Borax
Health Benefits

Borax: Unlocking the Health Benefits of a Natural Compound

Rash
Posted by Katzie (Calgary, Canada) on 07/17/2023
★★★★★

I am visiting in Mexico and of course, there is tremendous heat here. This is my 3rd time visiting in July, but this year's is the worst heat & humidity yet.

Yesterday, on one arm I developed some sort of painless rash, which had red raised bumps. It was weird. I came here and tried the Coconut Oil & Baking Soda mixture and applied often during the day. This eventually worked; it was completely gone overnight.

Today, after a shower & dressing, I came downstairs and was told my whole body was covered in what can only be described as "blotches" of red, every pore! I hadn't even had the time to sweat yet and I was fine when I dried off!

So I came back here and after reading posts of people drinking borax or using it in the shower (had already done both this morning), I decided to just take a dry handful and rub it all over me. Worked right away! Must've been the sloughing of skin cells, as blocked pores lead to heat rash, but I use a loofah in the shower every time, so I don't get it really. Starting to think my "exoliating shower gel" wasn't telling me the truth! At any rate, my rash was short-lived. Another use for borax, yay.

Healthful healing everybody!


Boric Acid Vs Borax
Posted by Art (California) on 06/18/2023 2148 posts

Lu,

Yes, boric acid(BA) can be used in place of borax. A little less may be required because the boron content of boric acid is a bit more than borax. Borax has approximately 11.34% boron and boric acid has approximately 17.48% boron.

So that would be about 300mg of BA (52 mg of boron)for a woman and about 600mg of BA (104 mg of boron) for a man.

By comparison it would be about 480 mg of borax for a woman and about 960 mg for a man to reach similar boron levels.

Art


Neck Pain
Posted by Dee (Florida) on 10/11/2022
★★★★★

I am a senior. I started to get neck pains. I went to a Chiropractor which helped in a temporary way. I decided to try the Borax water 1 tsp. twice a day and it helped. I take it 5 days a week and 2 days off. I also have to take my 4000 mg. of Vitamin D that alleviates my lower back traveling pains. I was deficient in my Vitamin D, and had my Vitamin D checked and it went up to 47 ng.


Arteries Unblocked
Posted by Patricia (Tennessee) on 10/10/2021

How do you know it has unblocked your arteries? That is awesome!


Knee Joint Pain
Posted by Sarah (Kalamazoo, MI) on 03/07/2021
★★★★★

Hello, I'm going into my third week of drinking borax Ted's way. I am female but drinking the male amount of 1/4 tsp in a huge jar of water. My question is why the male and female dosage difference and should it be on an empty stomach? I try to get all my water in before noon and borax after noon 2 hrs after I've eaten. I struggle with weight, libido, and joint paint. Oh and yeast, lots of candida. Thank you for your time. My knees feel better after week 2!


Borax Contraindications
Posted by JediSleeveEye (Lethbridge, Alta. Canada) on 05/15/2022

I would go to Distilled Water for Kidney Failure, Get him to drink a Gallon a day. No Less, and more would actually work better. Distilled Water is what must be used to perform Kidney Dialysis. Big Pharma knows this... Kidneys are clogged and have been slowly dying off for years thus failing, this is Kidney Failure. Supplementation with Borax likely wouldn't have any deleterious effects


About Borax
Posted by Nigel (Canada) on 11/21/2022

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.


Published Borax Summaries
Posted by John Parker (USA) on 06/18/2020
★★★★★

I read a variety of published information and studies about potential health benefits of boron supplementation and safety of dosage. I found these to be useful summaries:
___

http://www.health-science-spirit.com/borax.htm
Excerpt from Walter Last. The Borax Conspiracy — How the Arthritis Cure has been stopped. 2011.

“Boron is distributed throughout the body with the highest concentration 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 parathyroid 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.”
___

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4712861/
Excerpt from Lara Pizzorno, MDiv, MA, LMT. Nothing Boring About Boron. IMCJ Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal. 2015 Aug; 14(4): 35–48.

“Boron has been proven to be an important trace mineral because it (1) is essential for the growth and maintenance of bone; (2) greatly improves wound healing; (3) beneficially impacts the body's use of estrogen, testosterone, and vitamin D; (4) boosts magnesium absorption; (5) reduces levels of inflammatory biomarkers, such as hs-CRP and TNF-α; (6) raises levels of antioxidant enzymes, such as SOD, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase; (7) protects against pesticide-induced oxidative stress and heavy-metal toxicity; (8) improves brain electrical activity, cognitive performance, and short-term memory in elders; (9) influences the formation and activity of key biomolecules, such as SAM-e and NAD+; (10) has demonstrated preventive and therapeutic effects in a number of cancers, such as prostate, cervical, and lung cancers and multiple and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; and (11) may help ameliorate the adverse effects of traditional chemotherapeutic agents.”
___

Borax is an compound of boron. Borax (sodium borate) is a natural mineral mined from the earth like salt (sodium chloride), both of which have a long history of being used to preserve food. I read that borax and salt are generally considered safe in small amounts and of similar toxicity (LD50) in large amounts.
California is home to one of the world's largest borax deposits from which 20 Mule Team Borax has been manufactured since 1891. The product is packaged in its pure form, with no chemical additives. The only processing it receives after its removal from the ground is washing, drying and packaging. The product is 99.5 percent pure, with the remaining 1/2 of 1 percent containing naturally occurring trace minerals, with no risk of heavy metals. I read that pharmaceutical grade borax is not noticeably purer or better.

