The Dangers and Benefits of Baking Soda

Summary

This video script delves into the multifaceted role of baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, in the body. It discusses its natural production by the pancreas for neutralizing stomach acid, aiding digestion by activating enzymes, and its potential benefits in athletic performance, cancer research, skin care, sinus relief, and gout management. The script also cautions against long-term use due to possible side effects and emphasizes understanding the underlying causes of health issues.

Takeaways

• 🧪 The body produces baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) naturally, primarily by the pancreas in response to stomach acid.
• 🔍 The neutralization of stomach acid by baking soda is crucial to prevent irritation and inflammation in the small intestine.
• 🌡 The pH balance is essential for activating digestive enzymes; baking soda helps maintain the necessary alkalinity for enzymes like trypsin and lipase.
• ⚠️ Overuse of baking soda can lead to bloating, gas, and 'acid rebound', where the body compensates by producing more stomach acid.
• 🏃‍♂️ Baking soda can potentially enhance athletic performance by neutralizing lactic acid buildup during intense exercise, thus improving endurance.
• 🧬 Some research suggests a link between sodium bicarbonate and reduced cancer metastasis, possibly due to its effect on pH and lactic acid levels.
• 💦 Baking soda consumption leads to the production of water and CO2, which can facilitate oxygen absorption in the body.
• 🌿 Baking soda can be applied topically to soothe skin rashes or allergies, and can be used for sinus irrigation to alleviate sinus irritation.
• 💊 For those with pancreatic enzyme deficiencies, taking baking soda alongside enzyme supplements may help activate the enzymes due to its alkalizing effect.
• 🍎 In cases of gastritis or ulcers, baking soda can provide relief by neutralizing stomach acid without further irritating the stomach lining.
• 🥤 Taking baking soda sporadically can help reduce the risk of gout attacks by inhibiting the formation of uric acid crystals, thus maintaining a higher urine pH.

Q & A

What is the primary function of baking soda in the body?

The primary function of baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, in the body is to neutralize stomach acid. It is produced by the pancreas and helps maintain the correct pH balance in the small intestine, which is essential for the activation of digestive enzymes.

Why is the neutralization of stomach acid important for digestion?

Neutralization of stomach acid is important because it prevents severe irritation and inflammation in the small intestine. Moreover, it ensures that the pH level in the small intestine is suitable for the activation of digestive enzymes, which are necessary for proper digestion.

What is the role of bicarbonate in activating digestive enzymes?

Bicarbonate helps to buffer the pH in the small intestine, creating an alkaline environment that is necessary for the activation of many digestive enzymes, such as trypsin and lipase, which require a higher pH to function effectively.

How does baking soda help with acid reflux or heartburn?

Baking soda can provide temporary relief for acid reflux or heartburn by neutralizing excess stomach acid. However, it should not be used long-term as it can lead to other issues, such as bloating, gas, and acid rebound, since the root cause of heartburn is often a lack of stomach acid.

What are the potential side effects of chronic consumption of baking soda?

Chronic consumption of baking soda can lead to side effects such as bloating, gas, and acid rebound, where the body compensates by producing more stomach acid. It's important to address the underlying cause of issues like heartburn rather than relying solely on baking soda.

How can baking soda be beneficial for athletic performance?

Consuming baking soda before intense exercise can improve performance by neutralizing lactic acid buildup, which inhibits oxygen utilization and leads to fatigue. The byproduct of baking soda consumption, CO2, also helps facilitate oxygen absorption in the body.

What is the relationship between baking soda and cancer as discussed in the script?

Some research suggests that sodium bicarbonate may help decrease the incidence of cancer metastasis by altering the pH environment around cancer cells, which are more acidic on the outside compared to normal cells. This could potentially prevent tumor growth by neutralizing the pH.

How does baking soda consumption affect the body's pH balance?

