The Borax
Conspiracy
How the
Arthritis Cure has been Stopped
Walter
Last
You may
not be able to imagine that borax, this humble insecticide and laundry
detergent, has the potential of singlehandedly bringing down our entire
economic system. But you do not need to worry, the danger has been recognised
and the necessary steps are already being taken to defuse the situation. I will
start with the basics and you will understand what I mean as the story unfolds.
Borax is
a naturally occurring mineral commonly mined from dried salt lakes, and is the
source of other manufactured boron compounds. The main deposits are in California
and Turkey. Chemical names are sodium tetraborate decahydrate, disodium tetraborate
decahydrate, or simply sodium borate. This means it
contains four atoms of boron as its central feature combined with two sodium
atoms and ten molecules (or sometimes less) of crystallisation water. All borax
is naturally mined, there is no synthetic borax, the difference is only how
much crystallisation water it contains - decahydrate
means 10 water molecules, pentahydrate means 5, and anhydrite means 0 water;
chemically it is all the same.
Borax is
commonly sold as technical or agricultural grade with 99 to 99.5% minimum
purity. Potential impurities consist of sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, bicarbonate,
carbonate, sulphate and phosphate but not toxic or heavy metals. This grade
includes the borax commonly used as household cleaner. Pharmaceutical grade is
not noticeably purer or better.
Borax is
the sodium salt of the weak boric acid. Because sodium is more strongly
alkaline, this makes a solution of borax strongly alkaline with a pH between 9
and 10 (pH 7 is neutral). When ingested, it reacts with hydrochloric acid in
the stomach to form boric acid and sodium chloride. The boron content of Borax
is 11.3% while for boric acid it is 17.5% or about 50% higher. Ingested boron
compounds are rapidly and nearly completely excreted with the urine. Formerly
boric acid was widely used as a preservative in foods but is now banned for
this purpose in most countries, and is also banned from public sale in Australia.
According
to conventional medicine it is not known if boron is essential for humans but
research shows that we do need it. The reason why it was difficult to answer
this question is the presence of boron in all plants and unprocessed foods.
Diets with a fair amount of fruit and vegetables provide about 2 to 5 mg of
boron per day, but this also depends on the region where the food was grown and
how it was grown.
In
reality the average intake in developed countries is 1-2 mg of boron per day.
Institutionalized patients may receive only 0.25 mg of daily boron. Chemical
fertilizers inhibit the uptake of boron from the soil: an organic apple
grown in good soil may have 20 mg boron, but if grown with fertilizer it may
have only 1 mg of boron. Fertilizers combined with poor food choices have
greatly reduced our boron intake compared to 50 or 100 years ago.
Further,
unhealthy cooking methods greatly reduce the availability of boron from food.
The cooking water of vegetables containing most of the minerals may be
discarded during home cooking or commercial processing; phytic
acid in baked goods, cereals and cooked legumes may greatly reduce
availability, while gluten sensitivity and Candida overgrowth inhibit the
absorption of minerals. All this makes health problems due to boron deficiency
now very common.
Health
Effects of Boron
Due to
their content of boron, borax and boric acid have basically the same health
effects, with good antiseptic, antifungal, and antiviral properties but only
mild antibacterial action. In plants as well as animals boron is essential for
the integrity and function of cell walls, and the way signals are transmitted
across membranes.
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.
The
German cancer researcher Dr Paul-Gerhard Seeger has shown that cancer commonly
starts with the deterioration of cell membranes. As boron is essential for cell
membranes and boron deficiency widespread, this may be an important cause for
the initiation of tumour growth. Boron compounds have anti-tumour properties
and are "potent anti-osteoporotic, anti-inflammatory, hypolipemic,
anti-coagulant and anti-neoplastic agents" (1).
This
overview shows the wide-ranging influence of boron on our health. In the
following I want to describe some of these health effects in greater detail.
The
Arthritis Cure of Rex Newnham
In the
1960's Rex Newnham, Ph.D., D.O., N.D, developed arthritis. At that time he was
a soil and plant scientist in Perth, Western Australia. Conventional drugs did
not help, so he looked for the cause into the chemistry of plants. He realized
that plants in that area were rather mineral deficient. Knowing that boron aids
calcium metabolism in plants he decided to try it. He started taking 30 mg of
borax a day, and in three weeks all pain, swelling and stiffness had disappeared.