I wash my hands after handling borax powder and am careful not to get it in eyes. To make a borax solution, I add one US teaspoon (leveled-off, average 4620 mg on my Weighmax CT20 milligram scale) of borax powder and 16 US fluid ounces of purified water into a cooking pot. I heat on the stove until the solution boils for one minute, and stir until the borax is fully dissolved. I pour the solution into a labeled glass jar with lid and store in a dark location at room temperature.

4620 mg borax powder * 0.113 (11.3% boron by weight) = 522.1 mg boron, divided by 64 (number of 1/2 US tablespoons in 16 US fluid ounces water) = 8 mg boron

A 1/2 US tablespoon of this solution with 8 mg boron is comparable to the estimated 5–8 mg/day boron intake for people in parts of the world such as Israel and Western Australia which have high boron levels in the soil and water (and very low rates of arthritis at 1% or less). This amount is well under the Upper Tolerable Limit (UL) of 20 mg/day boron, determined unlikely to cause any adverse effects for healthy people in long term use.


Borax Dosages
Posted by Josef (Chiapas, Mexico) on 08/07/2020

That's an easy calculation... if borax formula is Na2B4O7*10H2O, elemental boron is 11.33% of formula. Thus, 6 grams x 0.1133 = 0.6798

As an engineer/chemist, I prefee to do everything by weight than by teaspoons. Cheers.


Importance of Borax
Posted by Stephanie (Anaheim, Ca) on 09/29/2018

Table salt is refined and treated not with water but with chemicals and additives. Sea salt is generally not though. Borax, like Sea Salt (or Himalayan Salt), is not refined or treated at all. It is just mined and milled.


Joint Pain
Posted by Daniel (California (ca)) on 10/27/2016
★★★★★

I HAVE BEEN USING BORAX POWDER OFF AND ON FOR A WHILE...AND notice some pain in n legs and muscles...detox pain...and stopped for a few days and again used it...and off n on...and I began have hip pain and stiffness in joints around hips and legs..and I had not used borax for a few months..about 2 months and I began using it..again a few days ago...and the hip /joint pains have diminished..I dilute a cup of borax powder in a half gallon of water..and shake it up everyday...until the water is saturated.. with borax powder and the left over borax is on the bottom of the bottle..and I shake it up every day...i make lunch with a rice maker..i cook rice...chopped veggies...and change it up every day...but when...the rice maker turns off and its ready to eat..I add a half cup of the water infused borax solution..just one time every day for lunch...and in three days now...my hip/joint stiffness issues have noticeably....subsided a lot..so..I am going to continue this way of getting borax into my bod...and see what happens

Skin
Posted by Joelle (Ny) on 01/17/2016
★★★★★

It is already in your body through your pores. You have a huge surface full of pores -your skin- and bathing in it actually gets it into your system much faster than drinking it. It is the method I use to get whatever upsets my digestive system into my body. Hope this encourages you to start drinking. :-) I'm gonna try it on my face. Thx for the tip.


Borax Toxicity
Posted by Aussiesteve (Port Macquarie, Australia) on 06/13/2012
★★★★★

I think it is worth highlighting that the dosages mentioned by that study I. E. 0.1mg/ml - 0.6mg/ml refers to concentrations of borax in BLOOD not WATER. Given that borax is very poorly absorbed and we have approx 4200ml of blood in our bodies, it would need huge quantities of borax ingested to approach anywhere near the concentrations suggested by that experiment.


Dishes
Posted by Vonita (Edmonton, Ab) on 04/02/2016

The dishwasher detergent would be a lot more poisonous to you than borax. Borax in small doses is necessary for our health. There are 20 MG of Boron (the element in Borax) in an organic apple. We are all deficient because it isn't an element added in the commercial fertilizers. Boron will help most conditions.


Borax Pentahydrate Vs Borax Decahydrate
Posted by Eddy (Perth, Western Australia) on 12/14/2012

The chemical difference is that the Borax Pentahydrate molecule has 5 water molecules attached, and the Borax Decahydrate molecule has 10 water molecules attached.

The practical difference is that the Borax Pentahydrate is around 15% Boron, whereas the Borax Decahydrate molecule is 'bigger' because of the extra water molecules and as a result the ratio of Boron content is less, at about 10% of the total weight.

They are identical substances except for the molecular water content and the resulting different proportions of the element Boron. Since the Pentahydrate is 'stronger' at 15% Boron, you should reduce the doses by around 1/3rd to get to the equivalent Decahydrate doses. That's all.


Mold
Posted by Angela (Cheltenham, England) on 01/10/2010
★★★★★

My daughter is a student and the house she shares is damp and full of fungus on the walls. Her room is the worst. When I went to pick her up for the Christmas holidays I took a plastic spray bottle of Borax and water (just put enough Borax in so that no more will dissolve). I sprayed the walls with it when I arrived and then wiped all the fungus off. After helping her pack I sprayed the walls again and just left them to dry. This was a last ditch attempt to make things better because the landlord would not do anything.

When I took her back after Christmas I didn't know what we would find but imagine my delight when we walked into her room to find not a trace of mould.

Thanks to all on this website who have written about Borax and how it kills fungus.

I hope this helps others in the same situation.

