A Common Substance That has Uncommon Uses

I’m a big fan of things that stand the test of time. It means something isn’t a fad. People really appreciate what it does for them.

Things like:

• Great music

• Great movies

• Literature

• Scientific theories

• Companies that make great products

And old-fashioned remedies. Remedies that are inexpensive. Ones that can be found in many households already. Ones that we had no idea of their power.

Remedies that are downplayed these days because they might compete with some kind of product sold in a pharmacy.

Baking soda seems to be one of those remedies.

People buy baking soda mostly for cooking. And that is certainly a good use for it. Or maybe they put it in their refrigerator to combat smells they don’t like.

It is also an effective household cleaner. People also use it for teeth cleaning and whitening. I find it a bit amusing to see the toothpaste manufacturers advertise they have toothpaste with baking soda in it. Instead you can brush your teeth with just baking soda alone and save some money over time vs buying the toothpaste.

Your body even makes some sodium bicarbonate. The baking soda is then released into your small intestine to counteract the effects of stomach acid.

Baking soda also has a long history of helping people with their health. Archeological remains show a compound similar to baking soda (sodium carbonate or natron as opposed to sodium bicarbonate) goes back to ancient Egypt. They used it for cleaning and mummification.

Pharmacist Valentin Rose the Younger discovered sodium bicarbonate in 1801 in Berlin Germany. It was not put into commercial use until two bakers, John Dwight and Austin Church, set up the first baking soda factory making sodium bicarbonate from sodium carbonate and carbon dioxide.

When you look on the internet for baking soda uses, there is an amazing list. Here are some of the uses I found:

• Fights cancer

• Kills inflammation

• Improves arthritis

• Flu remedy - Many people used it in the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918

• Combined with apple cider vinegar it can kill toenail fungus

• Heartburn

• Acid reflux

• Speeds up muscle recovery

• Boosts kidney function

• Relieves indigestion

Wow! With baking soda fixing all these problems, you would think we should be guzzling down tons of baking soda on a regular basis.

Not so fast. Too much baking soda can be harmful as well.

There are lots of ‘household remedies’ like baking soda out there. Many of them have ‘experts’ touting them and contradicting each other regarding their uses and effectiveness. Most of the remedies at least won’t be harmful in small amounts.

Ultimately we are all experiments with an N=1 of study participants. Some people swear by a remedy. Others find it doesn’t do anything. You have to try it to see if it will work for you.

As you do try these remedies like baking soda, report your results. Will your results be peer-reviewed, double-blind, placebo-controlled results? Obviously not. However, putting the honest word out may still help others. Over time the aggregate consensus will move us towards good data.

For those products that work, we should see more and more success stories. Conversely if a product or therapy doesn’t work, over time it will move into obscurity.

Given the length of time baking soda has been around, it would seem like it might be good for something.