Baking soda has numerous medicinal uses and benefits. From acting as a natural deodorant, alleviating heartburn and indigestion, to whitening the teeth, baking soda has a range of applications.
But could baking soda get even better? Science says so. Now, researchers have discovered that baking soda combats autoimmune disease, a debilitating condition that characterizes over 100 different diseases.
And here’s where things get interesting: natural remedies like baking soda, which are inexpensive, widely available, and difficult to patent, pose a quiet threat to the pharmaceutical industry’s profit model. While medications for autoimmune diseases can cost thousands per year and often come with significant side effects, baking soda offers a simple, low-cost way to support the body’s own anti-inflammatory pathways. It’s no wonder remedies like this tend to fly under the radar, but for those seeking gentler, more sustainable healing options, the potential is too important to ignore.
What is Autoimmune Disease?
An autoimmune disease is a condition in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your body. As a result, the body isn’t able to protect itself from foreign invaders, which increases vulnerability to infections.
Instead of producing antibodies to an unknown trigger (to fight infections), the immune system starts attacking the body’s own tissues.
Examples of autoimmune disease include (1):
– Rheumatoid arthritis
– Lupus
– Inflammatory bowel disease (Chron’s disease and ulcerative colitis)
– Multiple sclerosis (MS)
– Type 1 diabetes
– Guillain-Barre syndrome
– Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
– Psoriasis
– Graves’ disease
– Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
– Vasculitis
The list doesn’t end there – as mentioned above, there are over 100 different autoimmune conditions.
Autoimmune Disease and Inflammation
The link between autoimmune disease and chronic inflammation runs deep. So much so that it’s nearly impossible to untangle the two. While chronic inflammation can exist on its own (think of long-standing joint pain, digestive issues, or skin flare-ups), autoimmune conditions almost always involve an ongoing inflammatory storm beneath the surface.
Chronic inflammation happens when your body’s immune response, which is designed to protect you, gets stuck in overdrive. Normally, inflammation flares up to fight off threats like infections or injuries and then quiets down once the job is done. But with chronic inflammation, something keeps tripping that alarm system. This might be poor gut health, environmental toxins, chronic stress, food sensitivities, or lingering infections. The result is a smoldering, low-grade fire that never fully goes out.
In autoimmune diseases, that inflammatory process becomes even more personal and damaging. Your body’s white blood cells, which are meant to defend you, mistakenly identify parts of your body as foreign invaders. They produce specific antibodies that target your tissues, whether it’s the joints in rheumatoid arthritis, the thyroid in Hashimoto’s, or the gut lining in celiac disease. This attack doesn’t just cause general inflammation; it leads to direct tissue damage. So, instead of inflammation being a byproduct of another issue, in autoimmunity, inflammation is the weapon your immune system uses against your own body.
This is why calming chronic inflammation is such a critical piece of managing autoimmune conditions. By addressing the root triggers that fuel inflammation, you can help reduce the immune system’s overreaction, protect your tissues from further harm, and ease the exhausting symptoms that come with autoimmunity.
How Baking Soda Fights Inflammation
A recent study conducted at the Medical College of Georgia claims that baking soda can reduce and remove inflammation caused by autoimmune diseases. The best part? Baking soda is widely available for anyone to use, and it’s cheap as dirt.
The 2018 study, published in The Journal of Immunology, included a sample of rats and healthy medical students. When the participants and animals consumed baking soda mixed with water, they discovered two major things (2):
– Greater stomach acid production (which increases stomach acid for your next meal)
– Prevented the spleen (a major part of our immune system) from mistaking foods that would normally trigger inflammation
But what’s happening here at a molecular level? According to the study, sodium bicarbonate interacts with the mesothelial cells found in the spleen, which increases acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) activity. As a result, an anti-inflammatory signal is sent to your body to help lessen the immune response.
Renal physiologist, and study co-author, Dr. Paul O’Connor, thinks “the cholinergic (acetylcholine) signals that we know mediate this anti-inflammatory response aren’t coming directly from the vagal nerve innervating the spleen, but from the mesothelial cells that form these connections to the spleen (3).”
After making some physiological observations between both participants and animals, O’Connor and his teams’ hypothesis was confirmed. In a press release for Jagwire News in Augusta, Georgia, Toni Baker writes:
“In the spleen, as well as the blood and kidneys, they found after drinking water with baking soda for two weeks, the population of immune cells called macrophages, shifted from primarily those that promote inflammation, called M1, to those that reduce it, called M2. Macrophages, perhaps best known for their ability to consume garbage in the body like debris from injured or dead cells, are early arrivers to a call for an immune response (4).”