By the way, I live in the UK and it is impossible to buy Borax in any shop (even Boots). They are now selling something called 'Borax substitute' and no-one will give me a straight answer as to why they won't sell Borax. One assistant in Boots said that it was because old people used to put it in their eyes. Anyway, I eventually ordered a tiny amount from Amazon and to be honest you don't need a huge amount. Though one chemical company said they would sell it to my by the ton at a very good price.

Multiple Cures
Posted by Jamie (Nottingham, Notts) on 03/19/2008
★★★★★

Hi, Just want to add that I use sodium tetraborate often. I am using it to successfully treat myself for candida, I use it to dilute my dishwasher powder 50%, the same with washing powder, clothes smell fresher and towels dont have to be boiled !!. I mix the powder with sodium bicarbonate and use it on my carpet several hours before hoovering and it removes the stale smeels that build up over the years, also sprikled in the bin before hte bag goes in to stop nasty smells - this works extremely well. I also use it over my body occasionally before i have a shower - My skin feels and looks healthier. What a great product.


Rosacea
Posted by Lynn (Grand Rapids, MI) on 10/28/2007
★★★★★

re: demodex mites/rosacea -- I am currently in the process of ridding my face of these nasty mites. I can attest to the fact that they really do move. I first put the borax solution on my cheeks to test it and all of the red spots moved to my chin the next day. It was incredibly freaky! I have felt them move to my eyes, nose ears and scalp at various times. Now there are a few spots showing up on my ankles as I fight to kill them all! I am determined to win this battle thanks to this awesome website and my new hero "Ted"!

I have ingested the borax several times now with no ill effects at all. I was quite leary at first, but I knew that everything else Ted had stated had proven to be true- so I took a leap of faith. I am so glad I did! Now I just need to stay focused and disciplined to follow through on the routine. Thank you so much for your help.You are making a huge difference in the lives of many people.

Fluoride Poisoning
Posted by Bev (Elroy, WI) on 12/13/2007
★★★★★

I had been treated with zithromax for pneumonia but what seemed to trigger the severe, sudden onset of reflux was taking 200mg of ibuprofen twice within the week for pain in my neck during that time. The ibuprofen caused a gastric ulcer since I had been on periodic courses of prednisone earlier for acute asthma which resolved after seven weeks of antibiotics. When I got the pneumonia I had no asthma but a high fever, fatigue and pain in the neck. Steroids can cause ulcers but I didn't think the effect would last that long as I was not taking any at the time. I woke up choking at night with reflux and started protonix. Stopped after about one year and since use digestive enzymes, honey, camomile, ACV with baking soda. Caution: Prevacid ia a fluoridated medication. Along with the reflux, I began severe hypothyroid symptoms I believe caused by Diflucan and Advair which are both fluoridated. Have been doing the borax detox twice a week and have reduced thyroid medication from 3 1/2 to 2 1/2 gr Armour.


Ted's Borax Feedback
Posted by Earth Clinic (Los Angeles, California)
★★★★★

Curious to know why borax is one of the most important remedies to kill fungus and nano-bacteria? Us too! We asked our independent contributor Ted from Bangkok for clarification on why borax is an important home remedy to consider in certain cases like dog mange, lupus and rosacea.

Ted's replied: "There are a lot of evidence why borax is effective against nearly all forms of fungus, whether they be mycoplasma found in lupus, rosacea, dog mange, interstitial cystitis plasmodium parasites, Morgellons disease, or even pneumonia. I think borax medicine is one of the medicines most ignored, misinformed or even suppressed in our present society. The authorities have done it so well that very few know that the toxicity of borax is about equal to that of simple table salt.

I have seen almost daily, people dying of pneumonia (James Brown died a couple of days ago), a Thai actor got his brains eaten by a plasmodium, for example. The possible cure is relatively simple: borax. Every time I see people dying, borax always come to mind, and you probably see why. Even health experts such as Dr. Batmanhelidj (Your Body Cries for Water) got pneumonia, as so did Bob Hope and Buddy Ebsen (Beverly HillBilly). I think pneumonia kills just as many people, it's just that cancer and heart disease take greater billboard area. Because of the way the medical system is structured, heart disease and cancer is more profitable, and a simple magnesium and pH may have helped both problems in prevention and possibly cure (I have seen this on many occasions) for a lot less cost.

Below is one of the many interesting articles concerning borax, which mentions the use of borax against fungus, a well known fact amongst microbiologists but totally unknown to the public.

The second article mentions about the use of borax against the dreaded an incurable plasmodium related organism, a common parasites in human. Never mind about its own effectiveness when combined with hydrogen peroxide in the use of dog mange! Ted"

PIONEER MAGAZINE
Borax Versus Killer Fungus
January 1994

Conifer forests are threatened all over the northern hemisphere by the tiny, ubiquitous spores of a naturally occurring fungus called Heterobasidion annosum. This disease, better known as Fomes, has reached epidemic proportions in Scandinavia, and is a growing menace in the managed forests of Canada, United States, Britain, and Russia. Fomes rots the roots and heartwood of growing trees. It could be called the acid rain of the fungus world.

Supporting the UK's Forestry Commission, Borax Group scientists Kieran Quill and Jeff Lloyd are fighting back against Fomes, and discovering how to do so with maximum effectiveness and economy. Their principal weapons are Tim-bor (disodium octaborate tetrahydrate) and the analytical capacity of the Borax Research laboratories.