Baking soda, being a base, can increase the pH balance in the body, making it more alkaline. This can be beneficial in certain situations, such as reducing the acidity that promotes tumor growth or alleviating the symptoms of conditions like gout by inhibiting uric acid crystal formation.

What are some alternative remedies to baking soda for addressing heartburn?

Alternative remedies to baking soda for heartburn include betaine hydrochloride and apple cider vinegar, which can help address the underlying cause of heartburn, which is often a lack of stomach acid, rather than an excess.

How can baking soda be used for skin issues or sinus problems?

Baking soda can be applied topically to help reduce rashes or skin allergies due to its mild alkaline nature. For sinus problems, it can be used in a Neti Pot with water and a pinch of sea salt to irrigate and soothe sinus irritation.

What is the suggested approach to using baking soda for gout attacks?

Baking soda can be taken sporadically to help reduce the risk of gout attacks by increasing the pH in the urine and inhibiting the formation of uric acid crystals. It's important to monitor urine pH and not to take baking soda regularly every day.

Outlines

00:00

🧪 The Role of Baking Soda in Digestion and pH Balance

This paragraph discusses the importance of baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, in the body's digestive process. It explains how the pancreas produces baking soda to neutralize stomach acid, which is crucial for the activation of digestive enzymes in the small intestine. The text highlights the necessity of maintaining proper pH levels for the function of enzymes like trypsin and lipase. It also touches on the potential benefits of baking soda for short-term relief from acid reflux or heartburn, while cautioning against long-term use due to the risk of creating other issues, such as bloating and acid rebound. The paragraph concludes with advice on using baking soda in conjunction with enzyme supplements to ensure proper activation.

05:00

🏃‍♂️ Baking Soda's Impact on Athletic Performance and Health

The second paragraph explores the use of baking soda to enhance athletic performance by neutralizing lactic acid buildup during intense exercise, thereby improving endurance. It mentions studies that suggest consuming baking soda 90 minutes before exercise can be beneficial. The paragraph also delves into the relationship between baking soda, CO2 production, and oxygen availability, which is significant for athletic performance and overall health. Additionally, it discusses preliminary research on baking soda's potential role in reducing cancer metastasis by affecting the pH levels around cancer cells. The paragraph further covers baking soda's applications for skin conditions, sinus problems, and gout attack prevention, advocating for sporadic use to mitigate potential side effects.

10:00

💡 A Holistic View on Baking Soda's Benefits and Cautions

The final paragraph serves as a summary, emphasizing the multifaceted benefits of baking soda while urging a balanced perspective on its use. It reiterates the importance of understanding the underlying causes of health issues and the role of baking soda in addressing them. The paragraph also encourages viewers to explore additional information on baking soda's surprising benefits, as mentioned in a linked video, and to consider the broader implications of using baking soda in various health scenarios.

Keywords

💡Baking Soda

Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is a key component in the video's discussion. It is a naturally occurring substance in the body, produced by the pancreas and bile ducts, and plays a crucial role in neutralizing stomach acid to maintain the pH balance necessary for digestion. In the script, baking soda is mentioned as a potential remedy for various conditions, such as acid reflux and heartburn, and for its role in athletic performance enhancement.

💡Sodium Bicarbonate

Sodium bicarbonate is the chemical name for baking soda. It is highlighted in the video as an essential element for the body's internal pH regulation. The video explains that this compound is produced by the pancreas in response to stomach acid, helping to prevent irritation and inflammation in the small intestine, which is vital for the activation of digestive enzymes.

💡pH

pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The video emphasizes the importance of maintaining various pH levels in the body for optimal health and digestion. For instance, the highly acidic environment of the stomach (pH between 1 and 3) is necessary for the activation of pepsin, while the more alkaline pH of the small intestine (around 7.5 to 8) is required for the activation of enzymes like trypsin and lipase.

💡Enzymes

Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions in the body. The video discusses how different enzymes are activated at different pH levels. For example, pepsin is activated in the acidic environment of the stomach, while trypsin and lipase require a more alkaline pH in the small intestine to function properly.