He told
public health and medical school authorities about his discovery but they were
not interested. However, some people with arthritis were delighted as they
improved. Others were scared to take something with a poison label on the
container and meant to kill cockroaches and ants. Eventually he had tablets
made with a safe and effective quantity of borax.
Within
five years and only by word of mouth he sold 10,000 bottles a month. He could
no longer cope and asked a drug company to market it. That was a major mistake.
They indicated that this would replace more expensive drugs and reduce their
profits. It so happened that they had representatives on government health
committees and arranged that in 1981 Australia instituted a regulation that
declared boron and its compounds to be poisons in any concentration. He was
fined $1000 for selling a poison, and this successfully stopped his arthritis
cure from spreading in Australia. (2)
Subsequently
he published several scientific papers on borax and arthritis. One was a
double-blind trial in the mid 1980's at the Royal Melbourne Hospital which
showed that 70% of those who completed the trial were greatly improved. Only
12% improved when on placebo. There were no negative side-effects, but some
reported that their heart ailment had also improved, and there was better
general health and less tiredness. (3)
Most of
his later research was devoted to the relationship between soil boron levels
and arthritis. He found, for instance that the traditional sugarcane islands,
due to long-term heavy use of fertilizers, have very low soil-boron levels.
Jamaica has the lowest level and arthritis rates are about 70%. He noted that
even most dogs were limping. Next comes Mauritius with very low boron levels
and 50% arthritis. The daily boron intake in these countries is less than 1
mg/day. An interesting comparison is between Indian and native Fijians. The
Indians are estimated to have an arthritis rate of about 40% and eat much rice
grown with fertilizer while the native Fijians with an estimated arthritis rate
of 10% eat mainly starchy root vegetables grown privately without fertilizer.
The US,
England, Australia and New Zealand generally have average soil-boron levels
with an estimated intake of 1 to 2 mg of boron and arthritis rates of about
20%. But Carnarvon in Western Australia has high boron levels in soil and
water, and the arthritis rate is only 1%. It is similar in a place called Ngawha Springs in New Zealand with very high boron levels
in the spa water which is curative for arthritis. Actually all spas reputedly
curing arthritis have very high boron levels. These are also high in Israel
with an estimated daily boron intake of 5 to 8 mg and only 0.5 - 1% arthritis.
Bone
analysis showed that arthritic joints and nearby bones had only half the boron
content of healthy joints. Equally, synovial fluid that lubricates joints and
provides nutrients to the cartilage is boron deficient in arthritic joints.
After boron supplementation bones were much harder than normal and surgeons
found them more difficult to saw through. With additional boron bone fractures
heal in about half the normal time in both man and animal. Horses and dogs with
broken legs, or even a broken pelvis, have fully recovered.
Borax is
also effective with other forms of arthritis, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis,
Juvenile Arthritis, and Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus).
For instance Dr Newnham saw a young girl aged 9 months with juvenile arthritis.
He was able to cure her in 2 weeks.
He wrote
that commonly people can get rid of their pain, swelling and stiffness in about
1 to 3 months. Then they can reduce treatment from 3 to 1 boron tablet (each 3
mg) per day as a maintenance dose so that they can avoid any future arthritis.
He also stated that patients with rheumatoid arthritis commonly experienced a Herxheimer reaction and that this is always a good
prognostic sign. They must persevere and in another 2 or 3 weeks the pain,
swelling and stiffness will be gone. (4,5)
I found
this statement not only interesting but also surprising. The Herxheimer reaction is an early aggravation of symptoms
with increased pain. It is commonly due to toxins released by killed Candida
and mycoplasma. This is very common with
antimicrobial therapy, and borax definitely is an exceptionally good and strong
fungicide. What surprises me, however, is that this fungicidal effect is
already present at this rather low dose of 75 to 90 mg of borax. Equally
surprising is the finding that also up to 30% of those with osteoarthritis
experienced a Herxheimer reaction, suggesting that
the border between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is rather fluid. I
believe that in long-standing and especially resistant cases it will be
advisable to use other antimicrobials in addition. For co-factors in
arthritis treatment also see my article Arthritis and
Rheumatism or the booklet OVERCOMING
ARTHRITIS.
