Written by Providr Contributor
There are many natural remedies that provide hidden health benefits for our body. Take baking soda for example; it’s mainly recognized for causing the dough to rise by producing carbon dioxide.
But did you know that those who use baking soda for health benefits have seen their lives change drastically?
Below you will find why people use baking soda for health benefits.
Treating Heartburn: The Cleveland Clinic explains that heartburn is caused when your stomach acid flows back into your food pipe or esophagus if you want to get technical. When this occurs, you will feel an uncomfortable burning feeling in your chest that can spread to your neck and throat. They add that you may also feel a bitter taste in the back of your throat as well. This can last between a few minutes to a few hours. To help with heartburn, people can use baking soda to help relieve the pain. According to an article written by Truven Health Analytics and published on PubMed, sodium bicarbonate, which is also known as baking soda, is widely used to help relieve heartburn and acid indigestion. It does this by neutralizing the excess stomach acid. They add that when it is used for this purpose, sodium bicarbonate belongs to a group of medicines called antacids; which neutralize stomach acidity. Do not give this to children who are 6-years-old or younger unless your doctor prescribes it. In order to properly consume baking soda to relieve heartburn, dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda into a glass of cold water, mix thoroughly and drink.
Whitening Your Teeth: I am part of the group that has actually tried baking soda as toothpaste. I was a casual smoker at one point and of course, the cigarettes stained my teeth. But each night before I would go to bed, I would mix several teaspoons of baking soda with lemon juice or water to make a paste. I would put the paste on my toothbrush and brush my teeth for one minute. After doing this for a few consecutive days, the stains on my teeth had significantly reduced. Further research that is published on PubMed can add more merit to my claim. The study found on PubMed was a six-week clinical study of four commercially available teeth cleaning pastes that claim to remove stains from teeth. The study was done to compare the efficiency of Colgate Tartar Control with Baking Soda & Peroxide Fluoride Toothpaste; Aquafresh Advanced Whitening Toothpaste with Fluoride; Rembrandt Tartar Control Low Abrasion Fluoride Whitening Toothpaste; and Crest Regular Fluoride Toothpaste. Each participant of the study was put into one of four groups which included age, gender, tobacco habits, and level of tooth stain. Each subject was instructed to brush their teeth for one minute, twice a day with their assigned toothpaste. At the end of the six-week study, participants using Colgate Tartar Control with Baking Soda & Peroxide Fluoride saw significantly lower levels of tooth stain.
Mouthwash: Mouthwash is a great addition to brushing your teeth. It can reach certain corners your toothbrush cannot get to. Not only that, but it can help keep your gums healthy. The reason why gums become swollen or bleed is because of the accumulation of plaque on your teeth, according to Dynamic Dental. But baking soda helps discourage plaque and prevent gum disease. Dissolve one to two teaspoons of baking soda in cold water to make a soothing mouth rinse.
Soothes Canker Sores: Anyone who’s gotten a canker sore knows that they’re painful and annoying. The good news is that baking soda can help relieve the pain and even get rid of it. According to an article published on PubMed, in 1973, a Mouth Clinic was opened at Sunnybrook Hospital. In a span of 7 years, over 3,000 patients visited that clinic. Most of those patients suffered from chronic ulceration, and therapy that each patient was doing was not working effectively. Treatment for chronic ulceration at the clinic was emphasized with baking soda mouthwashes and careful teeth cleaning to help minimize the accumulation of plaque. Results showed that out of every 10 patients they dealt with, 7 of them saw a significant improvement.
Deodorant: I know most of us to have their specific brand of deodorant; whether it be Axe or Old Spice, but I figured I’d tell you that baking soda can also be used for it as well. An article was written by John Henderson Lamb, M.D. at the Department of Dermatology and Syphilology, School of Medicine, University of Oklahoma provides a small, but the accurate study that sodium bicarbonate can be used as an underarm deodorant. The study was conducted on 63 senior medical students at the School of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma. Once a week, that senior medical class was examined; nine students at a time for a period of one month would use baking soda as an underarm deodorant. At the end of the year, each student was given a questionnaire to fill out regarding their experience with baking soda as an underarm deodorant. The results indicated that all 63 students said sodium bicarbonate was a good deodorant, the majority said it did not irritate their skin and more than half said they were still using the product. Try patting some baking soda onto your armpits and see if you notice a difference.
May Slow Down Chronic Kidney Disease: Our kidneys are extremely important; they help remove excess waste and water from the blood. When people are suffering from chronic kidney disease, they slowly begin to lose function in their kidneys. A study published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology wanted to see if there was any association between sodium bicarbonate and the reduction of chronic kidney disease. For the study, 134 patients with chronic kidney disease were given a dose of sodium bicarbonate for two years or standard care. Results showed that patients who supplemented with sodium bicarbonate were significantly less likely to experience rapid progression.
Relieves Itchy Skin: According to the book “Tips for Managing Treatment-Related Rash and Dry Skin,” one of the best bathes you can take is a lukewarm bath while adding 1 to 2 cups of baking soda.
May Improve Exercise Performance: According to an article published in the journal Food and Nutrition Sciences, sodium bicarbonate may be able to increase physical performance during high-intensity exercise. During high-intensity exercise, muscles keep up with the demand for energy by converting carbohydrate to lactic acid. A build-up of acid inside the muscle cells is partially responsible for muscle fatigue. Sodium bicarbonate is an alkalizing agent which means it can reduce the acidity of the blood. By doing this, it could draw more of the acid produced in the muscles into the blood which would reduce the acidity in the muscles and potentially delay fatigue.
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