💡Acid Reflux

Acid reflux, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is a condition where stomach acid flows back into the esophagus, causing heartburn. The video mentions that baking soda may provide temporary relief for acid reflux symptoms, but cautions against long-term use due to the potential for creating other issues, such as bloating and gas.

💡Betaine Hydrochloride

Betaine hydrochloride is a supplement that provides hydrochloric acid to the stomach, which can help with digestion. The video suggests it as a better remedy for heartburn than baking soda, as it addresses the underlying cause of heartburn, which is often a lack of stomach acid, rather than an excess.

💡CO2 (Carbon Dioxide)

Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of the body's metabolism and is also produced when baking soda is consumed. The video discusses the role of CO2 in facilitating the transport of oxygen into tissues and its potential benefits in reducing the incidence of cancer metastasis by altering the pH environment around cancer cells.

💡Athletic Performance

The video mentions that consuming baking soda before intense exercise can improve athletic performance by neutralizing lactic acid buildup, which can inhibit oxygen uptake and lead to fatigue. This is due to the alkalizing effect of baking soda, which helps maintain the pH balance in the body during physical exertion.

💡Gout

Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis caused by high levels of uric acid in the body. The video suggests that taking baking soda sporadically can help reduce the risk of gout attacks by increasing the pH of urine, thus inhibiting the formation of uric acid crystals.

💡Lactic Acid

Lactic acid is a byproduct of anaerobic metabolism in the body, particularly during intense exercise. The video explains that the buildup of lactic acid can lead to a decrease in endurance and performance. Consuming baking soda can help neutralize this lactic acid, thereby improving athletic performance.

💡Mitochondrial Damage

Mitochondrial damage is implicated in the video as a potential initial cause of cancer, leading to a shift in the body's metabolism and the production of lactic acid. The video suggests that while baking soda does not address this root cause, its ability to increase CO2 may help deliver more oxygen to tissues, potentially inhibiting tumor growth.

Highlights

The body produces baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) naturally by the pancreas, triggered by a hormone in the small intestine.

Baking soda is crucial for neutralizing stomach acid to prevent irritation and inflammation in the small intestine.

The majority of digestive enzymes require a higher pH for activation, which baking soda helps achieve.

Pancreas and bile ducts both produce bicarbonate, which is essential for activating digestive enzymes.

Taking enzymes without bicarbonate can be ineffective if the body's pH is too acidic.

Baking soda can be used to alleviate symptoms of acid reflux or heartburn, but long-term use may cause complications.

Chronic consumption of baking soda may lead to bloating, gas, and acid rebound due to overcompensation by the body.

For short-term relief of ulcers or gastritis, baking soda can be beneficial without irritating the stomach lining.

Baking soda can improve athletic performance by neutralizing lactic acid buildup during intense exercise.

Consuming baking soda before exercise may increase endurance by allowing more oxygen to reach tissues.

Baking soda's byproduct, CO2, plays a role in facilitating oxygen absorption in the body.

Research suggests a link between sodium bicarbonate intake and a decrease in cancer metastasis incidence.

Cancer cells have a more acidic exterior and alkaline interior compared to normal cells, which baking soda may help counteract.

Baking soda may indirectly support cancer therapies by increasing CO2 levels, which are essential for oxygen delivery.

Baking soda can be applied topically for skin issues like rashes or allergies.

For sinus problems, baking soda can be used in a Neti Pot for sinus irrigation to alleviate irritation.

Baking soda can be taken sporadically to reduce the risk of gout attacks by inhibiting uric acid crystal formation.

Monitoring urine pH while taking baking soda for gout can ensure it's effective without causing alkalosis.

