Summarizing Fructo Borate’s Benefits

Dear Friends

With great pleasure and joy we introduce BioImmersion’s medical director – George J Kessler, DO. His 2000 book, The Bone Density Diet: 6 weeks to a strong body and mind, has received great reviews.

In this newsletter,  Dr. Kessler writes about the Fructo Borate Complex as he has used it successfully in his practice for over nine years. Make sure to read Clincal Notes for Dr. Kessler’s suggested use of Fructo Borate.

Dr. George Kessler on boron and Fructo Borate:

Boron is a mineral that plants access from the soil.  It is contained in the cell membranes of every plant.  If the soil is of poor quality the plants grown in it will lack boron.  The Journal of the American College of Nutirition (Feb 2014) looked at dietary vitamin and mineral consumption in the United States from 2007 to 2010 and found large parts of the population did not get adequate levels of these nutrients from the foods they ate.  They recommended taking supplements to make up for these common deficiencies.

Boron in a natural food form such as fructoborate can be much more potent and much less toxic than synthetically manufactured boron supplements.  Boron from food sources can also be much more bioavailable than synthetic sources.

Although boron is considered a trace mineral, it has many important and necessary functions in the human body.  To paraphrase a July 5, 2014 article published in The Journal of Trace Element Medical Biology:

In human studies, boron is a bioactive element that beneficially affects bone growth and central nervous system function, alleviates arthritic symptoms, facilitates hormone action and is associated with a reduced risk of some types of cancer. In the medical book Breast Cancer- Current and Alternative Therapeutic Modalities (2011, chapter 5, 2.1 it is stated “A diet with low boron has been found to lead to a number of general health problems and to increase cancer risk. The most common symptoms of boron deficiency include arthritis, memory loss, osteoporosis, degenerative and soft tissue cartilage diseases, hormonal disequilibria and a drop in libido.

The chapter goes on to detail the information to support this quote. Keeping in mind the various and intertwined effects boron has on the entire human body, I will try to isolate some of the individual areas that boron is important in.

Bone Metabolism:

One of the most researched uses for boron is in its relationship to bone metabolism, how it affects calcium, magnesium, vitamin D metabolism and bone formation and loss.  It has been shown that boron has very important and useful effects on bone health and development.  The National Osteoporosis Foundation states that, “Millions of Americans—54 million to be exact—have low bone density or osteoporosis.  In fact, about one in two women and up to one in four men over the age of 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.”

While osteoporosis is a disease influenced by many factors, mineral composition of the bone is of utmost importance.  Boron helps both the uptake of calicum and magnesium into the bones and decreases the excretion of both through the kidney.  This is very helpful in both the treatment and prevention of kidney stones and in lowering parathyroid hormone levels in some patients.

Boron also decreases subacute inflammation, which is a factor in bone loss.  In Dec. 2013 The Biological Trace Element Research Journal printed an article stating that in human studies, boron protects the bones against inflammation disruption of the equilibrium between bone reabsorption and bone deposition.

This same journal printed an article in July 2001 showing that boron added to estrogen “significantly increased serum Ca, P, Mg and osteocalcin concentrations” resulting in increased bone growth.  Deficiencies of trace elements slows down the increase of childhood/adolescent bone mass and accelerates bone loss after menopause or in old age” Clinical Chemistry Laboratory Medicine Aug. 2013.

Osteoarthritis:

The American Journal of Biomedical Sciences Oct. 2011 published an article showing that plant based boron could, in 14 days, decrease the symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee.  The article further found that taking boron also resulted in increased levels 1,25(OH)vitamin D.  Clinical intervention in Aug 2014 published an article that found the same relief of osteoarthritis symptoms in 14 days as found in the previous study.

Antioxidant:

Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology Jan 2012 found that boron played a protective role in lowering the genotoxic effects of heavy metals by its antioxidant capacity. Biological trace element Research April 2014 found that levels of boron in the 40 mg/L range could increase weight, organ indexes, and antioxidant capacities of spleen and improve the speen tissue structure.  There is a toxicity level of boron at over 640 mg/L.

Hormone Balancing:

Toxicology Ind. Health Jan. 2013 found boron decreased body weight, leptin, insulin and glucose levels and increased T3 (the thyroid hormone your cells actually use) and carnitine levels in plasma.

Biological Trace Element Reserch April 2013 published an article showing that “there was a significant relationship between age and qualitative values of body mass index for each subject.” This shows that there is a “reverse relationship between blood boron levels and body mass index in humans”.  This means that low boron levels are associated with increased weight and that high levels are associated with lower body weights.

The Indian Journal of Experimental Biology (March 2012) stated that the consumption of fatty acids, calcium, Vitamin D, and boron with physical activity increased levels of estradiol, testosterone and free testosterone. They also caused a strengthening and higher breaking point of bones.

The journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology (Jan. 2011) stated that Boron possesses widespread properties in biochemistry and nutrition.  It further found that boron had significant biological effects on steroid hormones andinflammatory markers. Signficant decreases in sex hormone binding globulins, CRP, CRP-HS and TNF alpha levels.  Also found were increased levels of plasma free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, cortisol and Vitamin D along with decreased levels of Estradiol. What this means is that not only can boron help to balance your hormones but can improve the cross talk between your various endocrine glands.

Dyslipidemia:

Oral resveritrol and boron supplementation showed a significant decrease in C-reactive protein, N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide and an improvement in the quality of life of individuals in the study (Nutrition July 2012).

The Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology (April 2011) published an article showing that “added boron and copper had a significant effect on plasma high density lipoprotein  cholesterol fraction.”  And went on to state that “plasma lipid contents were also decreased by addition of copper and boron in the ration.”  What this means is that boron can affect blood cholesterol levels in good ways.

This was further found in the Journal of Diabetes (Mar. 2014) which stated that boron containing compounds could result in decreased hepatic and blood levels of lipids and that this may represent a novel approach for threating diseases with aberrant lipid homeostasis.

Anti Cancer Research:

Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Oct 2011) found that boron could reduce cancer risk and had beneficial effects on oxidative stress, central nervous system function, hormone facilitation, immune response, arthritis, bone growth and inflammation.

Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (May 2010) found that consumption of “boron containing compounds resulted in significant decrease in the risk for prostate and cervical cancer, and decrease in lung cancer in smoking women.”  They also showed promising chemotherapeutic effects for specific forms of cancer.

Much more can be said about boron, i.e. its ability to down regulate the immun system, its antiaging effects, its lowering of CRP, but enough said for now.

George Kessler, DO

Clinical Notes:

The Last Quiz Answer:

This wild life photographer is getting a little love from a truly wild hyena who he has been filming for many months.

Hyenas are skilled hunters that will take down wildebeest or antelope.  They also kill and eat birds, lizards, snakes and insects.  They’ve got big bugs in Africa.  You can make a meal on the darn things.