SupplementsMineralsBoron
Boron
as boron glycinate
A trace mineral you already eat in coffee, apples and beans, with small studies that keep pointing at your hormones.
- Builds up
- About 4 days
- In your body
- About 21 hours
- Per 1 capsule
- 10 mg
- 30-day supply
- $7.80One capsule a day, plus packing and delivery
What is boron?
Boron is a trace mineral found in plants and water. Plants can't grow without it. Whether people truly need it is still an open question, because nobody has pinned down one specific job it does in the body, so no daily target has been set.
You already get some. Most people eat about 1 to 2 mg a day, much of it from everyday foods like coffee, milk, apples, dried beans and potatoes. Those aren't especially rich in boron. People just have a lot of them.
Ours is boron glycinate, boron bound to the amino acid glycine.
What it does
- BonesPlays a part in how your body uses calcium and magnesium, the minerals bones are built from.
- Hormone balanceMay influence how your body handles estrogen and testosterone.
- Vitamin DLinked to higher vitamin D levels in a small study.
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
What people take it for
MixedFree testosteroneA small one-week study in men found more free testosterone. A 7-week study in bodybuilders, at a lower amount, found no difference.
Early daysBonesOlder women kept more calcium and magnesium in early studies. Nobody has shown stronger bones from boron yet.
Early daysHormones after menopauseOne small study found higher estrogen and testosterone in older women, mostly when their magnesium was low.
How long it takes
Boron rises fast and your blood level steadies within about 4 days. It doesn't pile up in your blood or soft tissues over the months, so there's no long loading phase.
- HoursMost of what you swallow is absorbed, and levels in your blood rise
- About 4 daysYour blood level holds steady, with what goes out matching what comes in
- 7 daysWhen the small study in men measured its hormone changes
How long it stays in your body
Half of it leaves your blood in about 21 hours, measured in men given boric acid straight into a vein, and nearly all of it goes out in your urine. Bone is the exception: animal studies show boron slowly collects there.
What's in a capsule
One capsule holds 10 mg, the same as the testosterone study above. That's about 5 to 10 times what food gives you, and half the 20 mg upper limit set for adults, so count anything else you take with boron in it.
A fast mineral, and why magnesium matters
Boron behaves unlike most minerals. Your gut takes in most of it, and then it passes straight through: when men took 10 mg a day for 4 weeks, 84% of it turned up in their urine. When older women on a tightly controlled diet took 3 mg a day for weeks, what went in and what came out matched almost exactly. Nothing built up in the way you'd see with iron, though animal studies suggest bone quietly holds on to some.
It also seems to work better when something else is missing. In those same studies, boron's effects on calcium and hormones were clearest when magnesium was low, and when women had plenty of magnesium the calcium result flipped. That may be one reason boron research looks so inconsistent.
Results on testosterone point in different directions too. One week at 10 mg raised free testosterone and lowered estrogen in eight men. Another study at the same amount, over 4 weeks, found estrogen went up instead. These are tiny studies, so think of boron as interesting rather than settled.
What it interacts with
- Hormone therapy, including estrogen and testosteroneBoron may change estrogen and testosterone levels, and it has been linked to a stronger response to estrogen therapy.
- Hormone blood testsIt can shift free testosterone and estradiol. Mention it when someone reads your results.
- Trace Minerals, Multivitamin and other blendsOurs hold a little boron too, 200 mcg and 500 mcg. That's small next to this capsule, but it counts toward the 20 mg adult upper limit.
Goes well with
Side effects
- We didn't find problems reported in the small studies at this amount, but they were short.
- The upper limit exists because very large amounts harmed fertility and unborn young in animal studies. There's no good human data either way.
Check first if
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding: talk to your doctor first. The label says so too, and animal studies at very high amounts are the reason.
- Hormone-sensitive conditions, including breast or prostate cancer: ask your doctor, because boron may raise estrogen and testosterone.
- Kidney problems: your kidneys clear nearly all of it, so check first.
The blood tests that go with it
- Free testosteroneThe number that moved in the small study in men.
- Total testosteroneRead alongside free testosterone.
- SHBGThe protein that holds testosterone in your blood. It dropped within hours in that study.
- EstradiolYour main estrogen, which has moved both up and down in boron studies.