How Does Baking Soda Combat Autoimmune Disease?
So what does all of this information have to do with inflammatory autoimmune conditions? While this is the first study of its kind, O’Connor is hopeful. He thinks “this helps explain the cholinergic (acetylcholine) anti-inflammatory response that people have been studying for a long time (5).”
Given that autoimmune conditions are largely inflammatory, baking soda could be a simple, cost-effective means to help out those who are suffering. And while the participants of the study were healthy, it could still prove beneficial in the bodies of those with chronic inflammation.
“You are not really turning anything off or on, you are just pushing it toward one side by giving an anti-inflammatory stimulus,” O’Connor says, in this case, away from harmful inflammation. “It’s potentially a really safe way to treat inflammatory disease (6).”
While the exact ratios of sodium bicarbonate to water have not been made available to the public, you still might want to try it out if you’re dealing with chronic inflammation or have an autoimmune disease.
To make a basic baking soda and water mixture, simply dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in two cups of water, and drink every day. Keeping your baking soda intake to only 1/2 a teaspoon is recommended so that your sodium intake doesn’t get too high.
More Health Benefits of Baking Soda (and Why That’s a Big Pharma Problem)
Baking soda isn’t just showing promise in the fight against autoimmune disease. Its list of potential health benefits touches on multiple areas where pharmaceutical companies currently dominate. This is precisely why it poses such a quiet but significant threat. Here are some of the other conditions and symptoms that baking soda has been shown to help with:
- Acid Reflux and Heartburn: Baking soda neutralizes stomach acid and provides rapid relief from heartburn. No need for pricey antacids or proton pump inhibitors, which come with long-term risks like nutrient deficiencies and kidney problems.
- Kidney Health: Research suggests that baking soda can slow the progression of chronic kidney disease by reducing acid buildup in the blood, which is a game-changer for patients who otherwise rely on expensive medications and, eventually, dialysis.
- Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs): By alkalizing the urine, baking soda may help relieve UTI symptoms and make the bladder environment less hospitable to bacteria, offering an alternative to repeated courses of antibiotics.
- Exercise Performance: Baking soda can help buffer lactic acid build-up during intense workouts, improving endurance and reducing fatigue. A natural option compared to pricey sports supplements.
- Gout and Joint Pain: Its alkalizing effect may help lower uric acid levels, which is key in managing gout, a condition typically treated with medications like allopurinol.
- Skin Irritations and Rashes: Used topically, baking soda can soothe itching, insect bites, and minor rashes, reducing reliance on steroid creams and antihistamines.
When you look at this list, the bigger picture becomes clear: baking soda offers simple, affordable relief across a spectrum of common health issues, many of which are currently “managed” with drugs that people are expected to take indefinitely.
For the pharmaceutical industry, this is the real nightmare. Widespread adoption of remedies like baking soda doesn’t just impact one drug category. It chips away at multiple profit streams, from acid reflux medications and kidney drugs to antibiotics and painkillers. And because baking soda is natural, inexpensive, and impossible to patent, it operates outside the financial model Big Pharma depends on.
For everyday people, though, this is empowering. It’s about reclaiming control over your health with tools that are accessible, effective, and far less invasive.
Precautions Regarding Baking Soda
Because of the high sodium concentration, baking soda should be kept to a minimum if you have high blood pressure or if you’ve been instructed to keep your sodium intake low.
Taking baking soda can also result in minor symptoms such as:
– Nausea
– Bloating
– Gassiness
Baking soda can also interact with medications like (7):
– Acetazolamide
– Aspirin
– Other salicylate
– Corticosteroids
– Memantine
– Medications with coatings to protect the stomach.
Baking soda can also decrease certain medications’ effectiveness, such as:
– Ampicillin
– Atazanavir
– Azole antifungals
– Iron supplements
– Pazopanib
– Sucralfate
Also, don’t mistake baking soda for baking powder (they’re two very different things!).
The Bottom Line
Baking soda’s ability to reduce inflammation and potentially ease autoimmune disease symptoms is a reminder that sometimes the most powerful remedies are the simplest. While it’s not a cure-all and should be used with care, baking soda represents a shift toward more affordable, natural, and sustainable healing practices that put power back in your hands, not in the pockets of big pharmaceutical companies.
As always, if you’re considering adding baking soda to your health routine, consult a healthcare provider, especially if you have existing medical conditions or are taking medications.
