Baking Soda May Help Fight Chronic Inflammation

Baking soda is used as a leavening agent in some recipes, such as biscuits. It is also a very inexpensive antacid, which means it neutralizes stomach acid and avoid digestive discomfort. Baking soda is available in pharmacies and also in almost all supermarkets.

Researchers at Augusta University in Georgia (USA) have shown in a study that sodium bicarbonate stimulates the spleen to create an anti-inflammatory environment and can serve as a complementary aid in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. The results of the study were published in April on Journal of Immunology.

Baking soda creates an anti-inflammatory environment

Drinking a baking soda solution (for example, half a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a glass of water) temporarily neutralizes stomach acid. But bicarbonate does not only affect the stomach, according to the study, modulates the immune response of the spleen through mesothelial cells.

Mesothelial cells line the inside of hollow organs, such as the stomach or intestines. But they also coat the outside of organs to keep them lubricated and prevent them from rubbing against each other. Mesothelial cells also protect organs in other ways.

They have tiny finger-shaped bumps, called microvilli, which monitor their environment like tiny sensors and immediately sound the alarm if there is a threat, triggering an immune reaction, explains Dr. Paul O’Connor, a renal physiologist at Augusta University and one of the study authors.

The “conversation” between sodium bicarbonate and the mesothelial cells of the spleen is carried out with the help of the chemical messenger acetylcholine. The result is an environment that inhibits inflammatory processes.

Bicarbonate acts on macrophages

The spleen works like a blood filter. Classifies old, damaged and dysfunctional blood cells. And it has immune cells called macrophages that “eat” what is useless.

By drinking water with a little baking soda for two weeks, the macrophage population changes: the number of so-called M1 macrophages, which promote inflammation, is reduced, and anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages are increased.

Macrophages serve to get rid of “garbage” in the body. They collect waste or dead cells, keeping the blood and organs clean. They are also the first immune cells to be there when invaders have entered the body or the immune system is called upon for other reasons.

Baking soda in case of kidney disease

One of the main tasks of the kidneys is to regulate the acid-base balance and also the mineral balance. If the kidneys are diseased and unable to perform these functions, the pH value of the blood may drop, that is, become acidic, and this may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and other diseases.

Daily intake of sodium bicarbonate not only reduces hyperacidity related to kidney malfunction, but can also slow down the disease itself. That’s why the bicarbonate It is part of the treatment of some kidney diseases. This beneficial effect on the kidney is also due to its influence on the immune system.

Possible use of bicarbonate in autoimmune disorders

Bicarbonate also promotes an increase in T regulatory immune cells, which inhibit autoimmune processes. They prevent the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues. This effect could be observed for at least four hours after drinking the bicarbonated water.

So Dr. O’Connor says that perhaps sodium bicarbonate could be a really safe (in the sense of low side effects) way of treating inflammatory conditions.

How much sodium bicarbonate is necessary to achieve an anti-inflammatory effect?

If you wish to use baking soda therapeutically, drink a glass of water (at least 120 ml) with about half a teaspoon of baking soda powder three times a day, preferably outside of meals, unless you suffer from severe heartburn.

The intake is separated from meals to avoid bicarbonate neutralize stomach acid, necessary for good digestion.

Scientific references: