Borax: Unlocking the Health Benefits of a Natural Compound

Laugh if you will but is it possible for a woman to have jock itch because I get something that you could describe like that?! If borax treats it I assume it is fungal?

Hi Jill,
I would just drink a lot of water throughout the day if I were you. I think you'll be fine. Borax is as toxic as table salt.

Hi Richard... Ted's Borax remedy entails that you do the following:

* Mix 1/8 tspn(for women) or 1/4 tspn(for men) in one liter of water.

* Drink one liter of this mixture every day for only four days a week. So, that's for days taking the mixture then three days off the mixture every week.

I copied this directly off the 20 Mule Team Borax site:

In earlier times, 20 Mule Team® Borax was proclaimed to be a magical crystal and was used to aid digestion, keep milk sweet and even cure epilepsy. Common sense and modern technology have brought us better solutions to these and other problems, but 20 Mule Team® Borax still has a place in your home.

I've tried Mule 20 with no problems but then I saw it in the pellet form in the health section of the store. it is the stuff you've seen at the Naturopathic dr office, anyhow it is Boiron Homepathic medicine, Borax in the pellet form. It is safe just follow the instructions on the bottle, You can buy it at most stores where they have a health food section or just do web search and go to trusted source like A____ and they will deliver it to your door! I hope that helps people.

Steve,
I'm sure someone can address this better than I, but I would like to offer my personal experience to you until a better explanation is posted. I too felt very nervous about consuming something that was labeled "not for human consumption. " I remember reading that the toxicity of borax is about the same as is for salt. (I haven't consulted any MSDS's to prove that thought. I believe you could get those over the internet?) Anyway, I finally decided that 1) the dose was small- 1/8th of a teaspoon generally for women, 1/4 of a teaspoon for mean. 2)Even if it wasn't good for me, it was basically just a little bit of soap? Also- not for human consumption doesn't necessarily mean it will hurt you, just that a government agency won't recommend it. That doesn't mean it IS safe, but it may not mean it isn't.

So, I did try the borax for arthritis pain. Reluctantly at first, but I was quite desperate. I have had GREAT results, and NO bad reactions. Within a few days my knee pain (I'm calling it arthritis, but I'm not sure what was all going on in my knees)was greatly improved. It felt like cement breaking up in my knees. I am still using the borax (along with ACV) most days. I take a break from it every once in a while. If I go too long the "cement" and pain in the knees comes back and I start back on the borax and it clears right up. I suggest it to so many people I know that sound like it might help- but so far no one will try it. They just can't get over it not being made for human consumption. Such a shame. I was very close to having to go to an orthopedic surgeon before I tried the borax. I highly recommend it!

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?

Hi - Re Borax... I take Boron every day in capsul form. It is amazing for arthritis. I used to have bad hand pain every morning, now I only have it when I have not taken my boron for a few days. I am wondering if Borax and Boron are similar or even the same thing? I am one of those people who has a hard time considering consuming laundry soap. Even in such small amounts, the thought of it is - pardon the pun - hard for me to swallow. ;)

In my opinion anyone with arthritis pain or osteoperosis would do well to look up boron on the search engines. Boron is one of the KEY components for building bone, along with Magnesium, Vitamin D-3 and Calcium. I try to keep my supplimental calcium intake at the lowest level possible and when I do take it it is a 1:1 ratio with Magnesuim. Vitamin D I take at leat 4,000 iu a day. I live in the North, and there is virtually zero sun here in the fall and winter. All I can say is if you have joint pain or bone issues - read up on all of the above - They are amazing! Here is to a Happy and Healthy New Year! Carly

Thanks for relating your experience with borax. I will try it for my poor big toe (not gout)! 1/8 tspn sodium borate in juice per day? Everyone is freaked out by me taking Lugols or suggesting H202. Sodium borate is great for athlete's foot, gone in 2 days, just sprinkle it on.