Fomes cannot live freely in soil nor can it infect live trees except through root contact or wounds. Its spores however can colonize freshly cut stumps - both the "thinnings" which are essential as forests mature and the stumps left when the crop is finally felled.

The spores are produced by hoof-shaped fruiting bodies near ground level at a daily rate of about six million per square centimeter. Because these spores can be dispersed over distances of at least 300 miles, Fomes can be considered ubiquitous in most managed forests. Once established the fungus can remain viable in a stump for decades, posing a continuous threat to any conifer growing or planted near it. Fomes can survive both extreme cold and extreme heat.

But how are healthy trees infected? Fomes spores germinate on the stump surface, whence the fungus gradually colonizes the root system of the felled tree. From there it enters the root systems of living trees that are in contact with the stump's roots, causing both roots and heartwood to decay, eventually killing the tree.

The fungus is almost impossible to eradicate, except by the removal of all stumps soon after felling - an expensive and rarely practicable option. However, germination of spores on the surface of stumps can be stopped by chemical and biological agents. In the past, this has been carried out manually by the tree feller, but now with increasing mechanization, the requirements have changed. Today a material is needed that can be sprayed automatically onto the stump while the harvesting machine is actually severing the tree. The material must give value for money, be easy to obtain, have low mammalian toxicity, be non-corrosive and environmentally benign.

Among several fungicides tested, borates have consistently given good control. Tim-bor (known as Tim-Bor® in North America) and borax are the only chemicals to have EPA approval for the control of Fomes in the U.S. However materials that are effective over large areas of North America may behave differently in northern Europe where rainfall, climatic conditions and forest management techniques could result in a completely different set of disease and control characteristics. In the light of this, the UK Forestry Commission and the Borax Group have carried out trials in Scotland with the object of determining borate efficacy. What is the threshold at which Tim-bor becomes toxic to the fungus? How little will do the trick?

Undiseased Sitka spruce near Peebles, Scotland were felled and their stumps were treated with Tim-bor at four percent, two percent, one percent, 0.5 percent, or with water. Twenty-four hours later Fomes was applied dropwise by hypodermic syringe.

The stumps were left to mature for a year, during which time samples of wood were regularly extracted with a core borer for borate analysis. At the end of a year, the amount of stump colonized by Fomes was measured on a one inch thick disc cut from a standard depth. Each disc was incubated at 10°C to 15°C for ten days.

During incubation, fruiting structures of the fungus emerge from infected wood. These can be seen quite easily under a dissecting microscope, and allow any diseased zones of the stump to be mapped. A comparison of the measured diseased areas on the sample discs provides a means of judging the success of a particular treatment.

All analytical work for the project was carried out at the Borax Research laboratories in Chessington (UK).

The results from this experiment indicate that at a borate concentration of around four percent, the mean area of infected heartwood was reduced from 22 percent to less than 0.5 percent. This represented less than one square centimeter, an insignificant inoculum. However, at concentrations of two percent and below, no significant control occurred. In an earlier experiment it was found that a concentration of five percent totally prevented infection. So a working concentration of four to five percent of Tim-bor is indicated for full disease control.

As a result of this research, Tim-bor is being assessed for full commercial application by the UK Forestry Commission, and has aroused widespread interest across Europe."

-------

PIONEER MAGAZINE

Of Cabbages And Things
February 1999

Plasmodiophora brassicae are nasty little beasts of uncertain origins. They may relate to the protozoa, single celled organisms which are neither plants nor animals, and are only a few thousandths of a millimeter wide and long. Most of their relatives in this microscopic world are harmless, but some distant cousins are Plasmodium species, which cause malaria in humans and Amoeba species which cause dysentery. Plasmodiophora brassicae's parasitic way of life is to attack vegetables of the brassica family, causing the debilitating clubroot disease. Now, evidence is emerging that boron might play an important part in keeping its effects in check.

Crops of the brassica family are of enormous worldwide importance. Arguably they are second only to cereals in their contribution to human diet and welfare. They range from the cabbages, cauliflowers, calabrese and brussels sprouts familiar in the western world, to a wide array of leafy and root vegetables widespread in India, China and Japan. The Chinese cabbage, for example, is one of the most important foodstuffs of the Orient. Much of the world supply of vegetable oil comes from rape and mustard seed, while swedes (rutabagas) and turnips are important animal fodder crops in Europe and North America.

There wouldn't be much of a problem hosting a parasite like Plasmodiophora if it didn't have such rampant and dire side effects. In clubroot disease, the plant roots are distorted by massive galls, which inhibit water and nutrient uptake. The grossly deformed roots sap carbohydrates from the leaves and deprive developing flowers. The foliage turns bluish-green, then yellow and then wilts: the plant is past the point of no return and nothing can restore it to health.

Not surprisingly, this is responsible for drastic crop losses and poor quality. It is also virtually impossible, certainly in intensively-farmed regimes, to eradicate the parasite from the soil in which it spends much of its lifecycle.

When Plasmodiophora spores germinate in the soil, the tiny organisms swim around and as soon as they meet a root hair they attach and inject their own cell contents into the root. The genetic material multiplies inside the plant, and it is believed that this presence upsets the host hormone metabolism and leads to uncontrolled cell growth - almost a plant cancer. Once established and now mature, the parasites release billions of new spores back into the soil. It is a very robust lifecycle which is almost impossible to break.