Transcripts

So today we're going to talk about the

benefits and the dangers of baking soda

which is sodium bicarbonate now I don't

know if you knew this but your body

actually makes baking soda okay it's

made by the pancreas and it's triggered

by a hormone in your small intestine

which gets signaled when the acid comes

through from the stomach and the stomach

you have this super super acidic mixture

between one and three and then it goes

into small intestine which should go up

to like maybe six or seven uh sometimes

even like 7.5 now if you know anything

about pH is this is like an extreme

difference of pH and so this is very

important for several reasons to have

these different PHS but the

neutralization of that stomach acid is

very very important which I want to

mention we don't neutralize the stomach

acid then we get a severe irritation and

inflammation in our small intestine but

it's that baking soda sodium bicarbonate

that's coming from the pancreas it's

going to help neutralize this acid now

why is this so important

well because the majority of the enzymes

that are needed for digestion

are activated they get turned on by a

much higher pH I mean if you think about

if you just look at the stomach

pepsin that's a very powerful protein

enzyme and that's activated by a pH

between like 1 to 1.5 so with that

enzyme you need a very strong stomach

acid but with the other enzymes right in

your small intestine coming out from the

pancreas you need a much higher more

alkaline pH for those enzymes to work

like trypsin for example which is a very

important enzyme with a pH of 7.5 to 8

and so this means that if you don't have

the bicarbonates to kind of buffer this

pH and we still have too much acidity

coming down in the small intestine that

enzyme trypsin cannot work it's useless

even lipase the lipid enzyme that comes

from the pancreas needs a pH of eight

and so I hope you can now see that the

vital importance of having the right pH

is in the right place are essential for

digestion especially when you talk about

enzymes and this is why you can't really

uh say that oh yeah the body is alkaline

or the body is to acid It's a

combination of a lot of different PHS

and so you need to understand this if

you're going to try to alkalize the body

or even acidify the body because as soon

as you start to alkalize the body like

with some remedy like even baking soda

it has to go through the stomach to get

to different places now bicarbonate is

not just produced by your pancreas it's

also produced by the little tubes that

connect

in between the liver and the gallbladder

the bile ducts actually secrete

bicarbonate as well which is interesting

let's say for example you have a problem

with your pancreas that you're not able

to produce enough enzymes which is not

very uh common because there's a huge

Reserve in your pancreas for these

enzymes but it definitely occurs and if

you have a deficiency the treatment is

taking enzymes but they rarely if ever

include bicarbonate with that so here

you are taking these enzymes but what is

going to activate it if you don't have

the right pH alkaline in your small

intestine because the pancreas for

example is too exhausted to release

these bicarbonates then what's going to

activate them

so in other words if you're going to

take enzymes I would also recommend you

take some baking soda with that

to help them get activated so from one

aspect baking soda might help your

digestion from just activating certain

enzymes now on another hand baking soda

may be helpful in certain situations

with like acid reflux or heartburn if

you don't take it very often and you

don't take it for a long period of time

because if you're going to take it for

you know weeks and months you're going

to actually create other problems

because usually the underlying cause of

heartburn or acid reflux is a lack of

acid not too much acid and so this is

why some of the side effects of

chronic consumption of baking soda can

create bloating gas and even something

called acid rebound where your body now

is going to make more acid to compensate

so if you wanted to take it short term

here and there for some acid reflux

that's fine

as long as you're also focused on

correcting that cause of it which is

usually a lack of acid this is why I

think a much better remedy would be

betaine hydrochloride and some apple

cider vinegar but let's say for example

you have an ulcer or let's say for

example you have gastritis okay

your stomach lining is just raw if you

take betaine hydrochloride or apple

cider vinegar you're just going to

irritate the heck out of it but you can

very easily take baking soda to give you

some relief so I just wanted to kind of

give you some specifics on like when you

may want to take it when you might not

take it now of course

there's going to be people commenting on

the channel that um say well you know my

