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Boron, Bone Health and Gadolinium Deposition Disease.



A few months back a research oriented GDD individual brought to my attention Boron, and that it may decrease bone pain in GDD sufferers. Most recently I have read an article in Epoch Times by Emma Suttie on Boron and knee pain, in which she gives a very nice larger description of Boron and its potential benefits for many things.


On the subject of GDD, it is likely that features described for Boron of decreasing bone and joint pain, and additional anti-inflammatory properties, are all critical for GDD sufferers.


A daily intake recommendation suggested is 3-6 mg/ day, with 1 mg being the minimum and 20 mg too much. What I like very much about Ms Suttie's article is she emphasizes getting Boron from food items in the diet. This is something that I stress in most things I write on similar subjects:


  1. Start with consuming a broad array of dietary items that appear to contain Boron, or whatever else may be critical for GDD (and basically everything else). For example I have described this also with Magnesium. Consume a broad array of food items that contain that substance. Fortunately, Boron is contained in many fruits and vegetables, which are the usual food types that I (and many others before me) describe as important to eat. So this includes the usual items: broccoli, spinach, carrots, avocadoes, prunes, grapes, apples, pears, beans, peas, nuts.

  2. I get nervous when people focus too much on numbers, especially when there is uncertainty, because the tendency then is too take too much, especially of supplements, and with Boron the specter of people consuming the detergent Borax, I find frightening. The best approach is to allow your body to take up what it needs through eating.

  3. This does rely on a healthy microbiome. Many of us have damaged microbiomes, with excess antibiotic use a major culprit. So restoration of these is critical: again starting with rational broad-based food items: natural yogurt and kefir for example, and perhaps an array of different quality probiotics.

  4. Avoid weird suggestions such as consuming Borax.

  5. In general it is rare for individuals to have significant genetic abnormalities of intake of consumed metals of minerals. Examples Genetic Hemochromatosis (absorbing too much iron from the digestive tract) and Wilson's Disease (absorbing too much copper). So for > 95% of everyone just following a rational approach of a broad based array of various healthy food items is the best strategy. However a small minority, and maybe we are now recognizing a greater number of these variations, will require more detailed attention to metals/ minerals that our body either takes up too much or too little. In these rare individuals a more detailed dietary investigation would be needed, with the help of knowledgeable physicians and dieticians. Nickel comes to mind as something newly described, as too much may be problematic especially for inflammatory conditions of the digestive tract. This is an ongoing pursuit of paying attention to medical and health literature. Presently though, only a small number of us need to worry about a detailed food program. All of start with the basics.



In summary, it may well be that Boron is a metal that is very helpful to decrease bone pain, joint pain and inflammation in GDD. I do not recommend taking supplements for this, because I worry about people getting too excited about getting enough, and then becoming Boron toxic. Take foods that have a relatively high amount of Boron in them, and let all the organisms (which includes bacteria and our own cells) involved in digestion do their magic regarding absorbing the right amount.

The harkens to the Goldilocks Principle. Everything in (rational) moderation.


Richard Semelka, MD

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