Baking Soda - More Than Just a Cleanser

There is an extraordinary product that is used around the globe. It can be found in both our food and drink. It's utilized as a medicine and also contributes to our health and wellness. Versatile and handy, we use it to clean our ovens, and then we add a little to our water and take it as an antacid. What are we talking about? Plain old baking soda!

Baking soda, otherwise known as sodium bicarbonate, is a white crystalline chemical with diverse practical uses. It's commonly employed as a cleaning agent, but also can be used for cooking, personal hygiene and home remedies, to name a few. As a cleaner and deodorizer, we've probably used baking soda in our fridge, freezers, garage, closets, washing machine loads, or litter boxes. Here's a list of some surprising uses for baking soda that you may not have thought of.

Taking small amounts of baking soda may help smokers to "kick the habit." Smokers that have acidic urine, due to diet or health, pass large amounts of un-metabolized nicotine. Craving for the lost nicotine usually sends the addicts back to the cigarette pack more often than those with less acid in their urine. As a natural antacid, baking soda eases the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Mix two tablespoons of baking soda in a glass of water and drink with a meal. This will help reduce your body's appetite for the nicotine.

In the late 70s, the British medical journal Lancet hailed this as "potentially the greatest medical advance of this century." What was it? The cure for diarrhea. In Third World countries especially, diarrhea causes millions of children to die every year. The treatment, called oral rehydration therapy, consists of a simple mixture of salt, sugar, baking soda and potassium dissolved in water. Recovery from diarrhea is rapid, and saves the uncomfortable trip to the drugstore.

Another use for baking soda is as a treatment for combating shock. Persons seriously hurt can die from shock, especially when body fluids are lost too rapidly. The treatment consists of a teaspoon of salt and one-half teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in one quart of water, with the patient being encouraged to drink it as often as possible. This solution will approximate the kind of fluid the victim's body is losing. The ease with which this can be prepared in the home is a key factor in addressing a medical emergency.

Your kidneys benefit from baking soda as well. Renal tubular acidosis (RTA) is a disorder in which the kidneys cannot adequately remove acids from the blood and excrete them in the urine. In children, when kidneys fail to perform this operation, normal growth can become stunted. As a natural alkaline, baking soda neutralizes the acids that are naturally produced from food, thus reducing the burden on the kidneys. This treatment, consisting of a tablespoon of baking soda dissolved in water, relieves the symptoms of RTA and prevents these problems from becoming worse.

Of course, baking soda has many standard uses as well.

If a pan of grease catches fire, never try to carry it out of the house or to put it out with water; these actions will only make matters worse. Turn off the heat and try to smother the flame with a lid. If that does not work and you do not have a fire extinguisher, then sprinkle baking soda over the grease fire. It will quickly suffocate the flame.

Aound the house, baking soda is a popular 'green' cleaner. Sprinkle some in water and let fruits and vegetables soak. Clean your combs and brushes in a baking soda solution. Wash marble-tops, Formica or plastic surfaces with a solution of 3-tablespoons of baking soda in 1 quart of warm water. Scour your stained coffee pots, greasy barbecues or tarnished silverware with a paste of baking soda with a little water.

Topically, remove strong odors from your hands by rubbing them with baking soda, then rinsing. To relieve sunburn or windburn, apply a paste of baking soda and water. For relief from bug or bee bites use a mixture of baking soda and vinegar.

As you can see, baking soda is a great all-around product to keep in the home. For additional uses, visit Arm and Hammer.com and use their interactive guide for neighborhood uses for baking soda.