grandfather took this his whole life and

he's you know 120 years old so it's fine

so I'm not here to tell you not to take

it because I I'm totally into natural

remedies but in flip side you always

want to ask yourself why do you need to

take any remedy at all and do you know

the cause I think you should find

natural remedies to kind of handle the

symptoms but also at the same time

really understand the mechanism so you

can really eventually get rid of the

cause which if you have heartburn really

relates to kind of what you're eating

all right another interesting benefit

has to do with increasing athletic

performance yeah having a little more

endurance because when you exercise

especially intense exercise you will

generate lactic acid okay so now we're

going to change the pH of certain

tissues in your body and so this lactic

acid tends to inhibit oxygen and then

what's going to happen is you're going

to hit the wall when you exercise so

you'll have a limited endurance but

there's been a few interesting studies

that shows that if you consume baking

soda 90 minutes before this exercise

intensity routine it can improve your

performance because it's going to

neutralize this acidity and then allow

more oxygen to occur but not only that I

think another thing that it does is that

baking soda turns into as a byproduct

water and CO2 carbon dioxide which

automatically allows oxygen to go into

the body if that's new information for

you you should watch my video on that

topic I'll put that down below but it's

fascinating now the CO2 connection

relates to this next benefit which

you know I found I had to dig deep but I

found some interesting research on the

relationship between picking sodium

bicarbonate and cancer and currently in

this one study that I'll put down below

there was a significant Improvement in

decreasing the incidence of metastasis

now this was in my studies but still

this is interesting data now why would

it do that well if you take a look at a

normal cell versus a cancer cell in

relationship to pH

the outside of a cancer cell

is way more acid than a normal cell let

the inside of that cell cancer cell is

alkaline more alkaline than a normal

cell

so that's interesting

so when people say that oh yeah cancer

is acid are you talking about the inside

of the cell or the outside of the cell

and there's a more concentrated amount

of lactic acid okay and lactate and that

can actually trigger the growth of

tumors so if you were to reduce that

kind of neutralize that pH

potentially you can actually prevent the

growth of the tumor now realize that all

this is kind of down chain in other

words it's like the kind of consequences

of this chain reaction that occurs

originally from some type of

damage to the mitochondria and then the

oxygen machine can't work and then the

body uses a different mechanism to get

its Fuel and then the body switches from

normal cell to now a cancer cell which

is kind of like a backup system to get

fuel and in the process there's a lot of

lactic acid generated and so when you're

taking baking soda you're not actually

doing anything for

this initial cause of cancer in the

mitochondria but but what I like about

it is that baking soda can increase CO2

and CO2 is all about allowing oxygen to

kind of go deeper into the tissues we're

taught that CO2 is just a waste product

but it's essential for oxygen so if

you're just like hyper focused on this

oxygen thing and you're ignoring CO2

it's not going to work so even if you do

searches on like CO2 carbon dioxide

in relationship to cancer there's some

therapies out there that shows that it

can inhibit the tumor growth just by

doing CO2 which is interesting which is

a byproduct of baking soda another uh

interesting thing about baking soda is

that people use it for their skin to

help decrease rashes or some type of

skin allergy also baking soda is good if

you have a sinus problem right if you

could just put it in a Neti Pot maybe a

fourth of a teaspoon with a little pinch

of sea salt and you dissolve that and

you get the vapors into your sinuses

that can greatly help your sinus

irritation so that would be more like a

sinus irrigation and one last

interesting benefit about using baking

soda and of course when I recommend it

I'm always talking about this taking it

sporadically not like all the time every

single day to help reduce the risk of

gout attacks because you can inhibit the

formation of that uric acid Crystal if

you just get your pH a little higher and

so you would want to monitor the pH in

your urine and take it until the pH of

your urine is like maybe a seven versus

like a five so anyway I just wanted to

give you more of an a different

Viewpoint of baking soda

um on maybe some potential benefits for

you but if you haven't seen this video

on baking soda which I talk about the

very unusual and surprising benefits you

should check it out I put it up right

here