Osteoporosis
and Sex Hormones
Boron
deficiency causes greatly increased amounts of calcium and magnesium to
be lost with the urine. A borax supplement will reduce the daily loss of
calcium by nearly 50%. As this calcium comes mainly from resorbed
bone and teeth, boron deficiency may be the most important factor in causing
osteoporosis and tooth decay.
It has
been estimated that 55% of Americans over 50 have osteoporosis and of these
about 80% are women. Worldwide 1 in 3 women and 1 in 12 men over the age of 50
may have osteoporosis, and this is responsible for millions of fractures each
year. Rats with osteoporosis were given a boron supplement for 30 days with the
result that their bone quality was now comparable with that of the healthy
control group and of a group supplemented with oestradiol (6).
The
beneficial effect of borax on bones seems to be due to two interrelated
effects: a higher boron content of the bones which makes them harder, and a
normalisation of sex hormones which stimulates the growth of new bone. Low
oestrogen levels after menopause are thought to be the main reason why so many
older women develop osteoporosis. In men testosterone levels decline more
gradually which seems to be reflected in their later onset of osteoporosis as a
group.
Research
has now shown that boron supplementation in postmenopausal women doubles the
blood level of the most active form of oestrogen, 17-beta oestradiol, to the
level found in women on oestrogen replacement therapy. Equally, the blood
levels of testosterone more than doubled (7). With HRT there is a higher risk
of breast or endometrial cancer which is not known to happen with hormones
produced by the body as with borax supplementation.
Some
women get premenstrual problems because oestrogen levels are too high and
progesterone too low, and therefore may be afraid of using boron. However, I
found no evidence that boron raises oestrogen above normal healthy levels.
Boron may balance levels of sex hormones similar to the action of maca root powder. Maca acts on
the pituitary gland not only to increase but also to balance our sex hormones
and seems to stimulate our own progesterone production as needed.
A recent
study in younger men (29 - 50) showed that the level of free testosterone (the
form that matters most) had risen by one third after a daily supplementation of
about 100 mg of borax for one week (8). This is of special interest for
bodybuilders.
Contrary
to the medical preference of chemically castrating men with prostate cancer,
research with boron has shown that elevated testosterone levels are beneficial
by shrinking prostate tumours and PSA levels, PSA being a marker for tumours
and inflammation in the prostate. Also significantly improved memory and
cognition in elderly individuals may be partly due to increased levels of sex
hormones and partly to improved membrane functions of brain cells (9).
I have
been asked about boron supplementation for women with oestrogen-sensitive
breast cancer. Breast cancer is related to calcifications in the breast. In my
opinion it is more important to normalize the calcium-magnesium metabolism and
cellular membrane functions rather than feel restricted by a possibly faulty
medical concept, especially as I believe that cancer can usually be controlled
with long-term antimicrobial therapy. Therefore I would use boron as well as maca in this case.
Fungi and
Fluoride
Being
such an excellent fungicide it is not surprising that borax is being
successfully used to treat Candida. There is much interesting information on an
Earth Clinic forum called Borax Cures (10). With low to medium-weight people
use 1/8 teaspoon of borax powder and with heavier weight 1/4 teaspoon per litre
of water. One drinks the water spaced out during the day, and does this for 4
or 5 days a week as long as required.
Many
contributors wrote that it cured or greatly helped them. So for instance this
post: "I also have psoriasis, so maybe the soreness in my joints is the
psoriatic arthritis creeping in. I thought, after reading about borax here on
this forum, I would give it a try. OMG! In one day, the soreness in my knees
has vanished! .... Also, my psoriasis seems a lot better after 2 days drinking
1/4 tsp borax in 1 litre of water per day."
Another
one about toe fungus: "He wet his feet and then took a handful (of borax)
and rubbed it all over his feet. He said it stopped itching immediately! He was
stunned. A few weeks later I asked him how his athletes foot was and he said:
oh wow! it hasn't come back! that stuff totally cured it !!!"
Other
enthusiastic posts were about vaginal thrush. Borax appeared to be more
effective than other remedies. Commonly one large gelatine capsule filled with
borax or boric acid was inserted at bedtime for several nights or up to 2
weeks. Alternatively the powder can be mixed with cool solidified coconut oil
as a bolus or suppository.
