What is Boron Mineral? What Does Boron Mineral Do? Boron Mineral Benefits, Where is Boron Mineral Extracted?
Boron is an essential mineral found naturally in some foods and in the environment. Some of the foods that contain boron are:
- Beans
- Hazelnut
- Whole grains
- Avocado
- Strawberry
- Erik
- Orange
- Grape
We get most of the boron mineral that our body needs from food. However, although it is not known, there are also boron minerals in drinking water.
What Does Boron Consumption Do?
Boron consumption has many benefits. The benefits of consuming foods rich in boron minerals are as follows:
- strengthens bones
- Prevents osteoporosis
- Helps treat arthritis
- strengthens the muscles
In addition to all these, boron mineral facilitates focusing and learning. Therefore, it is thought to have a positive effect on brain health. {12*}
What is Boron?
Boron is a chemical element. It is also an edible trace mineral (minerals that the body needs in very small amounts for healthy functioning are called trace minerals). It is shown with the symbol B in the periodic table and its atomic number is 5. Boron exists in nature in various combinations with other elements, minerals and oxygen.
Boron obtained from foods is in the form of boric acid B(OH)3. Boric acid B(OH)3 is only found naturally in plants. Boric acid is a combination of boron, oxygen and hydrogen. It can also bind to boron, calcium, sodium and lithium. Boron is considered as the structural component of the cell walls of plants and helps plants pollinate and grow. Researchers still do not know exactly what kind of effects the boron mineral has on plants and humans. However, they think that the mineral boron keeps the molecules found in plants (including useful polysaccharides and sterols) in balance. {3*}
Boric acid is one of the different forms of the mineral boron. There are dozens of compounds in nature that contain the mineral boron. In addition, compounds containing boron can be obtained as a result of chemical synthesis. In an article published in the World Journal of Translational Medicine in 2018, it is mentioned that boron is used to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases, and there has been a great increase in this situation recently.
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Health Benefits of Boron Use
Boron consumption has many health benefits. Studies show that boron has an anti-inflammatory effect, has an antioxidant effect, and helps the body process various minerals (magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, sodium) by producing digestive enzymes. In addition to these, one of the issues that researchers frequently focus on is the ability of boron consumption to increase estrogen levels in men and women. It is also thought that the boron mineral enables the body to produce testosterone and facilitates the use of testosterone. For this reason, it is used by many athletes to prevent pain, strengthen muscles and strengthen bones.
Boron mineral is thought to prevent the emergence of many diseases. Some of these diseases are: {4*}
- Arthritis
- osteoporosis
- focus problem
- The appearance of various signs of aging on the skin
- aggravation of menopausal symptoms
- worsening of PMS symptoms
- allergies
- weakening of the muscles
- candida infection
- yeast infections
- Appearance of digestive parasites
- Infection in the eye
Boron mineral is also thought to be very beneficial for animal health. Horses, sheep, and some pets with arthritis symptoms are given boron supplements to relieve pain and inflammation. {5*}
The amount of boron in foods depends on how healthy the soil in which the crops are grown is. Animals that feed on crops in soils with low mineral levels have more unhealthy muscles and bones as they age. But animals that have been fed crops from high mineral, boron-rich soils face fewer problems as they age. Boron mineral is very useful for both humans and animals. Some of these benefits are:
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Boron Consumption Increases Concentration and Helps Improve Brain Functions
Boron mineral is very beneficial for brain health. Because this mineral facilitates focus and strengthens short-term memory. Studies show that low boron levels negatively affect brain functions and cause forgetfulness.
Compared to people who consume enough boron mineral, people who do not consume as much boron as necessary;
- Has stronger motor skills
- Better hand-eye coordination
- It has been observed that attention and perception abilities are stronger.
These data show that people who consume enough boron are more successful in cognitive and psychomotor tests. {6*}
Helps Treat Arthritis
Boron plays an important role in the incorporation of the calcium mineral into the articular cartilage. This maintains joint health and helps prevent arthritis pain. Studies show that people with low amounts of calcium in their bones and joint fluids have a higher risk of developing arthritis. Other studies show that people who consume enough boron have stronger bones compared to people who do not consume the required amount of boron.
Some epidemiological studies show that arthritis is more common in regions with low boron consumption (about one milligram or less than 1 mg per day) than in regions with more (about three to 10 milligrams per day).
Helps Strengthen Bones
Boron mineral facilitates the transmission of calcium, which is a very important mineral for bone health, to the bones. In this way, it increases bone density and prevents bone diseases. It also helps maintain bone health with its ability to balance estrogen levels. In addition, studies show that boron helps the production and use of vitamin D , one of the most important vitamins in the body . In another study, it was observed that boron mineral prevents bone resorption and reduces the risk of developing osteoporosis. {7*}, {8*}
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Helps Balance Hormones
Boron balances the levels of sex hormones ( including estrogen and testosterone ) in both men and women . It also helps reduce menopausal symptoms and PMS symptoms. Boron mineral is also known to help increase fertility. In animal studies, it has been observed that boron consumption eliminates fertility problems and helps healthy reproduction and fetal development. {9*}
In studies conducted by the US Department of Agriculture, menopausal women were first fed foods containing low levels of boron, and then consumed foods rich in boron. As a result of this study, it was noticed that women fed boron-rich foods had lower amounts of calcium and magnesium in their urine, and it was observed that these women had better estrogen and progesterone levels. {10*}
Helps Maintain Muscle Health
When the amount of boron in the body is high, some vitamins and minerals that protect muscle health are more easily absorbed and used more easily. Some studies (not all studies on this subject support this situation) show that boron consumption helps testosterone production and therefore reduces the risk of developing sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss). In addition, studies show that boron mineral makes the person feel more energetic and therefore is used especially by athletes for performance enhancement. {11th*}
Boron mineral makes the person think fast, helps to increase hand-eye coordination, strengthens bones and joints. For this reason, the mineral boron is included in some protein powders and sports supplements. However, more detailed research is needed to better understand how effective this mineral is on its own.
