Molybdenum Usage

Websites that advocate molybdenum products make numerous health claims that lack scientific foundation. Some of these unsupported claims include the following:

• Regulates the body’s pH
• Enhances the body’s ability to burn fat
• Eliminates toxins
• Promotes general well-being
• Prevents tooth decay
• Aids sleep
• Reduces allergic reaction to chemicals such as MSG or sulfites
• Increases male and female libido

None of these claims have any scientific support, and some (such as “regulating the body’s pH) make no sense from a scientific point of view.

Additionally, it is often stated by some manufacturers of molybdenum products that a variety of disease are commonly caused or worsened by molybdenum deficiency. These include acne , allergies , asthma , athlete's foot , Bell's palsy , bladder infection , candidiasis , canker sores , depression , diabetes , eczema , gulf war syndrome, viral hepatitis , herpes simplex , liver cirrhosis , lupus , Lyme disease, multiple sclerosis , and prostatitis . However, again all of these claims lack even the bare minimum of foundation.

In certain areas of China, molybdenum deficiency may occur relatively commonly. There are higher rates of some forms of cancer in these regions; however, when molybdenum supplementation was tried, it failed to make a difference, perhaps because other unidentified deficiencies were involved as well. ¹