There are clues too that Plasmodiophora may incorporate DNA from the host - perhaps a reason why biological control methods or genetically- induced protection methods have not yet been found. The traditional ways of controlling Plasmodiophora, either heavy liming (that is, adding quantities of calcium), alternative crop rotations or better soil drainage, similarly have only limited effect.

This is where boron comes in. The element is an essential plant nutrient, and it is well known that boron-healthy plants are better able to resist disease-causing organisms. In the case of brassicas, the important thing is to give the plant a head start, and certainly enough boron to begin with can help it resist clubroot.

But this doesn't fully explain why crops which enjoy good boron availability seem to be able to resist clubroot significantly better. Researchers, led by Professor Geoffrey Dixon of the Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, UK have been looking into this puzzle.

They started out with three possible ideas. Does boron somehow reduce the potency of the clubroot invader directly in the soil? Might it encourage the growth and activity of soil microbes which then prey on the Plasmodiophora before they attack? Or does it actually fight the invasion or its effects within the plant itself?

The team now suspects it is actually the latter. For boron, which contributes so much for so little to plant metabolism, seems not to do the same for the parasitic protozoan. Indeed it works in the opposite way and actually slows down the lifecycle.

What boron and, less strongly, calcium (from heavy liming) seem to do is to reduce the rate at which the invaders mature inside the root and turn into secondary sporangiophores - the ones that cause the damage - whose mission is to release new generations into the outside subterranean world. Boron apparently doesn't stop the initial invasion, but puts the harmful metamorphosis into slow motion.

Whether boron is altering the biochemical environment inside the root to make it Plasmodiophora-unfriendly, or is encouraging the plant to retaliate is not yet clear. But the effect is the same. Brassicas are given more, and often enough time to mature and establish effective roots before clubroot tumors wreak their damage.

A 15-year long series of experiments conducted by the Strathclyde team has convincingly demonstrated that a specific application of boron to the seedlings at transplanting does indeed reduce the onset of clubroot symptoms and hence protects crop yields to a significant degree.

Species by species, brassicas vary in their susceptibility to boron deficiency, but generally they are rated as vulnerable to low boron levels for general growth and health: boron supplementation is, then, important anyway.

But the new message for growers is that, in the right amount and at the right time, it keeps clubroot in check.

Borax Decahydrate 99.9%
Posted by Mama to Many (TN) on 12/17/2022
★★★★★

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~


Candida
Posted by Suzi (College Station, Texas) on 12/29/2021

The symptoms you were experiencing was the candida die off. It makes you feel horrible but that's how you know that it is working.


Multiple Cures
Posted by Jean (Louisiana) on 10/25/2020

Good old fashioned 20 mule team borax in the laundry section of a grocery store or hardware store.


Borax Dosages
Posted by Live4Truth (Liberty, USA) on 01/29/2022

People, there is bad info out there giving wrong dosages. Check for yourself:

https://www.aqua-calc.com/calculate/volume-to-weight

Borax decahydrate [Na2B4O7 ⋅ 10H2O] Laundry Borax:

5 ml (5cc) Borax = 8.65g Borax X 11.34% (Boron in Borax) = .98g (980mg) Boron

+1 liter (1000ml) water = 980mg/l Boron Aq

Therefore a 1ml dose = .98mg/ml Boron

So...

5ml (tsp) = 4.9mg Boron Aq

1 Liter / 5ml (1 tsp) = 200 5ml Doses

So one 5ml teaspoon of Borax in a liter of water will give you 200 teaspoons of solution total, take as much as you need for the dosage you want.

Each 5ml teaspoon of the solution has approx. 5mg of Boron.


Rheumatoid Arthritis
Posted by Diane (UK) on 02/08/2019
★★★★★

I have been using this Borax solution for several years now to fend off Rheumatoid arthritis. It works for me 99% - I get the odd twinge now and again, that's all.


Energy
Posted by Mary (Mi) on 08/29/2018
★★★★★

I started reading about ingesting borax and was kind of afraid at first but I've been using a 1/8th teaspoon in a bottled water (liter of water, to which I add more water as I drink it) every day except weekends. I think it has given me more energy, which is why I am keeping it up. I recently fell outside and twisted my ankle-but actually not a whole lot of pain (except when I first did it) and I was able to walk and work (and my work is standing factory work)-and I did twist it so that it swelled up and bruised. I don't know if the borax drink helped-because when I did it I thought I was going to have to call in to my work.


Boron Vs Borax
Posted by Art (California) on 09/27/2022 2148 posts

Jonnybegood,

I have taken both and 3 mg of boron did nothing for my arthritis. Borax is approximately 11.3% boron. My borax dose is roughly 950 mg. So 950 x .113 = 107.35 mg of boron. I take this dose of borax each weekday and take the weekends off. This has kept my arthritis in remission for way over a decade. I tried halving the dose and it helped my arthritis, but did not keep it in remission.

I have taken boron supplements up to around 36 mg and that was not enough to work for me, but I have seen it work in others.

Art


Boric Acid Ingestion
Posted by Dave (Fountain Innc) on 09/21/2017

Yes, Amanda; I have a thought on the Boric acid "event"... some of the most amazing scientific discoveries have been made by accident. If you did try the Boric acid again, I'd try a very small amount to see if it produced a bit of the same good effect without having a bad reaction. You might have just been lucky the first time.