- Vitamin DIt was higher after a week of boron.
- hs-CRPA marker of low-level inflammation, which dropped in the same small study.
- DHTA stronger form of testosterone, which was also higher after that week of boron.
- Serum magnesiumBoron studies in older women turned on whether magnesium was low.
- CalciumBoron changes how much calcium your body keeps.
- eGFRYour kidneys clear nearly all of it, so this shows how well they are working.
Work it out
Supplementation
Find Boron in a ready-made protocol.
Start from one of these, or add it to your own. Everything comes in one pouch each morning.
Body & skin
For an active life.
30-day pack · 5 a morning · 150 pills
$75.40 / month
Choose this packDaily foundations
Four mineral building blocks.
30-day pack · 4 a morning · 120 pills
$62.10 / month
Choose this packYour own
Build your own pouch.
Know what you want to take? Pick each ingredient, and we time it through your day.
Build your own
- cGMP-certifiedFacilities
- FDA-registeredFacilities
- Accredited labsIndependent testing
- Non-GMOIngredient options
- OrganicIngredient options
- VeganFormula options
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Want it more precise? Get the app.
A page can only tell you about Boron. The app tells you about you: whether it fits, when to take it, and whether it's working.
- Checked against your blood work and everything you already take
- On your daily timeline, around your sleep, training and meals
- Followed over time, so you can see what moved
BoronOPEN 09:00Boron against your blood work, your sleep and what you already take.
AIYour free testosterone is at the low end, and your magnesium is too. Want to look at both before your next test?
ASK ABOUT BORONFind the goal that's yours.
Your record, your routine and LifeFrom AI, pointed at the outcome that matters to you.
Questions
What is boron good for?
People mostly take it for testosterone, hormone balance and bones. The research is small and early, and the results don't all agree.
Does boron raise testosterone?
It might. A week at 10 mg raised free testosterone in eight men. A longer study in bodybuilders at 2.5 mg found no difference. So far that's the honest picture.
How long does boron take to work?
It reaches a steady level in your blood in about 4 days. The hormone changes in the small study in men were measured after one week.
What is boron's half-life?
About 21 hours in your blood. It leaves through your urine and doesn't build up in your soft tissues, though animal studies suggest bone keeps some.
Boron side effects: what should I know?
Few have been reported at this amount, though the studies were short. The bigger concern is very large amounts, which harmed fertility in animal studies. That's why adults have a 20 mg upper limit.
Who should not take boron?
Check with your doctor first if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, have kidney problems, take hormone therapy, or have a hormone-sensitive condition.
Can I take boron every day?
A daily capsule stays under the adult upper limit of 20 mg, as long as other products don't add much. There isn't much long-term research, so it's worth checking your hormones along the way.
Does boron interact with anything?
Formal research on this is thin. The main thing to watch is hormone therapy, plus other supplements that also contain boron.
What foods have boron?
Fruit, tubers, beans and water all supply it. Coffee, milk, apples, dried beans and potatoes make up a big share of what people get, mostly because people have so much of them.
Sources
- Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. National Academies Press, 2001.
- Naghii MR et al. Comparative effects of daily and weekly boron supplementation on plasma steroid hormones and proinflammatory cytokines. J Trace Elem Med Biol, 2011.
- Green NR, Ferrando AA. Plasma boron and the effects of boron supplementation in males. Environ Health Perspect, 1994.
- Hunt CD et al. Metabolic responses of postmenopausal women to supplemental dietary boron and aluminum during usual and low magnesium intake. Am J Clin Nutr, 1997.
- Samman S et al. The nutritional and metabolic effects of boron in humans and animals. Biol Trace Elem Res, 1998.
- Jansen JA et al. Boric acid single dose pharmacokinetics after intravenous administration to man. Arch Toxicol, 1984.
- Nielsen FH. The justification for providing dietary guidance for the nutritional intake of boron. Biol Trace Elem Res, 1998.
- Naghii MR, Samman S. The effect of boron supplementation on its urinary excretion and selected cardiovascular risk factors in healthy male subjects. Biol Trace Elem Res, 1997.
- Moseman RF. Chemical disposition of boron in animals and humans. Environ Health Perspect, 1994.
Written by LifeFrom from these sources, and not yet reviewed by a clinician. Talk to your doctor before starting a supplement.