A recent
scientific study (11) confirms these positive observations with vaginal thrush.
Boric acid at the dose of a filled capsule worked even in cases of
drug-resistant Candida and against all the tested pathogenic bacteria. Because
of the greater dilution, a douche may not be strong enough for bacteria and
drug-resistant Candida but it should work for normal Candida. Borax, due to its
alkalinity, was more effective than boric acid.
In normal
healthy conditions Candida exists as harmless oval yeast cells. When
challenged, chains of elongated cells called pseudohyphae
develop, and finally strongly invasive long, narrow and tube-like filaments
called hyphae. These damage the intestinal wall, and
cause inflammation and Leaky Gut Syndrome. Pseudohyphae
and hyphae can be seen in the blood of individuals
with cancer and autoimmune diseases. Candida can also form tough layers of biofilm.
This same study shows that boric acid/borax inhibits the formation of biofilms
and also the transformation of harmless yeast cells into invasive hyphal form. In other articles I have shown that this
process, commonly initiated by antibiotics, is a basic cause of most of our
modern diseases, and this makes borax and boric acid primary health remedies.
But this article shows that there are many more reasons to give them a top
rating.
A
scientific review in 2011 concluded: "... boric acid is a safe, alternative,
economic option for women with recurrent and chronic symptoms of vaginitis when conventional treatment fails..." (12).
But as it is so much better than drugs why not use it as a first option, or use
the even more effective borax?
Another
study from Turkey (13) shows the protective effect of boric acid on food
contaminated with mycotoxins, especially fungal aflatoxins. Among these, Aflatoxin
B1 (AFB1) causes extensive DNA damage and is the most
potent carcinogen ever tested, especially affecting liver and lungs, also
causing birth defects, immunotoxicity and even death
in farm animals and humans. Boric acid treatment was protective and led to
increased resistance of DNA to oxidative damage induced by AFB1. The
strong antifungal action of boric acid is, of course, the reason why it has
traditionally been used as a food preservative.
Borax,
similar to the equally endangered Lugol's iodine solution, can also be used to
remove accumulated fluoride and heavy metals from the body (14). Fluoride not
only causes bones to deteriorate, but also the pineal gland to calcify and the
thyroid to become underactive. Borax reacts with fluoride ions to form boron
fluorides which are then excreted in the urine.
In a
Chinese study borax was used to treat 31 patients with skeletal fluorosis. The amount was gradually increased from 300 to
1100 mg/day during a three month period, with one week off each month. The
treatment was effective with 50 to 80% improvement.
One forum
contributor suffered with Fibromyalgia/Rosacea, chronic
fatigue and TMJ for over 10 years which she believed were caused by fluoride.
She used 1/8 tsp of borax and 1/8 tsp of sea salt in a litre of de-chlorinated
water, and drank this for 5 days each week. Within two weeks her face cleared,
the redness faded, body temperature normalized, energy level increased, and she
steadily lost excess weight. The only side-effect was an initial aggravation of
her Rosacea symptoms.
Another
post: "7 years ago thyroid cancer, the next year adrenal fatigue, then
early menopause, the following year uterine prolapse
followed by hysterectomy - the following year fibromyalgia and neuropathy.
Early Childhood was fluorinated water along with fluoride tablets. Fall of 2008
I was looking at total disability. I could barely walk and couldn't sleep
because of the pain and was throwing up daily from the pain in my back. ...
After reading about fluoride I came to understand where all of my problems
originated. ... I began the borax detox of 1/8 tsp in
a litre of water and within 3 days my symptoms were almost gone."
Calcium-Magnesium
Metabolism
There is
antagonism as well as cooperation between calcium and magnesium. About half of
the total body magnesium is found in bones and the other half inside the
cells of tissues and organs. Only 1% is in the blood, and the kidneys try to
keep this levels constant by excreting more or less with the urine.
In
contrast, 99% of calcium is in bones, and the rest in the fluid outside
of cells. Muscles contract when calcium moves into the cells, and they relax
when calcium is again pumped out and magnesium moves in. This cellular pump
requires much energy to pump calcium out, and if cells are low in energy, then
calcium may accumulate inside cells. Low cellular energy may be due to Candida,
faulty sugar or fat metabolism, deficiencies, or accumulating metabolic wastes
and toxins.
