Does anyone take Boron for their bones

[Sophiestree]

I am having some fancy scan in Dec for Osteoporosis (my friend who also has the same persuaded me to go too) and on the form it asks what dose of supplements you take. Calcium was listed, which I don't take but as I have high calcium levels and am waiting for a parathyroid gland removal (this year I hope), but also Boron? Does anyone here take Boron for their bones too and if so what kind of dose. I can't believe I am even considering YET ANOTHER supplement, but hey, if it helps I will. What's another between supplements !!!

[Rugger]

I have 5 prunes every day, as they have been shown to be good for bones and contain boron!!

[Sophiestree in reply to Rugger]

I have to admit, I have 8-10 prunes a day! So that's good to hear.

[piglette]

As Boron is found in food, I would have thought it a lot better to have it in your diet rather than taking supplements and making the supplement suppliers rich.

Boron is an element found naturally in leafy green vegetables like kale and spinach. It can also be found in grains, prunes, raisins, noncitrus fruits, and nuts.

The five most common sources of boron in a person's daily diet are:apples.

coffee.

dried beans.

milk.

potatoes.

[Sophiestree in reply to piglette]

Perfect. Think my coffee and prunes might cover that then 😀

[piglette in reply to Sophiestree]

And save you a few pennies!

[Sophiestree in reply to piglette]

Oh exactly, I seem to spend a small fortune on supplements.

[piglette in reply to Sophiestree]

They reckon 96% of supplements are just money wasted. I suppose if they have the placebo effect that is a plus.

[Sophiestree in reply to piglette]

Well apart from the Vit D I have taken regularly, I added Heron's suggestions of K2 and Zinc, then PMRPro's Magnesium for cramp/sleep.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Sophiestree]

And the excess of any water-soluble ones just gets flushed down the loo

[Bcol in reply to piglette]

Think I'm well covered there then plus the prunes on my brekkie porridge.

[piglette in reply to Bcol]

Prunes are always a good idea!

[Bcol in reply to piglette]

Very naughty this morning, had raspberries instead of prunes. They were very nice. 🙂🙂

[Sophiestree in reply to Bcol]

My absolute favourite fruit...You just have to

[Bcol in reply to Sophiestree]

Indeed, it could have been blueberries, but the OH had those!!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Sophiestree]

Same here - blueberries are OK but not in the same league!

[Hidden in reply to PMRpro]

There is a wild Logan or Tayberry bush near my house so I watch out for those ripening and always forage for black berries in the autumn

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

I used to work at the horticultural institute near Dundee where they "invented" tayberries - fruit plantations as far as the eye can see along the Tay!

[piglette in reply to Bcol]

You are OK. Raspberry seeds are a good source of fibre. Raspberry seeds contain antioxidant. Raspberry seeds may be beneficial for decreasing cancer risk. I hate raspberries and blueberries!

[Bcol in reply to piglette]

Yey, it's good they are good for me as I love both. 🙂

[piglette in reply to Bcol]

My family get so frustrated with me as I am a ‘fussy eater’ in their opinion. It is very easy choosing food from a menu as I delete most items and have whatever is left!

[Bcol in reply to piglette]

That's OK, each to their own, I have children and step children who are very "specific" about what they will or won't eat.

[piglette in reply to Bcol]

I try to not make it difficult for other people. Some people make such a fuss.

[Bcol in reply to piglette]

Sadly a lot of people can be very forthright about things they don't understand.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Bcol]

Mine were picky as teenagers - not as smalls in Germany nor now as parents themselves!!! Catering for set of 3 who won't this, won't eat that is no fun when what they WILL eat rarely seems to coincide

[Bcol in reply to PMRpro]

Even more "fun" when they went away on school trips.

[Maisie1958]

Hi just curious if you are booked in for a REMS scan? I had one last Autumn (well worth the money) and was a little suspicious that the clinician would be trying to get me to take all sorts of supplements, however he was more keen on promoting a decent/balanced diet. He did recommend Vit D and K2 though. I got the impression Boron was on the list more for completeness. I’m just not sure about supplementing it if you have parathyroid problems? There’s quite a lot of posts about Boron on the Bone Health forum so you’d probably get more information there. All the best.

[Sophiestree in reply to Maisie1958]

Yes!!! I just checked as actually I didn't really know what it was.So pleased to hear you thought it was worth it.

I did find the form lacking though in terms of history, drugs etc, as the fact I have shrunk 2 inches, but maybe I will learn more when I get there.