Hi Becky, thanks for relaying your experience.. It has given me hope for my rheumatoid arthritis! I have been taking a licked fingertip of Borax mixed in an ACV/honey hot toddy every evening for 5 days and, while I'm not getting any Borax side effects, I'm not feeling any pain relief either. I know it was ages ago now, but just wondering if you remember how long you had to take it for before you felt any benefit? Ted has said 4 days on, 3 days off but I think I'm going to go for broke and keep going! :) Did you take it with breaks or consistently? I'm a bit leery of taking it daily for weeks on end...

Hope you are still in good health.. And that it may have even gone away!

I take it most days. It's just the 20 Mule Team. I do the other, alternative mixture made thus: take a 1/2 litre bottle and put 1/2 a teaspoon in the bottom. Add a little boiling water to dissolve. Top up bottle with filtered water and put into fridge. One teaspoon of this mixture = 3 mgs of boron, so start with one teaspoon in a cup of tea or coffee, and when you find no problems with that, increase to 2 teaspoons a day, then 3 teaspoons a day. I take this probably 5 times a week, but it doesn't hurt if it's taken all the time. I find it has NO side-effects and it does reduce the pain of my rheumatoid arthritis. It certainly didn't kill me. I will add however, that I take 400 mgs of magnesium every day and apparently that helps your body use the boron where it's needed.

Borax is not any kind of soap..

When used to wash clothes it softens the water, making your laundry detergent more effective and you are able to use less detergent...

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.

Hi Brendan, I have taken this brand internally and found it safe. Many years ago I learned from a friend that quite a few people were using it internally after they had been to a Dr. Joel Wallach seminar and in those days that brand even had the label poison on the container. Under our laws as this product is not a poisonous substance it cannot be labeled as such. If a product/substance is deemed poisonous it has to be labeled as poisonous and you can go to the person/company selling it and ask for the MSDS Sheet (Manufacturers Safety Data Sheet) and they are required by law to give it to you. This gives the legal saftey info about the product. Even at the supermarket they will look it up and print one out for you.

My husband recently went to get borax from the supermarket and the Harpers brand is no longer available here and the only one they have is in a green container (hubby & shop assistant spent quite some time looking for it as neither knew it had changed). It has the standard "CAUTION - keep out of reach of children" and in very fine print on the back the poison hot line ph #. This container does not even have a caution about taking it internally. Borax in Australia I think has the saftey rating of S5, which requires it to have "Caution" on the label. Here is a site that has the definitions of these ratings:
Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_for_the_Uniform_Scheduling_of_Drugs_and_Poisons

Having said all this the dose makes the therapy or the poison. Just as salt has a level that makes it a poison for us so does Borax. Boric Acid is the one that is considered HIGHLY TOXIC for internal use. So I would NEVER use it. Here is a site for some info on boric acid:
Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boric_acid

All the best in finding what works for you.

After re-reading my post I need to clarify when I said I would never use Boric Acid I meant - I would never use it internally. As I do not have the skill to neutralize the acid nor would I bother to try when borax (99% or more pure) is available to us.

Hi Maria from Gippsland, That is really helpful info. I'll remember about the MSDS sheets, I never knew that but it could be useful. Thankyou.

Hi Peter... I would certainly not use the brand you have found because it is specifically a cosmetic form of borax -- for topical use only. In the specification, it says that it only contains 70% borax, also containing Sodium Oxide as well as small amounts of Chloride. I certainly would not ingest this form of borax.

If I could, I would simply use the 20 Mule Team Borax as recommended by Ted. Unfortunately they don't sell it in the Phillipines, but I have managed to buy chemical grade borax(sodium Tetraborate) in Thailand(99% pure) but you will probably have great difficulty purchasing chemical grade borax cheaply in the US. So the only option open to you will be to purchase chemical grade borax through the internet. This may be expensive.

Borax was removed from poisons list in 2001. Pat Coleby, natural farming/animal expert in Australia prescribes Borax for treatment of arthritis in horses. ACV is also high in Boron.