September 30, 2015 Wiggy Saunders

Remarkable Ways Baking Soda Can Be Used for Better Health

Baking soda might not be one of the first things you think about when you conjure up images of alternative health.

Or it might be, I don’t know…

Regardless I wanted to share with you a few cool things about baking soda as it’s actually a great, natural product you can use in place of other consumable products, many of which are loaded with chemicals you don’t need in or on your body.

Baking soda is actually a form of salt, which is one of the reasons it’s used in many baking applications.

Technically it’s called sodium bicarbonate and occurs naturally as nahcolite. If you were to find it in nature you’d have to go looking in mineral springs to get your hands on this remarkable substance.

But aside from being natural and used for baking there are a great deal of alternate applications you can use baking soda for to either to help improve your health, or replace existing treatment regimens.

I’m going to cover a handful of them.

Check them out.

5 Incredible Uses For Baking Soda

1: You can Use It To Increase Athletic Performance

Researchers have noted baking soda can have positive effects on performance for those who participate in endurance training programs.

They write:

“Essentially, sodium bicarbonate is an alkali substance that increases the pH of the blood. This seems to reduce and offset the acidity produced in the muscles during intense, anaerobic exercise that produces lactic acid most quickly, such as fast running or swimming.”

Now whether you should use baking soda consistently for endurance events is up for debate.

I’m going to lean towards “No”.

But I will say this. The science of “soda doping” as it’s called definitely does have some benefits if used on an occasional basis. Similar to carb loading there have been clear examples of the practice helping out in races and other feats of athleticism for swimmers and some other athletes.

If you ever need that extra “push” it’s something you could try doing. I would recommend consulting with a physician before doing so however.

And even if you don’t end up ever resorting to “soda doping” it’s still an incredible attribute of this normal kitchen ingredient.

2: It’s Great at Treating Bug Bites and Irritation From Poison Ivy

Baking soda has the remarkable property of working to neutralize the irritation associated with things like mosquito bites, bee stings, and the annoying itchiness of poison ivy.

Things most of us will deal with several times every year.

I recommend making a baking soda paste for the best use of baking soda to treat the irritation. To create the paste mix a teaspoon of baking soda with a few drops of water so it creates an easily spreadable paste. Then apply the paste to the irritation and place a bandage over it. That should do the trick in helping to relieve the irritation.

If you’d like to enhance the treatment process you can make the paste with aloe vera. This will actually cause it to stick to your skin a little bit better and will provide a cooling and soothing sensation as well.

3: Use it to Help With Ulcers, Heartburn and Indigestion

I believe the best way to treat most of the symptoms associated with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) is best undertaken by performing a food allergy panel to figure out what exactly is causing the increase in gastric juices associated with these conditions.

That being said if you want to treat the symptoms temporarily without resorting to medicines baking soda definitely works in a pinch.

Baking soda works similarly to many medications as it neutralizes the stomach acid that causes that distinct burning and pain.

Just to reiterate, I think treating the food allergies causing GERD is the best way to go and baking soda should only be used on an occasional basis. That’s because frequent use can disrupt electrolyte balance.

But if you plan on using it here’s what I recommend in terms of dosing:

“½ teaspoon fully dissolved in a half a glass of water, taken every two hours (do not take more than seven ½ teaspoons in 24 hours, or three ½ teaspoons if you’re over 60”

I think baking soda’s a tremendous natural acid suppressant and it can definitely work for you when needed.

4: Use it to Remove Splinters

This is actually a really cool trick.

If you ever get a deep splinter, or a splinter that just doesn’t want to come out, baking soda can help.

Instead of digging around with tweezers or a straight pin do the following.

Make a paste of out of the baking soda (similar consistency as described in point #2) and then place it over the splinter. Bandage it and let it sit for a few hours. This should cause the skin to swell slightly and expel the particle. If that doesn’t work then try it again in a few more hours.

A few treatments like this should get your splinter out in no time flat.

5: Use it to Clean Your Teeth

This one is probably well known by many of you, but hey it’s worth mentioning.

Here’s what Dr. Mercola writes about using baking soda for dental health.

“Baking soda has a mild abrasive action that helps to remove plaque and polish, clean, and deodorize your teeth.7 One review of data from five controlled clinical studies found that toothpaste containing baking soda “enhanced plaque removal effectiveness of tooth brushing to a significantly greater extent” than brushing with a non-baking soda toothpaste.

Baking soda also has antibacterial activity and has been found to kill Streptococcus mutans bacteria – a significant contributor to tooth decay. For an incredibly effective tooth and gum paste, use a mixture of six parts of baking soda to one part of sea salt.

Place them in a blender and mix for 30 seconds, then place in a container to use. Wet the tip of your index finger and place a small amount of the salt and soda mixture on your gums.

Starting with the upper outside gums and then the inside of the upper, followed by the lower outside of the gums then the lower inside, rub the mixture onto your teeth and gums. Spit out the excess. After 15 minutes rinse your mouth. This mixture is incredibly effective at killing bacteria.

You need to exert some caution in this area though as many believe baking soda can be too abrasive on your enamel, and Dr. Curatola believes that killing the oral microbiome may be highly counterproductive.”

One thing you can do is also mix in natural plant botanicals to your mixture for better taste as well as antiseptic properties.

For instance cinnamon, tea tree, and mint are often mixed in with baking soda for the purpose of teeth cleaning. Perhaps use baking soda as a tooth cleaner only on occasion if you’re worried about the abrasiveness.

Want to learn more about baking soda’s uses?

Here’s a video for some other really cool uses for baking soda.