sitting on a cure for cancer as they have the dog in the fight.

Robert,

There are no human studies to answer the question about ulcers and borax that you are asking. There are only animal studies and those studies show that borax can cause microscopic ulcers as discussed in this study :

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342355859_EFFECTS_OF_LOW_DOSE_EXPOSURE_OF_BORAX_FOR_8_WEEKS_ON_GASTRIC_ULCER_FORMATION

Here is a relevant quote from the study :

' Conclusion: Both of low dose (150mg / kg BW) and high dose (300mg / kg BW) of borax exposure for 8 weeks cause microscopic gastric ulcer on rats. '

Of importance is human equivalency of the three doses they used in this study in the rats. The three dose were :

50 mg/kg

150 mg/kg

300 mg/kg

If you convert these to human equivalency approximations, they would look like this :

8.1 mg/kg

24.3 mg/kg

48.6 mg/kg

In the study, they said the last two doses, which are higher than the first dose, caused microscopic ulcers, but when you look at their data, the lowest dose also showed some issues. When you convert that lowest dose of 8.1 mg/kg to a human weighing 80 kg or roughly 176 pounds, the dose would be 648 mg per day and this puts the dose in between Ted's dose for women and his dose for men which are roughly 500 mg for women and 1000 mg for men.

Based on the above information, it sounds like you would be using a safer approach to first heal your ulcers before attempting Ted's borax regimen.

Regarding the ulcers, natural remedies aside, your doctor should be able to put you on an antibiotic regimen to cure them fairly in most cases.

Art

Is it okay to start if one has Ulcers?

Do you really understand the process of chelation? Every heavy metal has a unique chelation process that's accelerated or inhibited by entirely different compounds. There's no such thing as a wonder-chelation compound that simply rolls into the body and chelates heavy metals non-specifically. And if there WAS, it would probably kill you because the process of chelation involves the UNbinding of heavy metals from wherever they've wound up, which temporarily turns them into free agents and liable to end up deposited elsewhere in the body. To properly complete the chelation process for A SPECIFIC heavy metal you need to open up the channels that first release the metal and then facilitate its proper excretion so it doesn't just end up moving from a muscle tissue into your brain or heart.

So on that note, do you have any evidence for borax/boron being a chelation agent? Because if so I would strongly recommend AGAINST taking it, unless you fully understand chelation and are aware of all the other potential chelation agents that you might already be taking and how they might interact with this particular mechanism.

TxRN,

Here is an RCT study where they actually used Borax or Calcium Fructoborate (plant derived borax) as adjuvant treatment in RA patients to good effect :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5289089/

Notice how they used a relatively low dose of Borax and a higher dose of calcium fructoborate (based on boron content).

Also, notice this comment (quote) :

' Because it is ethically unaccepted to use boron alone as a separate arm in such type of clinical trials, the principle of its adjuvant use with the biological agent etanercept was followed. '

This statement to me says they really did not want to see how Borax treats RA in a heads up comparison against Entanercept, but I am a little suspicious that way, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. In any case, it did improve beyond what etanercept alone could do for RA patients.

Art

The Role of Boron Salts in Osteoarthritis

As a science-minded clinician I needed to read some studies - here is a useful one from PubMed (searched through Google Scholar)... https://tinyurl.com/boronsaltsforarthritis

atlas orthogonal dc

JOANN G,

That may be a little too much boron for a woman. You might try 1 or 2 capsules and see how you are doing after a month.

Art

Now that you mention it, my TMJ is gone! It was subtle to begin with, but came on suddenly during all the covid bs stress. So for a couple of years, it's been annoying me on and off. I've been taking boron for fluoride detox for a few weeks, but not consistently, and I've not had the TMJ! I didn't realize this until I read your testimonial, so it can be added to the list of benefits!

I have found Pure Therapro "Bio Boron" which is 30 mg per capsule. It is highly bioavailable..What do you think about this one and then taking 3-4 capsules a day?

Youtube has been very controlling and evil for turning off comments and replies in the videos. So had to resort to this to comment.

For anyone interested in the subject of Trigger Finger of Trigger Thumb:

I finally got a chance to make a video about my very successful borax treatment for Trigger Finger and thus avoiding surgery. Details and extensive instructions are given on Earth Clinic's YouTube Channel here:

https://youtu.be/7Sh73qjQHSM

We were just on Walter Last's website to fix a broken link to his great borax article and we were saddened to learn that he died in 2021 at the age of 86. Here's the announcement for anyone interested.

And here is the updated link to his borax article: https://www.health-science-spirit.com/Healing_the_Body/The-Borax-Conspiracy.html

Use 1 level Tbsp Borax and mix with 2/3 cup very warm water. Stir well until dissolved. Add small amounts more warm water to dissolve any remaining Borax. Add 1/3 cup 3% Hydrogen Peroxide and mix. Pour this over your head and body in small amounts at a time until gone while rubbing into scalp and skin and let dry. Lice and chewing lice die when the come in contact or ingest it. Use on humans of all ages, horses, dogs and cats. Use an Elizabethan collar on cats so they don't clean and ingest it while it's wet. Stay warm while wet, and ask your Vet before trying this for the first time. Use a hair dryer to stay warm while drying. Cats with liver disease must ask Vet FIRST because it can cause death.

