#122

My best friend’s number was 90 and he was still taking 10000. I talked him down, but really what do I know.

The safest way to do it would be with a Sperti Lamp, but my number didn’t jump until I added the red light and a second Sperti lamp.

Good Luck,

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#123

As long as your 25ohd blood test are below 100ng/ml you should be OK, but any D3 supplements over 2000 IU/day can be toxic unless accompanied by a strong Vitamin K2 supplement to prevent high Calcium levels in the blood (I take LEF Super K, 2600 mcg/day) and Vitamin A (at least 2.5x as much Vitamin A as Vitamin D3, so 25,000 IU Vitamin A for each 10,000 IU Vitamin D3). Conversely Vitamin A over 5000 IU/day is toxic unless accompanied by Vitamin D3 (at least 1000 IU Vitamin D3 for every 8000 IU Vitamin A).

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#124

Looked into this a bit to modulate down my SHBG down a bit and it looks like a possibly good reward to risk play for a lot of things, see eg

Boron has been proven to be an important trace mineral because it (1) is essential for the growth and maintenance of bone; (2) greatly improves wound healing; (3) beneficially impacts the body’s use of estrogen, testosterone, and vitamin D; (4) boosts magnesium absorption; (5) reduces levels of inflammatory biomarkers, such as hs-CRP and TNF-α; (6) raises levels of antioxidant enzymes, such as SOD, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase; (7) protects against pesticide-induced oxidative stress and heavy-metal toxicity; (8) improves brain electrical activity, cognitive performance, and short-term memory in elders; (9) influences the formation and activity of key biomolecules, such as SAM-e and NAD+; (10) has demonstrated preventive and therapeutic effects in a number of cancers, such as prostate, cervical, and effects of traditional chemotherapeutic agents. Americans’ daily dietary intake of boron was estimated to be approximately 1 mg/d in 199

In none of the numerous studies conducted to date, however, do boron’s beneficial effects appear at intakes of less than 3 mg/d. No EARs or DRIs have been set for boron; only a UL of 20 mg/d for individuals aged 18 years or older. The absence of studies showing harm in conjunction with the substantial number of articles showing benefits support the consideration of boron supplementation of 3 mg/d for any individual who is consuming a diet low in fruits and vegetables or who is at risk for or has osteopenia; osteoporosis; OA; or breast, prostate, or lung cancer.

#125

I have taken 3mg of Boron for a few years. My SHBG was a bit toppy so I did an experiment in dropping exogenous melatonin from about 0.5g to about 0.04g and SHBG came down a bit. That’s not, however, a really reliable result. (I had the test results about 2 hours ago).

Melatonin arguably has an anti-puberty effect, but that probably requires megadoses.

#126

Thanks.

How did you settle on 3mg, any sense of risks of going up higher towards 10mg?

Do you have any thoughts on what form (and brand) of boron might be good?

#127

I have seen mention of 3mg. I have no real evidence on dosage. I happen to take Solgar’s Boron, but that is not to say it is the best.

Boron is not that complex. I think this supplement comes as Boric Acid. Although there is a Boron Citrate I am not inclined to try that. The amount of Boron I want to take is relatively low.

In the end I think Boron is helpful for cellular function, but it is far less impactful than things that directly impact on gene expression (Citrate, HDACi, mitochondrial efficiency).

People have overdosed in Boron in the past.

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#128

Thanks @John_Hemming

For me is less about being one of my overall longevity / healthspan extenders are more specifically about targeting lower SHBG and increased bone strength (and protection re prostate cancer).

#129

I’m confused by the discussion here on Borax. Everything I’ve read suggests that Borax is quite toxic:

Toxicity

Borax is quickly broken down by the body if ingested and inhaled. Scientists have linked borax exposure — even from cosmetics — to organ damage and serious poisonings.

Death

If a young child ingests as little as 5 to 10 grams of borax, they may experience severe vomiting, diarrhea, shock, and death. Small children can be exposed to borax through hand-to-mouth transfer, especially if they play with slime made with borax or crawl around the floor where pesticides have been applied.

Fatal doses of borax exposure for adults are estimated at 10 to 25 grams.

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#130

The benefits of boron, and why you shouldn’t look for it in borax

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#131

Yes if you eat enough. Without checking the details there is some metabolism between Sodium TetraBorate and Boric Acid, but 3 milligrams of Boric Acid is about three orders of magnitude less than 5-10 grams of Borax.

(although I think the 3mg is the elemental mass).

#132

Are any synthetic vitamins good? I think the reason multivitamins for years haven’t shown expected benefits is the synthetic stuff offsetting. I don’t even want to take Dr Stanfield’s new multivitamin, because I think there may be a synthetic ingredient or two, despite being deficient in one vitamin. I think the vitamin D3 I take is the one masterjohn recommended

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#133

Any update on this @AnUser ?

#134

No I don’t remember what I found, nothing interesting I guess in either direction.
At least mega dosing one time a month will decrease longevity based on that clinical trial above.

#135

Would you say it is best to get all the sunshine we can, as opposed to taking D3 then?

#136

No that will increase your risk of skin cancer and age your skin. 1000 iu vitamin D3 is perfectly safe. 2000 IU a day (but taken once a month) increased mortality.

If anything since many people get a high amount of vitamin D from sunshine during short time, that should increase mortality if vitamin D from sun or supplement is the same, which I think.

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#138

Thanks, I better reduce the amount then, been taking about 20-30K IU’s 2-3 times a week on advice of DR. Gundry (but don’t see many people in these forums mentioning him, so he may not be the best point of reference). Anecdotally., I tend to have a bit more focus and perhaps more energy when I load on D3 that is why I was taking it at these high doses. I’ll dial it down to 1000-2000 few times per week and see how I feel.

#139

I think the issue is bolus doses. Spread out is another thing.

#140

Elaborate? Are you saying doing high doses of D3 spread out is ok?

#141

I live in the UK and walk around in the sun when there is sun, but wearing clothes for about 10-12,000 steps a day. I also went on holiday to Corsica which was quite sunny, but spent most of my time clothed and not on the beach or in a swimming pool.

For the two weeks I went to Corsica then got stuck in France as a result of air flight problems I did not do a blood test and measure 25OHD. However, I measured it when I got back and there was no obvious impact large impact 25OHD from sun exposure. I was 196 nmol/l when I went away and 193 nmol/l when I came back. I continued supplementing with 3000iu in oil each day, but I stopped using about 20 drops of Dedrogyl (which is 25OHD) which I am in the habit of supplementing with each week to keep myself at the UK higher end of 25OHD.

Hence being on holiday was perhaps the equivalent of 20 drops of 25OHD per week, but only just kept my 25OHD levels up given that I was also supplementing at the time.

To get a really high 25OHD levels for me I would need to wander around in the sun semi naked.

#142

Personally think the net-net of the different evidence suggests that you want to target your blood levels and not your intake amounts (but daily / frequent dosing does seem better than monthly/large doses). Perhaps somewhere own the 50-60 range or a bit higher is what I aim for.