What do the states mean?+
- Solid: well studied, and it works.
- Half-there: the science is still forming.
- A ghost: almost no real studies.
- Hollow: well studied, and it does not work.
- A cord: the pair itself has been tested together.
- Air: nobody has ever tested this pair.
The full scoring method: How we score
Boron benefits: where the science stands
For inflammation: yes.
On inflammation, the strongest evidence says it helps (four trials, 266 people in all). As of August 2026, the verdicts on this page rest on evidence from 11 trials, drawn from the strongest research among the 170 papers on PubMed that mention boron. Every claim is checked below.
170 papers on PubMed · evidence from 11 trials
Claim by claim
- InflammationWell studied, and it works. Tested in 266 people.
- BoneAlmost no real studies. Nothing clear so far.
- CholesterolThe science is still forming. The best studies disagree.
- HeartThe science is still forming. Results lean positive, but there is not much yet.
See 2 more scored claims+
- JointsThe science is still forming. Results lean positive, but there is not much yet.
- Performance and vitalityAlmost no real studies. Nothing clear so far.
Pairs people ask about
The eight sources we read
- 1994Meta-analysis · pools 1 trials, 20 people · benefit for jointssource
- 1994Randomized trial · 28 people · no clear effect on bonesource
- 2011Randomized trial · 60 people · no clear effect on cholesterol; benefit for inflammationsource
- 2013Randomized trial · 166 people · no clear effect on cholesterol; benefit for heart; benefit for inflammationsource
- 2014Randomized trial · 60 people · benefit for jointssource
- 2015Randomized trial · benefit for cholesterol; benefit for inflammationsource
- 2019Meta-analysis · pools 4 trials · no clear effect on performance and vitalitysource
- 2022Randomized trial · 40 people · benefit for inflammationsource
Chosen as the strongest evidence out of 170 papers on PubMed. Every row links to its paper.
Fair questions
Does boron work?+
For inflammation, yes. Tested in 266 people.
Is boron safe?+
No caution is recorded on this page. That is not a safety guarantee; the studies we read were not safety trials.
Why only 8 sources, when PubMed lists 170?+
The 170 is every paper that mentions boron in any way: animal studies, blood measurements, papers where it is a side note. The strongest sources are combined reviews, and each one already gathers every trial its authors could find. Our 8 cover 11 trials between them, and every one is linked above. Both counts are measured, not estimated.