This then
leads to only partial relaxation of the muscles with stiffness, a tendency to
cramps, and poor blood and lymph circulation. The problem gets worse the more
calcium moves from bones into soft tissue. Nerve cells can also accumulate
calcium, leading to faulty nerve transmission, in the lens it causes cataracts,
hormonal output keeps reducing as endocrine glands increasingly calcify, and
all other cells become handicapped in their normal functions. In addition it
causes intracellular magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is needed to activate
countless enzymes, and a deficiency leads to inefficient and blocked energy
production.
A further
problem is that excess calcium damages the cell membrane and makes it difficult
for nutrients to move in and wastes to move out. When the intracellular calcium
level gets too high the cell will die.
Here we
can see the importance of boron as a regulator of cell membrane functions,
especially in regard to movements of calcium and magnesium. With boron
deficiency too much calcium moves into the cell while magnesium cannot move
inside to displace it. This is the condition of old age and of the
boron-deficiency diseases leading up to it.
While in
good health and especially in younger years a calcium - magnesium ratio of 2 :
1 is normal and beneficial and supplied with a good diet. But with increasing
age, boron deficiency and resulting disease conditions we need progressively
less calcium and more magnesium.
For boron
to be fully effective in reversing tissue calcification ample magnesium is
required. For elderly individuals I recommend 400 to 600 mg of magnesium
together with the daily borax supplementation spaced out during the day, and
with protracted joint problems additional trans-dermal magnesium. However, oral
magnesium may need to be adjusted according to its laxative effect. I am
doubtful whether calcium supplements are needed and beneficial, even in case of
osteoporosis. In my view these individuals have plenty of calcium stored in
soft tissues where it does not belong, and supplementing boron and magnesium is
expected to redeposit this misplaced calcium into bones. I regard the medical
focus on a high calcium intake as a prescription for accelerated aging.
What and
How Much to Use
In some
countries (e.g. Australia, NZ, USA) borax can still be found in the laundry and
cleaning sections of supermarkets. There is no "food-grade" borax
available or necessary. All borax is the same and "natural", and
usually mined in California or Turkey, whether it has been packed in China or
any other country. The label usually states that it is 99% pure (or
990g/kg borax) which is safe to use, and is the
legal standard for agricultural grade borax. Up to 1% mining and refining
residues are permitted. Boric acid, if available, may be used at about ⅔
the dose of borax, it is not for public sale in Australia.
Firstly
dissolve a lightly rounded teaspoonful (5-6 grams) of borax in 1 litre of good
quality water. This is your concentrated solution, keep it out of reach
of small children.
Standard dose = 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of concentrate. This has 25 to 30 mg of borax and
provides about 3 mg of boron. Take 1 dose per day mixed with drink or
food. If that feels right then take a second dose with another meal.
If there is no specific health problem or for maintenance you may
continue indefinitely with 1 or 2 doses daily.
If you do
have a problem, such as arthritis, osteoporosis and related conditions, cramps
or spasms, stiffness due to advancing years, menopause, and also to improve low
sex hormone production, increase intake to 3 or more spaced-out standard doses
for several months or longer until you feel that your problem has sufficiently
improved. Then drop back to 1 or 2 doses per day.
For treating Candida, other fungi and mycoplasmas, or for removing
fluoride from the body - using your bottle of concentrated solution:
Lower dose for low to normal
weight - 100 ml (= 1/8 teaspoon of borax powder or 500 mg); drink spaced out
during the day.
Higher dose for heavier
individuals - 200 ml (= 1/4 teaspoon of borax powder or 1000 mg); drink spaced
out during the day.
Always
start with a lower dose and increase gradually to the intended maximum. Take
the maximum amounts for 4 or 5 days a week as long as required, or
alternatively periodically alternate between a low dose and your maximum dose.
For
vaginal thrush fill a large size gelatine capsule with borax and insert it at
bedtime for one to two weeks. With toe fungus or athlete's foot wet the feet
and rub them with borax powder.
You may
take borax mixed with food or in drinks. It is rather alkaline and in higher
concentrations has a soapy taste. You may disguise this with lemon juice,
vinegar or ascorbic acid.