I have taken Vit D (4,000 iU) for 15 years but only recently started K2 after the recommendations on here. Having read others responses re Boron I won't bother getting a supplement, I think I am OK with the low carb diet I am on really.

I will check out the Bone Health forum, thank you, I haven't explored much more than here, even though I can see the Thyroid one is as active as this one, as I get a bit bogged down with all of it. Really pleased though to hear you were happy you went ahead with the REMS. Thank you so much for letting me know.

[Maisie1958 in reply to Sophiestree]

Think there’s two companies that do them in uk, I used Osteoscan as it’s actually based about 7 miles from home. I heard about it on the HU bone forum (never knew a thing about it previously) and just rang up and got an appointment in a few days, didn’t fill in any forms before! Think they have changed that now. The scan only takes a few minutes but the doctor spent nearly an hour discussing, my results were good, but he’s very enthusiastic and certainly extremely proud of the scanning machine! You will know how it works by the end! My scores were emailed to me there and then. I imagine if it’s the same person doing your scan he’d be happy to talk about parathyroid problems and bone metabolism and all it’s complexities. NB I’m not on commission! All good wishes x

[Sophiestree in reply to Maisie1958]

Yes. That's the same company as I'm going to. It's at a nearby hotel.

I will search on Bone Health and see what they have to say.

[Suffererc in reply to Maisie1958]

Where abouts are you.

[Maisie1958 in reply to Suffererc]

Hi Suffererc I’m on the border of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire 😊

[Suffererc in reply to Maisie1958]

Just wondering where these places are situated. I have had 2 Dexa scans with the NHS

[Sophiestree in reply to Suffererc]

They move around so if you look on OsteoscanUK you will see where they will be during the year. I'm not recommending it as I have never been, just saying I have one booked in.

It's not until Dec so can report back then!

[Suffererc in reply to Sophiestree]

Still a long wait then I see. I had one about 18 months ago and it wasn’t too bad. But my GP made merry to try and get me to take AA 😊

[Hidden]

When I was diagnosed with Stills Disease aged 17 I was prescribed steroids for 5 years . Aged 35 I had a BMD scan revealing that I was oestroporotic.I ate nuts, seeds green veg, plenty of milk and prunes and did gentle weight lifting gym classes 3 times a week for 5 years.

I’m now 60 and no sign of bone issues as far as I know.

Good job we all love prunes and they counteract the constipation caused by my pain relief 😉

[Sophiestree in reply to Hidden]

Great story. You clearly did all the right things. Wish I had known the risks when I was young.

[Hidden in reply to Sophiestree]

Apparently they didn’t know about steroids and bones in the late 70s hence no preventive prescribing but as a veggie I was already on the right track.As an aside, I once went to a nail bar with a friend who was treating me and the Asian lady who was doing it put her hand on my wrist to start and straight away asked me what my problem was (arthritis). Funny how she knew yet my GP says he can’t SEE anything. Something to be said for ancient knowledge and methods. Maybe if we only ate what grows naturally we’d be better off.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

Possibly more there weren't drugs for the bone loss preventation - except for Paget's disease and the bisphosphonates were developed for that, Then it occured to them that they could use them more widely and make more money. Just like statins.

[Suffererc]

Eating Prunes gives us Boron. I eat 5 a day. Eat to many and it may have an adverse effect.😏😊

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Suffererc]

verywellhealth.com/best-bor...

Avocado and raisins might have less effect!

If grape juice has lots - do you think wine does too?????

[Sophiestree in reply to PMRpro]

Love avocado....

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Sophiestree]

I didn't like them - but have come to the conclusion the ones I had in the UK just weren't ripe enough. Love them in salad - don't get the "avocado on toast" thing though!

[Sophiestree in reply to PMRpro]

Or you get ones that just aren't nice enough at all and are black in a couple of days.. I don't buy them too often for that reason.

[Hidden in reply to PMRpro]

I’m pleased to report I often eat avocado and raisins and I’m a big fan of a decent glass of red at night, I’m surprised I’m not healthier than I am 😜

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

I think the same too!!!

[Sophiestree in reply to Hidden]

Perfect

[Sophiestree in reply to Suffererc]

Not for me... hence why I have more than 5.

[Hidden in reply to Sophiestree]

Glasses of wine or prunes 🤣I’ve read the tannin in red wine is bad for my RA.

[PMR2011]

I took Boron for a while early on in my PMR journey. I realized after several months it made me jittery and generally felt “unwell”. Stopped taking it and symptoms went away. Personally would not recommend.

[Sophiestree in reply to PMR2011]

That's interesting. Thank you for letting me know that. I have definitely decided not to add that.