Multiple Cures
Posted by Jacqueline (Devon) on 10/24/2017

You are taking way too much. If you're taking it in 1 litre of water every day, you should only be adding 1/8th of a teaspoon. If you are making a litre of concentrate, this is 1 teaspoon in 1 litre of water, but the daily dose is NO MORE THAN 3 TEASPOONS of this concentrate, starting from a dose of 1 teaspoon a day and working up. Please read more on this before you do yourself harm.


Arthritis, Herpes
Posted by Alioop (QLD) on 06/04/2021

I have read that it's the bad bugs in the gut dying.


Importance of Borax
Posted by Michael (New Zealand) on 12/22/2016

Thanks to Colt Wind (USA).

David Coory claims, in his wonderfully informative and well researched book "Stay Healthy by supplying what's lacking in your Diet", that there is a direct correlation between Boron levels in the soil and the incidence of Osteoarthritis nationally. Jamaican soils are said to be especially low in Boron and that 70% of the population eventually suffer from some form of O.A. New Zealand soils are also lacking in Boron. I learnt elsewhere, that by contrast, Fijians who live in Fiji, claim that O.A. is virtually unknown over there! Wow! Unfortunately, if they shift to New Zealand they may end up with O.A. after they have resided here for a while. There may be an Osteoporosis link to this (whole) story also I suspect. I would also be interested to learn if the fertilization of their sugar crops/coffee crops has anything to do with their soil depletion?

Remember: "You are what you Eat"!! Also remember: "The Answer lies in the Soil". There will be a short test on this next week!! Michael


Lichen Sclerosus
Posted by Vicki (Missouri) on 04/24/2018

Elaina,

You have to replace the minerals that were removed in the distilled water. Himalayan sea salt, the pink kind, makes distilled water the healthiest water you can drink. The exact minerals our bodies need are in this salt, all 84 of them.


Multiple Cures
Posted by Patty (Texas) on 09/22/2016
★★★★★

BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS

Borax water. I would like to know more about your cleansing symptoms. I started drinking 1/8 tsp per liter. I noticed improvements in facial skin, healing, leg pain, and knees not popping the first week.

HOWEVER - Day 6, I became immediately nauseous and very hot while volunteering (planting flowers). I had to leave after 2 hours because it happened 3 times. Then I had to make a trip to the bathroom-very loose evacuation. Was wondering if the magnesium supplement they suggested while drinking borax water may have had more punch than normal from the Borax. I was dumping water on myself to help cool down and since I was with a bunch of older women, joked that it must be my first hot flash that I've been warned about for the past 5 years. (I'm almost 50).

What symptoms did you incur? And is 6 weeks a standard time table? I have no idea what to expect. I'm very tired


Abdominal Pain, Bloating
Posted by Bill (Philppines) on 12/16/2023

Hi LadyOfMars,

When I checked your images below:

https://ibb.co/18Xjd4w

https://ibb.co/L86mvnb

. .. I'm afraid I must disagree with you on the weight that is displayed on your digital weighing device. You said that it was 50 mgs and I'm afraid that is wrong. The result of you weighing 1/8 tspn Borax is shown as 0.50 grams in your weighing device display, which is equivalent to 500 mgs.

Also, if you look-up the conversion of one rounded teaspoon of powder to grams on the internet it will be 5 grams. And if it is a level teaspoon of powder then it will be 4 grams. So, therefore, it must also follow that a 1/4 level tspn of powder will be 1000 mgs and an 1/8 level tspn must be 500 mgs.

Here's some more facts concerning Borax safety that should allay all your fears. According to it's Material Safety Data Sheet(MSDS) -- which is the bible for ALL chemical toxicity levels -- Borax has the same toxicity profile as common table salt. And according to the MSDS it would take approximately 25 teaspoons of salt to kill a human being. Same for Borax.

So we can now conclude that supplementing borax either at 1/8 tspn/day(for a woman) or at 1/4 tspn per day(for a man) in the right way -- at 3 days on and 4 days off -- is completely safe.

And as a man, I've been taking 1/4 tspn or 1000 mgs Borax regularly for about the last 16 years. I'm 73 y.o. with no arthritis, no rheumatism, no heart disease etc and there's nothing wrong with me. Just some reasons why I love supplementing Borax.


Borax Bans
Posted by Rskorj (Ga) on 02/17/2018

Don't take it for granted if you can buy it from the supermarket, I have seen corporations change the formulas of products and thus made them useless. The same thing can happen for the general public access to pure minerals. Stock up is good advice.


Borax and Gut Flora
Posted by John (UK) on 11/06/2021

I agree with this comment it has something to do with the human ph balance where good bacteria live and thrive and Borax works on this human ph level... Chlorine Dioxide does this also kills off bacteria that is not on the human ph balance...


Research
Posted by Roec (Los Angeles, Ca) on 11/16/2012

You have cited published medical research strictly controlled and approved by AMA and FDA guidelines and acceptance. Let not this define your perception regarding the efficacy and safety of Boron.

In many cases the funding for such provided studies should be a considering factor regarding the integrity of these journals. Also, most importantly a detailed history regarding the medical and medicinal use of boran should be researched over a longer period of time, for example, past 100 years before the strong hold of the current cartel of medicine.

This website is evidence that modern medicine is not working and many paradigms are not as they seem.


Hormones
Posted by Gavin (Manganui, Northland, New Zealand) on 11/30/2011
★★★★★

The research I've done on borax, suggests it's a natural hormone replacement therapy. So no worries in that department.


