An old pantry staple is made new again as many online creators are sharing videos of themselves mixing baking soda into water for its presumed health benefits.
“I think it’s becoming more popular because of the social media aspect of it,” said Dr. Christie Youssef, a family medicine practitioner with Kaiser Permanente in Fair Oaks, Virginia.
But just how healthy is this concoction and why are so many people doing it?
“What people are doing is drinking baking soda in an effort to reduce the acidity in the muscles — the working muscles,” Youssef explained. “This leads to less muscle fatigue, improved performance … especially with heavy exercise.”
She said the thinking here is simple: some claim that sodium bicarbonate, the compound that makes up the baking soda, could help raise the pH level in the blood, improving performance during exercise like cycling, running or weightlifting.
While Youssef said the alkaline properties of baking soda could give credence to this theory, there’s little-to-no documented scientific evidence that this is the case.
And yet, people are doing it. It has a name too.
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“This new ‘soda loading’ is kind of the new thing we’re seeing,” Youssef said.
She said baking soda also has other, more well-known health benefits. Its higher pH balance makes it an ingredient in antacids and can help with heartburn and acid reflux.
But there are risks on the flip side of that.
“You do not want to make your stomach too alkaline,” Youssef warned. “The stomach acid that’s used for protection and digestion will not have the same function, and you run the risk of having abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, in some cases, diarrhea.”
Youssef said the main worry here is that the digestive and physiological issues that come with ingesting too much baking soda could outweigh the potential benefits for some.
She also said consuming too much baking soda “will make you need to urinate more.”
When this happens, you could be expelling valuable electrolytes, potassium and water from your body, which could lead to severe dehydration, headaches or nausea.
“Use it with caution, use it in moderation. And just remember that, in the big picture, exercise, diet, lifestyle modification — those are the best ways of staying fit and healthy,” Youssef said.
If you do decide to give this trend a try, she said there’s little scientific information out there when it comes to a recommended dosage of baking soda to consume. Typically, she said those who are trying to treat acid reflux and heartburn are told to take 3 teaspoons a day.
So, for this trend, Youssef said, “Anywhere from 2-3 teaspoons a day is safe. No more than 5 teaspoons a day.”
“But, there’s no magic shortcut to becoming fit, no ultimate substitute, other than changing your lifestyle and staying active to reach your goals,” she added.
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