Helps Prevent and Treat Yeast Infections
Boron is included as an active ingredient in tablets used to treat yeast infections. Boric acid can be used as a natural alternative to over-the-counter yeast infection medications and creams. Boric acid is thought to accelerate the healing of painful and painful vaginal infections. Within the scope of a research, the effect of boron mineral on yeast infections was investigated. The effects of a yeast infection cream and boric acid on the infection were compared. As a result of the study, it was observed that boric acid was more effective than yeast infection cream and helped patients recover in a short time.
Boron did not cause any side effects during its therapeutic use. It has also been noticed that it is cheaper than the cream used. Therefore, it has been concluded that boric acid can be used in the treatment of pain and painful infections and that boric acid will enable people to heal more easily and faster. {12*}
Helps Prevent Skin Infections
Boron mineral helps prevent and treat skin infections. This mineral helps reduce skin rashes, inflammation, pain and other signs of irritation. For this reason, it is used by some people to prevent inflammation that can be caused by various skin infections such as styes. {13*}
Helps Fight Diabetes
Animal studies show that boron can make changes in blood sugar level and triglyceride concentration, and therefore can help treat diabetes . {14*}
Risks and Side Effects of Boron Consumption
Boron consumption is known to cause minimal damage compared to other minerals. For this reason, it is considered to be quite safe for both humans and animals. Some farmers even increase the amount of boron in the soil in various ways and give boron supplements to their animals in order to reduce the effect of radiation on the environment.
The use of boron reduces the radioactivity in the soil and minimizes the risk of various health problems such as cancer. However, as in everything else, excessive consumption of boron can lead to various health problems. Some of these health questions include:
- Nausea
- Stomache ache
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Stomach ache
- skin problems
- heart palpitations
- Anxiety
- Depression
Like all vitamins and minerals, you should try to get boron mineral from foods naturally.
What are the Harms of Consuming an Overdose of Boron Minerals?
It is recommended that adults do not consume more than 20 mg of boron per day, and that children (this amount may vary depending on their age) should not consume more than 3-6 mg of boron per day. However, many studies show that consuming more boron than these amounts causes minimal or no harm at all. However, it is recommended that adults do not exceed 20 mg in boron consumption, and that children should not consume more than the amount determined for their age.
How Much Boron Supplement Should Be Taken?
It is not known exactly how much boron people should consume. However, the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) states that most people consume the amount of boron they need thanks to their normal diet. Studies show that most people get boron from coffee, milk, apples, beans and potatoes. These foods meet 27% of the amount of boron that people need.
It is thought that coffee and milk are not good sources of boron. Because compared to legumes, vegetables and fruits , these foods contain less boron. However, the frequent consumption of these foods by people also ensures that most people meet their boron needs thanks to these foods.
There are limited studies on how much boron should be taken daily. Therefore, the amount of boron that should be consumed daily has not been determined by the USDA and other authorized institutions. For this reason, the authorities have determined a boron usage limit at a level where people will not experience boron mineral deficiency and boron mineral poisoning and can protect their health.
The upper limit of boron consumption according to age and various health conditions is as follows:
- 3 milligrams per day for people aged 1-3 years
- 6 milligrams per day for children ages 4 to 8
- 11 milligrams per day for children aged 9-13
- 17 milligrams per day for teenagers aged 14-18
- 20 milligrams per day for adults 19-50 years old
- 17–20 milligrams per day for pregnant women
- It is recommended that breastfeeding women consume 17-20 milligrams of boron per day.
This shows that the maximum boron consumption in adults, which does not cause any side effects, is 20 mg. This also applies to people over the age of 19, pregnant and lactating women. In one study, individuals were given 2.5 mg or less than 2.5 mg of the mineral boron daily. As a result of this study, it was determined that adults should consume at least 3 mg of boron daily. Consuming 20 milligrams of boron per day means consuming a fairly high amount of boron. Therefore, most studies recommend consuming 3-6 mg of boron per day. However, it is recommended that the person consult a doctor just in case and start taking boron supplements under the supervision of a doctor.
In Which Foods Is Boron Found?
A comprehensive and complete list of foods containing the mineral boron is not yet available. However, some of the foods known to be rich in boron mineral are:
- Beans
- Engineer
- Strawberry
- Cherry
- Sweet potato
- Onion
- Walnut
- FIG
- Kuru erik
- Erik
- Peach
- Apricot
- Cocoa
- Apple
- poverty
- Avocado
- Grapes (and pure grape juice)
- Orange
- Coffee
- Red wine
- Raw milk (organic, unpasteurized)
In addition, boron mineral acts as a natural food preservative. Because it helps to reduce bacterial growth and prevents crops from spoiling. Due to this feature, I. and II. It was added to foods during World War II when it was not possible to refrigerate foods, to preserve the freshness of foods and to reduce food pathogens.
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What Should Be Considered While Buying Boron Supplements?
The National Institute of Health does not recommend that people with breast cancer, prostate cancer, endometriosis (chocolate cyst) and uterine fibroids use boron. Because the boron mineral can increase the estrogen level and therefore can cause the symptoms of this disease to worsen. In addition, people with kidney disease and liver disease are advised to use this mineral very carefully and to consult their doctor before use.