Ankylosing Spondylitis
Posted by Georgie (Rapid City, Sd, Usa) on 06/22/2011

I would be interested to know Ted's response to this question as I too, suffer from AS. Thanks!


Rheumatoid Arthritis
Posted by Bmr (Quito, Ecuador) on 01/24/2011
★★★★★

My sister has RA and she is doing fine and pain free since using LDN plus Borax. The Borax helped with the pain. You can check the borax section in this site for more information.


General Feedback
Posted by Becky From Ohio (Ashtabula, Ohio, Usa) on 12/31/2010

Steve, After I mentioned that borax is said to be less toxic than salt, I decided to look for its MSDS (material safety data sheet) on the internet and compare it to something most people would normal consider safe. I found the MSDS for borax and also Advil (ibuprofen). I thought it would be a good comparison. I'm not sure if you are familiar with MSDS's. They can be pretty scary looking if you are not use to them. Hopefully it will make you feel more confident in trying borax and not scare you. Under section 11 is the toxicological information. Advil has a much more toxic than borax. Advil has a acute oral toxicity (LD50) of 495 mg/kg. Borax oral toxicity (LD50) is 2,400 mg/kg. It takes much less Advil to kill 50 percent of the test animals (rats usually) than it does borax. If I'm doing my math correctly, Advil is almost 5 times more toxic than borax? Anyway, here are the 2 links to the MSDS's:

For borax http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924967

For Advil
http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924344

Maybe this will help?


Fluoride Poisoning
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) on 11/17/2008 391 posts

The only rash I have reported from borax came from Morgellon's Disease, Lyme, and Lupus that flushes out the nanoinsects and mycoplasma that lies deep into the system. It seems the use of niacin made the autoimmune disorder worse. So the rash is not a poisoning it's an autoimmunity. I still have a large box of nanoinsects where they come out on the skin, from one of the earthclinic reader, that are in the millions sitting on my desk. It killed off the nanoinsect which surfaces. The niacin is a double edged sword. In one cases the use of morgellons' got worse in another case, the taking of niacin together with borax killed the nanoinsect much faster. Therefore the rash if it is non-Mogellons, turns out to be a mycoplasma that seems to cause the joint pain.

As to the weight loss some, not all, will have that benefit from borax. The issue is if a person has low hormones or low blood boron, the supplementation of boron raises the bodys' hormones (e.g. growth hormone, sex hormone - it works like a viagra) and cause the body's metabolism to burn the fat faster. In fact boron it self is a surfactant that increases the body's hormone's efficiency even if the hormones is still low. In fact fats and oils lowers the body's hormones by blocking them, while surfactants, such as boron and lecithin helps hormones to function normally by removing the fats from blocking as it is soluble to the surfactant.

I don't support or condone the use of boron, but I find it necessary still for removal of fluoride which is a lot more toxic then boron, and still I don't use everyday either, but in conditions of autoimmune disease, Morgellon's, Lupus, these condition are very debilitating to the point that one case the debilitation lasted about two decades before the recovery is possible upon supplementation with baking soda, potassium citrate and borax.

A proper use of borax is to dissolve in one liter of water 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon. In event of colder climates the solubility of borax maybe reduced.so it may have to be dissolved in two liter of water. What I suspect however is that borax was not dissolved in a liter to two liter of drinking water here.

The other issue if niacin if not properly used can make the condition worse in event of an autoimmunity and is not likely will be posted as a remedy and used only as a last resort , after alkalizing remedy is used, and EDTA is used. Most of the cloggings or rashes after examining if it is not nanoinsects, mycoplasma, Morgellons, and bacteria that is deep inside the body, usually existing in the joints Then hydrogen peroxide drops is used too, If those were eliminated, than what I found is the enormous calcification that occurs whenever fluoride is of high level. It's the calcium that clogs the capillaries. The counter remedy to reduce calcium (fluoride tends to increase blood calcium as is metabolic acidosis). And therefore a more useful remedy is to reduce blood calcium to normal levels using the lemon and baking soda, which is a citrate, or a more stronger disodium EDTA, pH buffered to 7.5 pH. Citrate can also chelate out the excess calcium but alkalization also reduces the leeching effects that occurs with blood acidity.

Therefore to prevent further problems of excessive blood calcium, it is often the alkalization that has to be added. A borax is never taken directly but is always diluted with plenty of water, such as a liter of water. Quite often most of the problems I have encountered with borax used is instructions were not followed, and the dose exceeded the instructions, or not understanding proper alkalization during borax use, which is required if the body already had metabolic acidosis. If blood calcium is high it is also good to use the lemon and baking soda remedy where the resulting reaction is a citrate which reduces the blood calcium too. Weight loss is often from the effects of surfactant properties in removing excessive oils that blocks normal hormone functioning that causes weight gains in some people who already had high blood fats.

Ted


General Feedback
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) on 09/12/2008 391 posts

Borax or sodium tetraborate hexahydrate, or related name is a boron mineral that is an essential minerals for mammals but are toxic for insects, parasites and hence is used to get rid of parasites and has a unique anti-fungal.

