[Fwd: [Crock_Lakhovsky] *Boron*, the underappreciated mineral]

[Guest guest]

This is a very good article on Boron's affect on arthritis, mental

alertness and osteoporosis. It seems that it is a trace mineral that

is widespread in its deficiency.

Summary: " Boron is one of the most important minerals involved in bone

and joint health. Its role is likely as important as calcium and vitamin D.

Furthermore, boron can increase mental alertness, reduce inflammation

and help in the metabolism of key hormones. The widespread boron

deficiency that exists throughout the United States and the world

indicates that supplementation with this often overlooked mineral may

positively affect many aspects of health. "

Garnet

===============================================

Boron:

Under-Appreciated Mineral Enhances Cognition, Bone and Joint Health

G. Schauss, PhD, FACN

Boron is perhaps one of the least known and underappreciated minerals.

Its bone- and joint-supporting abilities are often neglected in favor of

calcium, when in reality it works with calcium to maintain healthy

bones. Few individuals are aware of the other ways boron is important to

health, including a surprising ability to *enhance cognition*. Because

boron is so important to many aspects of health, it is particularly

troubling that many individuals are deficient in this important mineral,

increasing the risk of osteoporosis and arthritis.

Since 1923 boron has been recognized as an essential nutrient for

plants. Among plants the deficiency of boron is the most common

deficiency of any trace element.

Boron is not pervasive in the human diet. Instead it is found in

significant amounts in only a few foods, leading off with *apples* (42.5

micrograms/gram of dry weight) and continuing down through *soy meal* (28

ug/g) then *grapes, tomato, celery, almonds, broccoli, bananas, wines and

*(7.2 ug/g).

Today it is known that boron is present in body tissues and fluids found

in the human body primarily as boric acid.1 The Tolerable Upper Intake

Level for boron set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of

Medicine for boron has been established at 20 mg/day for adults over the

age of 18 years.2

I first discussed boron, a little known trace element at the time,

during the first national conference on nutrition and behavior held in

1982 at The University of Texas at Austin's LBJ Auditorium. I will never

forget looking out over a confused audience of nearly 1,000 attendees as

they glanced at each other and wondered why would anyone talk about a

trace element for which there was no evidence of essentiality in any

animal or in humans.

In the auditorium was Curtiss D. Hunt, PhD, a scientist studying trace

elements at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). He was surprised

that anyone appreciated boron's potential role in human health and had

gathered enough data to keep an audience of nearly 1,000 scientists and

health practitioners interested in the subject for more than half an hour.

Unlike 25 years ago, boron is now known to play a role in numerous

metabolic processes affecting the health of animals and humans.3

Bone-Building Nutrient

Boron's role in human health is now known to be diverse. Inadequate

boron intake is involved in inflammatory processes, including joint

swelling, restricted movement, as well as body temperature, antibody

production, blood hemostasis, serine protease (which is linked to

platelet aggregation), activity of lipoxygenase (an enzyme that helps

control inflammation) and metabolism of leukotrienes, chemical mediators

of inflammation.4 However, perhaps boron's most well-known role in

health is its ability to *maintain the bones and joints*.

In the audience at that 1982 conference was Forrest Nielsen, PhD, who at

the time worked at the USDA's Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research

Center in North Dakota. In subsequent years, Nielsen would demonstrate

that boron deficiency combined with insufficient magnesium intake

contributed to detrimental changes in bones due to suboptimal bone

formation and maintenance.5 He and his colleagues demonstrated that

inadequate boron intake depressed plasma ionized calcium and calcitonin

and elevated plasma total calcium and urinary excretion of calcium.

Today we know the mechanism of action better based on the discovery that

boron deprivation in humans causes increased urinary calcium excretion.6

In addition to how suboptimal boron intake adversely affects bone

health, boron and/or magnesium deprivation also causes changes that are

seen in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. This is because boron

and magnesium are needed for optimal calcium metabolism. *Without

sufficient intake of both elements, bone loss is accelerated*, which over

time results in excessive bone loss that can lead to osteoporosis in men

and women.

Other research done with chickens demonstrated that boron

supplementation stimulated the growth and partially corrected leg

abnormalities in vitamin D3/cholecalciferol-deficient chicks.7 This

suggested that one of the functions of boron appears to be its

involvement in bone mineralization and structure. Years later it was

shown that indeed this is true in pigs, whose metabolism and physiology

is much closer to that of humans.8

When this discovery was factored into the incidence of osteoarthritis

worldwide based on World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, it was

discovered that *people living in areas of the world with high levels of

boron in the soil (and hence local foods) had a much lower incidence of

arthritis*, compared to those living in areas that had deficient levels.