In Europe
borax and boric acid have been classified as reproductive poisons, and since
December 2010 are no longer available to the public within the EU. Presently
borax is still available in Switzerland (15), but shipment to Germany is not
permitted. In Germany a small amount (20 - 50 grams) may be ordered through a
pharmacy as ant poison, it will be registered.
Boron
tablets can be bought from health shops or the Internet, commonly with 3 mg of
boron. In some European countries, such as The Netherlands, these may still
contain borax, but not in others, such as Germany, where boron is not allowed
in ionic form as with borax or boric acid. While suitable as a general boron
supplement, I do not expect them to work against Candida and mycoplasmas. Most
scientific studies and individual experiences in regard to arthritis,
osteoporosis, or sexual hormones and menopause were with borax or boric acid.
It is not yet known if non-ionic boron is as effective as borax. To improve
effectiveness I recommend 3 or more spaced-out boron tablets daily for an
extended period combined with sufficient magnesium and a suitable antimicrobial
program (16).
Possible
Side-Effects
While
side-effects from pharmaceutical drugs tend to be negative and often dangerous,
with natural medicine such as borax therapy these are usually healing reactions
with beneficial long-term effects. Most common is the Herxheimer
reaction from eliminating Candida.
In some
of the above forum posts rapid improvement was experienced within days. This is
always a functional response. High cellular calcium levels cause muscle
contraction with cramps or spasms as a common cause of pain. Boron, especially
together with magnesium, can rapidly relax these muscles and take away the pain.
However,
with long-standing severe calcifications a large amount of calcium cannot be
redistributed in a short time. This leads to increased calcium levels in the
affected area, especially the hips and shoulders, and can cause problems for a
considerable time, such as a tendency to severe cramping and pain, or problems
with the blood circulation, or nerve transmission. Nerve-related effects in
hands and feet may be numbness, or reduced sensitivity or feeling in the skin.
Higher amounts of calcium and fluoride passing through the kidneys may cause
temporary kidney pain. Such healing reactions cannot be avoided when aiming for
a higher level of health.
Whenever
you experience an unpleasant effect reduce or temporarily stop borax intake
until the problem subsides. Then gradually start increasing again. Helpful
additional measures are a greatly increased fluid intake, using more organic
acids such as lemon juice, ascorbic acid or vinegar, and improving lymph flow
as with rebounding, walking or inverted positions.
Toxicity
Issues
Government
health agencies are concerned about boron toxicity. You might be concerned as
well if you read the following, pertaining to sodium chloride or table salt
(17): 'Acute oral toxicity (LD50 - the dose at which half of the tested animals
die): 3,000 mg/kg [Rat]. Chronic Effects on Humans: Mutagenic for mammalian
somatic cells. Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact, ingestion or
inhalation. Lowest Published Lethal Oral Dose in Man: 1000 mg/kg. Causes
adverse reproductive effects in humans (fetotoxicity,
abortion) by intraplacental route, may increase risk
of Toxemia of Pregnancy in susceptible women. May
cause adverse reproductive effects and birth defects in animals, particularly
rats and mice - fetotoxicity, abortion, musculoskeletal
abnormalities, and maternal effects (on ovaries, fallopian tubes). May affect
genetic material (mutagenic). Ingestion of large quantities can irritate the
stomach with nausea and vomiting. May affect behavior
(muscle spasicity/contraction, somnolence), sense
organs, metabolism, and cardiovascular system. Continued exposure may produce
dehydration, internal organ congestion, and coma.'
Now
compare the sodium chloride toxicity with the Material Safety Data Sheet or
MSDS for borax (18): 'Low acute oral toxicity; LD50 in rats 4,500 to 6,000
mg/kg of body weight. Reproductive/developmental toxicity: Animal
feeding studies in rat, mouse and dog, at high doses, have demonstrated effects
on fertility and testes. Studies with boric acid in the rat, mouse and rabbit,
at high doses, demonstrate developmental effects on the fetus,
including fetal weight loss and minor skeletal
variations. The doses administered were many times in excess of those to which
humans would normally be exposed. No evidence of carcinogenicity in mice. No
mutagenic activity was observed in a battery of short-term mutagenicity
assays. Human epidemiological studies show no increase in pulmonary disease in
occupational populations with chronic exposures to borate dust and no effect on
fertility.'