Most reported toxicity is boric acid, which is the acid component of boron, but the sodium borate is an alkaline component so it's toxicity is low. Israel has the world's lowest arthritis and rheumatism because the borax content high in their drinking water is high. Boron deficiency leads to osteoporosis and many problems associated with candida, lichen planus, and the like. I was once chemical industrialist and we used boron compounds added into infant formula and multivitamins to prevent boron deficiency. One of the most unique features of borons is it's toxicity of 2000 mg/kg of LD50 is equivalent toxicity equal to that of sodium chloride, which is salt. The single most unique element is boron I used is to fight against metastatic cancer rather successfully when taken along with two other critical components, lecithin taken before and after every meals, and alkalization also. Boron raises the body's immune system by normalizing the body's hormone system and raises libido and sexual impotence and has some unique viagra like properties in both men and woman. Boron is an essential minerals in stabilizing calcium and magnesium components in the blood. Its anti cancer properties of boron or borax owes it to the fact it can kill fungus, reduce mycotoxins and which is really the cause behind cancer, arthritis, candida, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. It reduces excessive calcification of the pineal gland which is the control center of the biological clock and is used to detoxify or reduce the toxicity of fluoridated water. In fact this is the antidote I used to prevent myself from death of accidental fluoride poisoning during my laboratory work with hydrofluoric acid. I wouldn't be hear typing this post if it hadn't been for borax saving my life on a couple of ocassions. One common poisoning that parents worry is when children eat up the almost most of the toothpaste tube and borax has saved their life. The toxicity of fluoride we used in toothpaste is actually more than 10 times more toxic than borax. Borax toxicity of LD50 is equal to that of Salt, which is safer than some of the pharmaceuticals that is FDA approved. Because of its effectiveness in most remedies, the fact that its an essential mineral and that it has saved my life, boron isn't going to go away that easily. Think of it this way: what happens if your child has accidental fluoride poisoning from toothpaste and doctors say there's nothing you can do about it?

Ted


Fungal Infections
Posted by JS (Asheville, NC) on 05/31/2008
★★★★☆

I have been trying to get rid of a fungal infection on my feet that I have had for years. Athlete's foot and now, in the past, 2 years, severely cracked heels (a sign of fungus, I have read). The over-the-counter creams that I have used do work, but they don't work permanently: the infection just moves around and later returns.

After reading up on the many of the remedies on Earth Clinic, I decided to make up my own recipe for a foot bath. So for the past 4 days, I have done the following:
3 heaping tablespoons of borax (20 mule team) dissolved in hot water, then added to a large tupperware storage container (cheap and perfect size for 2 feet).
Add 1 cup of apple cider vinegar.
Add enough hot water to cover my the bottoms of my feet and ankles.
I soak my feet for 10-15 minutes every morning.

I can't tell you at this point if it will cure the fungal infection. What I can tell you is that after 9 minutes, I get a very powerful taste in my mouth. It is the same taste I get when I am taking supplements to detox from heavy metals. What's weird is that it happens every day at the 9 minute mark. (Coincidentally, oil pulling causes my sinuses to open at the 9 minute mark too). I think that this foot soak may be a powerful way to detox from heavy metals, particularly fluoride. I hope other people will give it a try and give me their opinions. I will report back with more results in a week or two.

Skin
Posted by S Doboze (Berlin, Germany) on 06/18/2008

Bathing in it is perfectly safe, when it is simply Boron Salt. Suggesting otherwise is alarmist, and does not serve people's needs. My red flags went up when I read the above comment and contents, apart from the propagadist fear content, from 'AX'.


Rosacea
Posted by Randy (Missouri) on 05/21/2021
★★★★★

You did not give it enough time ... continue internal 1/8 teaspoon borax dissolved in 2 cups of filtered water, drink 1/3 of it 3 times only per day ... for borax washing melt down your favorite face wash and add a 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon and stir in and pour back into a mold and let cool ... wash with it daily ... you will see a bigger difference long term ...


Fluoride Poisoning
Posted by Bev (Elroy, Wisconsin) on 09/11/2007
★★★★★

After reading the info on fluoride on Earth Clinic I realised that the onset of my severe hypothyroid symptoms of extreme fatigue, weight gain, hair loss etc. was caused by taking repeated doses of Flucanazole to prevent yeast during repeated antibiotics for acute asthma [healed after 90 days on Zithromax]. My TSH [thyroid stimulating hormone] is less than .01 which shows hyperthyroidism so I have had a hard time finding a doctor willing to treat me. Now I know it is because the fluoride inhibits the pituitary gland from producing TSH. I live in a fluoridated community so my exposure has been long term. For several years I have had reverse osmosis water but it is very disappointing to find there is no acceptable whole house removal system. It was recommended to me to take cool showers as skin absorption is greater than drinking. I am hoping to convince our city council to drop the fluoride. I was happy to hear that borax can be used for detox. Yesterday I mixed 1/8 tsp of borax and sea salt in one L of water. During the night I awoke with a headache. By morning it was so bad that I vomited the aspirin, snack and enzymes I took to combat it. I couldn't keep anything other than sips down without dry heaves until early evening.I am thinking that is a detox reaction. I am going to hold off another day and dilute it further. I currently take Armour Thyroid and about $400 of supplements, mainly enzymes to prevent reflux, keep spinal alignment, joint stiffness, fatigue, sinus infections, constipation, hair loss and all those other nasty hypothyroid effects. I was also taking the apple cider vinegar and baking soda [about 8 days now] at the same time so may be that was too much at once with the borax. I will keep you posted on my progress. Thank you for this wonderful website.


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