For example, the country with the highest arthritis incidence in the

world, Jamaica, also had the lowest concentration of boron in the soil

found in any country in the world.9

Part of the reason for this inverse relationship was more recently made

clear with the discovery that dietary boron had a similar effect as

supplementation with estrogen in humans.10 What is known today is that

large amounts of dietary boron can benefit vitamin D3 and calcium status

in humans.11

Surprising Role in Hormonal Health

To understand this relationship between boron to calcium and vitamin D,

some steroid chemistry must be explained. Boron is necessary for the

*formation of specific steroid hormones*. A clinical trial has

demonstrated that both 17-beta-estradiol and testosterone levels

significantly increase in postmenopausal women consuming 3 mg/day of

boron for 7 weeks.12 In this study, boron supplementation caused a

twofold increase in testosterone concentrations and a significant

increase in calcium retention. In another study, men given 10 mg of

boron a day for 4 weeks experienced a significant increase in

17-beta-estradiol levels and an increase in plasma testosterone.13

Boron's ability to play a role in the formation of specific steroid

hormones partially explains its effect on arthritis. Boron can complex

with hydroxyl groups and form corticosteroids, which are known to

alleviate symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Research

performed in Australia demonstrated that when there were high levels of

boron in the soil and water, the number of cases of musculoskeletal

diseases was found to be 50 percent lower in areas that had low boron

concentrations in water and soil.14

It is now believed that high levels of dietary boron can postpone the

onset and lessen the severity of arthritis, which has already been

demonstrated in experiments in rats, partially due to the inhibition of

T-cell activity, associated with arthritis, and the modulation of serum

antibody levels.15

Boron also has been shown to *lower plasma lipid levels*, possibly by

decreasing lipid accumulation and promoting cholesterol removal for

tissue although far more research needs to be done to explain how this

works.16

Brain-Boosting Actions

Boron is much more than another mineral-it is a dynamic trace element

when consumed in physiologic amounts that can affect a broad range of

life processes involving macrominerals, energy substrates such as

glucose and triglycerides, amino acids and proteins, free radicals and

even estrogen. Any one of these processes cannot only effect the

composition but also the function of numerous body systems.17

One of the most interesting aspects of boron's range of nutritional

benefits is its positive effect on the brain and central nervous system.

*Inadequate boron intake can contribute to a lack of energy, ability to

stay focused on tasks and mental alertness*. To demonstrate this, I had a

class of students taking a heavy load of second and third year med

school courses participate as volunteers in a randomized, double-blind,

placebo-controlled study, to help them gain practical experience in

learning how clinical studies are designed.

The goal was to evaluate the effect of boron on mental alertness.

Students received either a placebo capsule or 3 mg of boron daily for

three months. Neither the students nor I knew which student received the

placebo and which student received the boron. After just one month I was

fairly certain which students were taking boron supplements rather than

the placebo based on my observation of their level of alertness and

participation in class discussions. At the end of the study I discovered

that I had correctly selected 92 percent of the students on boron based

on my observations during class. When the code was broken and we found

out whom had taken what, it supported not only their own impression as

to whether they were on boron supplementation or placebo, but also mine

as well. The difference was obvious to almost every student.

The explanation for these results was that inadequate boron intake

lowered the activity in brain regions associated with alertness. This

has been shown experimentally in humans who were carefully monitored for

changes using an electroencephalogram (EEG) following boron

supplementation.18

Widespread Deficiency

Many people ask: " Can't foods rich in boron meet my requirements for

boron? " Unfortunately, the level of boron in a food depends on

geographical factors, and worse, very few foods containing

physiologically adequate levels of boron exist in the food supply chain

to meet our needs. Even an apple, a good source of boron, can have very

low levels of boron depending on whether it is grown in a dry or wet

climate.

In early 1982 I was traveling from a nutrition conference in Australia

to another nutrition conference in New Zealand. As luck would have it I

found myself sitting next to a professor from Australia who was

traveling to the same conference. I looked at the conference program and

noticed he was going to discuss the role of trace elements in the

development and treatment of arthritis in sheep. I found the title of

his presentation quite puzzling as the conference was about human

health, not sheep's.

What I quickly learned from him was that New Zealand had less then three

and a half million people living in the country, yet it had over 65

million sheep. Hence, sheep were important to New Zealanders. What I

also did not know was that sheep experienced the same kind of

osteoarthritis that humans did.

What caught my attention was what he would discuss at the conference,

and what I was privy to learn from his years of research: boron levels

in the plants the sheep consumed determined the incidence and severity

of arthritis. As a result of years of meticulous record keeping, he had

observed a clear association between boron intake and osteoarthritis in

sheep.