Here you
see that table salt is 50 to 100% more toxic than borax, it changes the genetic
material and is mutagenic, while borax is harmless in this regard. Infants are
most at risk from high borax ingestion. It has been estimated that 5 to 10 grams
can cause severe vomiting, diarrhoea, shock and even death, but it also says
that lethal doses are not well documented in the literature.
The
following toxicity data are from documents of the US Environmental Protection
Agency and the Centers for Disease Control(19, 20).
A review
of 784 accidental human poisonings from 10 - 88 grams of boric acid reported no
fatalities, with 88% of cases being asymptomatic, meaning they did not notice
anything. However, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, hepatic, renal, and
central nervous system effects, dermatitis, erythema,
and death have been observed in some children and adults exposed to more than
84 mg boron/kg, corresponding to more than 40 grams of borax for 60 kg of body
weight.
Animal
studies have identified reproductive toxicity as the most sensitive effects of
boron ingestion. Exposure of rats, mice, and dogs for several weeks showed some
damage to the testes and sperm at doses of more than 26 mg boron/kg which
corresponds to 15 grams of borax/day for 60 kg body weight.
Most at
risk is the developing foetus, and in the studied animals rats were most
affected. In one study slight reductions in the foetal body weight were already
found at 13.7 mg boron/kg/day used during pregnancy. The no effect dose was set
at less than 13.7 mg/kg/day corresponding to about 7 grams of borax per day for
60 kg body weight. With an added safety factor a no effect value of 9.6 mg
boron/kg/day was calculated corresponding to 5 grams of borax for 60 kg.
However,
a rat study lasting for 3 generations found no reproductive toxicity or effect
on the parents or offspring at 30 mg boron/kg/day. This dose corresponds to 17
grams of borax for 60 kg ingested for 3 generations! In another 3-generation
study no problem was found at 17.5 mg boron/kg/day, corresponding to 9 grams of
borax/60 kg, while the next higher tested dose of 58.5 mg/kg/day, corresponding
to 30 grams of borax/60 kg, resulted in infertility. Therefore we can assume
that the safe reproductive dose is up to about 20 grams/60 kg/day.
Human
studies of the possible association between impaired fertility and high boron
levels in water, soil and dust in a Turkish populations, and boron mining and
processing workers, found no effect. One study even reported elevated fertility
rates in borax production workers as compared to the U.S. national average.
All this
is important because possible reproductive toxicity is the official reason for
the present assault on borax. The sodium chloride MSDS mentioned above also
states: "While sodium chloride has been used as a negative control in some
reproductive studies, it has also been used as an example that almost any
chemical can cause birth defects in experimental animals if studied under the
right conditions." Keep this in mind when you read the following.
The
Assault on Borax
Arthritis
in its various forms and its close relative osteoporosis affect about 30% of
the population in developed countries. Osteoporosis is responsible for more
long term hospital care than any other individual disease. This is due to the
very high incidence of fractures, and especially the protracted nature of hip
fractures. This is a main source of income for the medical-pharmaceutical
system. If the boron-magnesium cure for these diseases should become widely
known, this vital income stream would dry up and the system collapse. As this
is the biggest and most profitable industry in the world, this cannot be allowed to happen.
When Dr
Newnham discovered the boron-arthritis cure it was not a big problem for the
pharmaceuticals because news travelled slowly and was easily suppressed. This
is very different now with Internet communication. Most research funding comes
from the pharmaceutical industry, and nothing has come forward to duplicate Dr
Newnham's findings and other positive osteoporosis studies. Instead, funding
goes into the development of patentable boron drugs for limited application as
in chemotherapy, or even to discredit boron. A test-tube experiment found that
a relatively low dose of about 4 grams of borax can damage lymphocytes, just
like an earlier test-tube study showed that vitamin C supplements are
toxic. Most positive borax studies now come from China, Japan and Turkey.
Furthermore,
PubMed is a publicly funded search facility for
bio-medical research publications. While other articles for Newnham R.E. and
Zhou L.Y. are still listed, the two important borax publications mentioned
earlier - about the arthritis trial at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the
treatment of skeletal fluorosis in China - are no
longer listed, but they belong there and obviously had been there originally. I
suspect that they have been deliberately removed to prevent them from being
quoted in other research.