Borax is not elemental Boron. So your example is a bit flawed. Now if they are purchasing pure powdered Boron reagent grade or higher than yes you are 100% correct.

The doses involved on this site do not require the precision that you are demanding. The mineral Sodium Boron is less toxic than Sodium Chloride and it's LD50 is much higher. No one would be alarmed at someone putting a 1/4 teaspoon of table salt aka Sodium Chloride in a liter of water and drinking it let alone using an accurate scale to measure out the amount wanted.

In fact in nature water supplies can have up to 300mg/L and soil 33mg per kilogram.

The LD50 for Borax is 3.16gm/kilogram so 3160mg per kg of mass. So a 150lbs. man or 68kg man would need to consume 214,880mg of Borax in a day to have a 50% chance of death. Now if talking about elemental Boron, not Borax, I think adults have died at 15,000mg to 20,000mg. So again a huge safety profile for the dose being recomended on this site and other sites.

You would really have to work hard to get to those levels. Most people get lose stool the first time they ingest 1/4 of a teaspoon in water I can not imagine anyone ever approaching a level that would be of true concern. Again it is less toxic than table salt!

So Borax is vilified as toxic to humans for one main reason and that is greed. Back in Victorian Great Britain dairy industry figured out that if you loaded rotten milk with insane amounts of Boron it tasted and smelled fine allowing them to make more profits. The amounts they added where so large it caused bone malformations especialy to peoples spines. Just like mills and bakers would cut the flour with sawdust and other types of stuff. These practices where outlawed. So even though we are today talking about super small doses and it has been established that Boron is essential just look at Canadian multi vitamins and their recommendations they include Boron. It is still vilified to this day. Iodine is vilified and dosed too low in the USA as is Vitamin D3 in spite of all the research we have!

I've been taking borax for a while as well and yes it works wonders. I need to be more consistent though which I have started doing again. People look at me crazy when I tell them I do it but you know what if they won't try it it's their loss we know it works.

No it is not a detergent and clearly you do not understand the chemistry of detergents and soaps which are totally different but accomplish similar goals under differing conditions.

Borax is a salt that contains the mineral boron. Before we had water softener's and treated public water works if you had hard water it would not clean very well. So you had to add something to it like Borax or Washing Soda. This was because we used Laundry "Soap" later on things like water softeners for people on wells and the development of Laundry "Detergent" changed all of that.

The addition of Borax to the washer made the soap work better by softening the water. Just like old laundry soaps needed hot water to clean well but the development of laundry detergent changed that and allowed for the use of cold water in most cases.

Sadly not only do most people not understand any of this marketing plays fast and lose with the terms soap and detergent they are chemically completely different things but both can be used for cleaning! Just like enzymes can be used for cleaning but they are neither a soap or a detergent! Words matter and science matters!

Borax is a mineral just like iron, aluminium, calcium, magnesium. We use mineral for all kinds of things my favorite automotive grease is calcium sulfonate based. We use calcium and magnesium in antacids for an upset stomach. Lithium is used to treat bipolar disorder but also to make car batteries, phone batteries and most popular general purpose grease.

Depending on how you treat an element and what else to mix in with you you can make all kinds of things both things good for our bodies and things that are bad for us. The form matters and the science matters!

For the record, Washing Soda is not Baking Soda. Never confuse the two. You will often use Washing Soda to make bath bombs and Baking Soda as an antacid or a number of other things. They are not the same thing and Washing Soda should be treated with the same care and caution as you would treat Lye. All of the above are common in a house especially 10-20 years ago for sure.

We put a lot of minerals into the form of a salt. We must have sodium to survive you die without it. If you tried to eat pure sodium, it would blow your jaw off of your face and probably kill you. Instead we eat "Sodium Chloride" sodium chloride does not spontaneously explode in the presence of water. Likewise we do not eat elemental calcium we eat calcium that is bound to something like calcium carbonate or calcium citrate etc....

You could even use google "Is Borax a detergent" and you could see it is not a detergent but is a detergent booster and that it is Sodium Borate and its other forms!

Lastly, if you just add Borax to your washer, you will not get very clean clothes outside of what the water and agitation alone can do. By itself Borax does almost nothing to clean clothes.

I have been using Borax for about more than 8 years now. While it does not do much for me besides correct my poor absorption of Vitamin D it has been almost a miracle for my Dad and my wife. Well I should say it has not worked to reduce my painful joints, arthritis or calcium deposits. It did all of those things though for my Dad and for my wife. Hard to say what it is or is not doing inside your body but I keep using it because it can not hurt!

Sugar is our biggest enemy. I would say I cut mine to 90% free from it.