His research contributed to the growing evidence that certain rainy

regions of New Zealand deficient in boron had much higher levels of

arthritis not only in sheep but humans as well. It was in these areas of

the country that the incidence of severe arthritis was dramatically

high. By comparison, the driest parts of New Zealand, which experienced

far less leaching of boron out of the soil, had much lower incidences of

arthritis among sheep, with only the mildest symptoms associated with

arthrosis (a joint disorder).

His astute observation led to a series of experiments. Sheep suffering

from arthritis and grazing on land depleted of boron were given boron

supplements. The animals showed marked improvements in mobility. In

addition, the most surprising discovery was that the offspring had

somehow acquired some protection from arthritis development later as

adults when they continued to receive boron supplementation. Even more

important was the recognition that this research might have implications

in humans.19

Boron Supplementation

Because boron is rapidly absorbed and then excreted in the urine, its

potential for toxicity in humans is of the lowest order. There is no

evidence of toxicity in humans when given 10 mg of boron daily for long

periods.20 However, in individuals with kidney problems, boron intake,

like any intake of a mineral supplement, particularly potassium, should

be carefully monitored as impaired kidney function could reduce

excretion resulting in boron accumulation.

Conclusion

Boron is one of the most important minerals involved in bone and joint

health. Its role is likely as important as calcium and vitamin D.

Furthermore, boron can increase mental alertness, reduce inflammation

and help in the metabolism of key hormones. The widespread boron

deficiency that exists throughout the United States and the world

indicates that supplementation with this often overlooked mineral may

positively affect many aspects of health.

G, Schauss, PhD, FACN

G. Schauss, PhD, FACN is the Senior Director of the Natural

and Medicinal Products Division of AIBMR Life Sciences, Inc., in

Puyallup, Washington. He also is a Fellow in the American College of

Nutrition and a former Clinical Professor of Natural Products Research

and Adjunct Research Professor of Botanical Medicine at the National

College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. Additionally, his

extensive experience includes time spent as a member of the National

Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Alternative Medicine Advisory

Council, the Ad Hoc Developmental Planning Committee of the NIH Office

of Dietary Supplements, and as a reviewer of botanical standards and

information monographs for the U.S. Pharmacopoeia Convention (USP).

Previously, the U.S. government appointed him to represent the United

States as a voting member of the World Health Organization's Study Group

on Health Promotion. In 2005, Dr. Schauss received the Linus ing

Lecture Award " for contributions in the medical sciences " from the

American College for the Advancement of Medicine.

References

1. Sutherland B, et al. Determining human dietary requirements for

boron. Biological Trace Element Research. 1998; 66: 193-204.

2. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron,

Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon,

Vanadium and Zinc. Institute of Medicine: National Academy Press,

Washington, DC, 2002.

3. Schauss, AG. Minerals, Trace Elements and Human Health, 4th Edition.

Biosocial Publications: Tacoma, 1999, pp. 33-36.

4. Hunt CD and Idso JP. Dietary boron as a physiological regulator of

the normal inflammatory response: A review and current research

progress. Journal of Trace Elements in Experimental Medicine. 1999;12:

221-233.

5. Nielsen FH. Studies on the relationship between boron and magnesium

which possibly affects the formation and maintenance of bones. Magnesium

and Trace Elements. 1990; 9:61-9.

6. Samman S, et al. The nutritional and metabolic effects of boron in

humans and animals. Biological Trace Element Research. 1998; 66: 227-235.

7. Hunt CD and Nielsen FH. Interaction between boron and cholecalciferol

in the chick. In: Trace Elements and Man and Animals-4. (McHowell J et

al, eds.) Australian Academy of Science: Canberra, 1981, pp. 597-600.

8. Armstrong TA, et al. Boron supplementation of a purified diet for

weanling pigs improves feed efficiency and bone strength characteristics

and alters plasma lipid metabolites. Journal of Nutrition. 2000; 139:

2575-2581.

9. Bentwich Z, Bingham R, Hegsted M et al. The Art of Getting Well:

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Disease: Fairview, TN, 1994.

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11. Naghii MR. The significance of dietary boron, with particular

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male subjects. Biological Trace Element Research. 1997; 56: 273-286.

14. Newnham RE. Agriculture practices affect arthritis. Nutrition and

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15. Nielsen FH. Boron in human and animal nutrition. Plant and Soil.

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16. Hall IH, et al. The effects of boron hyperlipidemic agents on LDL

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in Chemistry, Pathology, and Pharmacology. 1989; 65: 297-317.

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18. Newnham RE. Essentiality of boron for healthy bones and joints.

Environmental Health Perspectives. 1994;102 (Suppl. 7): 83-85.

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