In
addition, increasing effort goes into publicly demonizing borax for its alleged
reproductive and infant toxicity. As an example I recently read an article by a
'senior scientist' of the supposedly 'green' Environmental Working Group. In it
the perceived dangers of borax were so exaggerated that most comments in effect
said: "Thank you for opening my eyes. I did not know how poisonous and
dangerous borax is, I certainly will not use it anymore in my laundry, or for
cleaning my toilet and kitchen" .
This is
obviously a deliberate campaign to make people grateful for banning borax from
public sale. For laundry and cleaning purposes Borax Substitute now replaces
the product previously sold as Borax. The EU has spearheaded this campaign. In
June 2010 borax and boric acid were reclassified as “Reprotoxic
Category 2“, suggesting that they may be harmful to the reproductive
functions of humans in high doses, and the product package must display the
skull and crossbones symbol. From December 2010 these products were no longer
available for public sale within the EU. While this classification now applies
for all of Europe, non-EU countries still have some leeway in regard to public
sales. This initiative is part of a Globally Harmonized System of
Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) which is to be implemented
as soon as possible. Australia is well-advanced on preparing regulations to
implement the GHS for industrial chemicals, with new regulations expected in
2012 (21).
The
European Chemicals Agency gave as reason for their reclassification of boron
products (paraphrased):
'The
available data do not indicate major differences between laboratory animals and
humans, therefore it must be assumed that the effects seen in animals could
occur in humans as epidemiological studies in humans are insufficient to
demonstrate the absence of an adverse effect of inorganic borates on fertility.
17.5 mg boron/kg/day was derived as a NOAEL (no event level) for male and
female fertility. For the rat decreased foetal weight occurred at 13.7 mg
boron/kg/day, and a safe limit of 9.6 mg/kg/day has been derived.' (22)
What they
are really saying is this: 'While we have no human data, animal studies suggest
that for adult reproductive functions a daily ingestion of about 2 teaspoons of
borax is safe. But to be absolutely sure that no-one is harmed, we will ban it
totally.' Importantly, this ruling is not related to borax in foods or
supplements where it is already banned, but only for general use as in laundry
or cleaning products or as insecticides. Because borax is not readily inhaled
or absorbed through intact skin, it is difficult to see how even a few
milligrams daily could get into the body with the conventional use. If the same
standard would apply to other chemicals there would be none left.
The key
study in this assessment was published in 1972. Why is this being dug up now to
justify banning borax when it was of no concern for the past 40 years? It does
not make any scientific sense, especially if you consider that the main
chemical in the new borax substitute, sodium percarbonate,
is about three times more toxic than borax. Acute oral LD50 values for animals
are from 1034 to 2200 mg/kg/day (23). Even the commonly used sodium
bicarbonate, with an animal LD50 of 3360 mg/kg, is nearly twice as toxic as
borax (24). Both of these chemicals have not been tested for long-term
reproductive toxicity at the high doses that caused fertility problems in rats
and mice.
The same
applies to washing powders, it has been stated that no toxicity is expected if
used in the approved way, or that reproductive tests have not been done.
Ingredients in these products are more toxic than borax, why can they be used
in the approved way but not borax? And how about really toxic items such as
caustic soda and hydrochloric acid? Why do they remain available to the public
when one of the safest household chemicals is banned despite the fact that it
is absolutely impossible to cause any reproductive harm with the approved use?
Regardless
of the lack of any scientific credibility, the stage has been set for borax and
boric acid to be globally removed from public sale at short or no notice. Even
low-level and less effective boron tablets are now tightly controlled by the
pharmaceutical industry, and may be restricted at any time through Codex Alimentarius regulations. With this the
medical-pharmaceutical system has safely defused any potential danger that
borax may have posed to its profitability and survival.
REFERENCES
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1566627/pdf/envhper00403-0084.pdf
(4) http://nah.sagepub.com/content/7/2/89.full.pdf
(4) http://nah.sagepub.com/content/7/2/89.full.pdf
(21) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globally_Harmonized_System_of_Classification_and_Labelling_of_Chemicals
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