1/4 teaspoon of borax(good ole "20 Mule Team") in a liter of water sipped throughout the day will alleviate and in many cases reverse arthritis within a few months. 95% of arthritis cases will respond to Boron supplementation. Borax is simply an alkaline salt form of Boron, disodium tetraborate, containing 4 boron atoms and 2 sodium atoms. In the stomach it reacts with hydrochloric acid to form boric acid and sodium chloride(table salt). Its toxicity is on par with table salt. A box of 20 Mule Team Borax is about 4 bucks and gives you probably a 5 year supply(no joke). Not only will it likely cure you of arthritis, it will save you a whole hell of a lot of money and doctors visits, so I am sure it will be extremely unpopular with them...
Boron is a trace mineral that is essential for joint health. Studies have shown that the countries with the lowest boron content in the soil have the highest cases of arthritis, and in those countries with high boron content in the soil, arthritis is virtually unheard of. In the US, the soil has an average amount of Boron, but the uptake of Boron is highly diminished when fertilizers are used on the crops, so very little of the Boron in the soil actually gets into the fruits and vegetables.
Boron also binds to fluoride in the body, and forms a harmless compound which is then flushed out of the body. Excessive fluoride has been linked to a whole host of health problems. Boron acts to balance hormones in the body and studies have shown men who supplement with 10mg of Boron daily had 28% higher levels of free testosterone than the control group. Boron is also one of the strongest anti-fungals, anti-parasitics and anti-microbials known and has been used to treat fungal and yeast infections.
Boron is to the Parathyroid what Iodine is to the Thyroid. The Parathyroid is essential for controlling the calcium content of the blood. Without Boron, the parathyroid will not function properly. When the parathyroid does not function properly the calcium-magnesium pump doesn't function properly. 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.
So not only does the calcium get stuck in the cells and not get to the bones, where it is needed...magnesium is rendered ineffective because it cannot get to the muscles where it is needed. So in effect, the body HAS enough calcium, but because the parathyroid gland is not functioning properly due to lack of Boron, this pump is effectively shut down and the calcium is stuck in the wrong place---inside cells instead of in bones. Arthritis and osteoporosis then, can be seen as a disease NOT of having too little calcium, but simply having calcium stuck in the wrong place because the machinery needed to move it out and into the bones is all jammed up.
health-science-spirit.com/borax.htm
positivehealth.com/article/nutrition/boron-major-cause-and-cure-for-arthritis
regenerativenutrition.com/boron-osteoporosis-arthritis-allergies-menopause-hormones.asp
I have also heard good things from those taking something called Super Cissus RX, or Cissus Quadrangulus(sp?) extract. It acts to rebuild cartilage and connective tissue, and you can get it in capsule form or bulk powder from NP.
I believe that more and more researchers are going to come to realize that degenerative diseases and conditions caused by "aging" are nothing more than either an imbalance of minerals in the body or the depletion of essential minerals and nutrients in the body that are not being replaced. If certain minerals are needed by the body to perform certain functions, those functions cannot get carried out properly without them. The body just can't very well for example, substitute magnesium for boron and just go on its merry way.