Interaction of Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda)

Just wondered if anyone had positive or negative experiences of taking Baking Soda to reduce acidity or other ailment; in particular any interaction with Flecainide or supplements such as Mg & CoQ10. I am trying to improve my digestive system but don't want to cause other problems.

[Bagrat]

I seem to remember from nursing days a long time ago that using bicarb can be counter productive as the stomach responds to the alkali by trying to produce more acid. This is the reason one should avoid alka seltzer too ( can't remember what's in them. No idea about interactions though I did come across an odd comment that flecainide may be less effective if taken with milk in children! As it also says the drug is unsuitable for children I was a bit bemused. Hope you find something helpful Wendyb

[Hidden in reply to Bagrat]

Thanks Wendy, useful to know.

[jennydog]

Have you tasted baking soda? It's vile. A friend bought me some Tesco Welsh cakes recently and they contained too much of it so were not nice.

[Hidden]

Thanks Jenny, I haven't tasted it and not encouraged.

[Alil in reply to Hidden]

bicarbonate of soda will give temporary relief from indigestion but I'm sure there's more effective (and less nasty tasting) modern remedies. It's what puts the soda in soda bread but Jenny is right about too much being vile and it's the raising agent in baking powder. I think washing soda is similar but more caustic and not for cooking with!

[BobD Volunteer]

Its great for blast cleaning and cleaning drains! I buy it by the 20kilo bag. Also washing as it is the same chemical as washing soda. Not something I would take for my digestion. As Wendy mentions it is in alkaseltzer and some migraine meds as well.

[Hidden in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob, I think I will postpone drinking any but will probably apply some to my toe nails to try and clear the fungus growth, which I think originates from too much yeast or some such in the stomach. Enjoy the sunshine.

[rothwell]

I have a hiatus hernia and suffer terribly from acid reflux. I have read so much about the dangers of long term use of PPI's (Omeprazole, Lanzaprozole etc) and H2 blockers(Ranitidine,Tagametetc) that I decided to treat myself so looked up ways to come off these drugs. Unfortunately I do still need to take Ranitidine but have reduced this to 75 mg every other day. On the alternate day I start the day with a cup of hot water into which I squeeze juice from half a lemon Wjich is acidic but becomes alkali in the body) and add half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (which is in Baking Powder..but don't take Baking Powder as this contains other ingredients) and a little honey...tastes fine. If I get heartburn later in the day I suck aGaviscon tablet or a Rennie or take 2 Slippery Elm capsules. I also take CoQ10 and magnesium. I am hoping to get off the Ranitidine altogether.Give the baking soda a chance but remember it is a salt and too much sodium is not good. Slippery Elm may be a better alternative but you need to leave 2 hours between that and your medication. Hope this helps.

[Hidden in reply to rothwell]

Thanks Rothwell, I had also read Baking soda with lemon juice or cider vinegar let it fizz and then add water helps reflux. My thought was to make my stomach more alkaline but there is a lot more to learn here as some say baking soda being alkaline encourages the stomach to make MORE acid to compensate.Have a great day.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Hidden]

Just consider this. The sphincter at the base of the stomach needs an acid environment to open and pass food down into the rest of the digestive system. Reduce that acid level and food stays in the stomach making reflux more likely. This is why long term use of PPIs tends to promote rather than reduce reflux. 'nough said.

[Hidden in reply to BobD]

Thanks again Bob, a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing springs to mind, so I think I will turn my attention elsewhere.

[Dr-Gohan in reply to Hidden]

I heard an interview with a doctor on radio recently and he pointed to the solution with acid stomach is to eat higher acidic foods, which causes the body to reduce making acid in the digestive process. I'm having some success eating Oranges or Tangerines

[Sharara in reply to rothwell]

I have recently been diagnosed with a sliding Hiatus hernia although have no symptoms of reflux and have been put on Omeprazole so was alarmed to read that there were dangers for longtime use. Can you advise me about continuing to take these. My GP told me to carry on but I am now concerned.

[rothwell in reply to Sharara]

If you have no symptoms then there doesn't seem to be a need for medication. I have acid reflux which can be painful and at best causes burning and burping. If you search "dangers of omeprazole" in Google you will find out side effects...the one which scares me most is the possible association with dementia. Gp's usually rubbish these findings but time will tell.

[Sharara in reply to rothwell]

Thank you for this information. I have only been on a small dose for 3 weeks now but will stop if it is not needed. I did not even know that I had this condition. I have however, experienced heartburn if I eat bread or buns that contain soya flour so when avoiding this I have no problems. I gather lost of people cannot tolerate soya. I am wondering if this is caused by the hiatus hernia? All medication is poisonous and the less we take the better unless essential.

[Sharara in reply to Sharara]

Thank you for your help.

[CDreamer]

Cups of hot water with slice of lemon, hot water on its own or mint tea, not peppermint - mint.

I find bicarb gives me heartburn.

Liquid Gaviscon if very bad.

I have resolved (for now anyway) all my digestive difficulties and I am not sure but I think I put it down to 3 things - Ayuverdic massage x 1, Taking a herb by Pukka called Triphala and Kefir - I make the water as I find dairy is the biggest antagonist for acid reflux.

[Hidden]

Try eating a sweet apple, I am not kidding. I find the apple works every time with my reflux. It has to be a sweet apple. I also have an apple half an hour before bed and do not get woken at night with reflux/heartburn. Incidences of reflux are lessening. I also have a Serrapeptase morning and night (butterfly enzyme). I get these from Holland and Barrett.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Much appreciated, have a great day!

[dizzielizzie1]

I am not medically trained but I have a hiatus hernia, which causes occasional indigestion and in the past also gastritis, which was very painful. I used Ranitidine and Lansoprazol

( not together) for a while, they both caused me to have headaches. One of the best things which helped my digestive problems was DGL Liquorice, must be DGL type--ordinary Liquorice can raise your blood pressure. If you want to try this make sure that the brand you buy does NOT contain sweeteners that end in 'OL' eg manitol or sorbitol as these can actually cause indigestion. Why manufactures add these I do not know. Just a suggestion.

[Valdoot]

A glass of milk helps me.

[Dodie117]

I had problems with reflux and bloating. Started eating fruit and yogurt for breakfast and stopped eating bread. Big improvement. I still have a little bread later in day but never in morning.

[Hidden]

Thanks everyone for your replies, quality replies as always here. Hope all well with you.

[kcc9993]

CoQ10 provides a variety of benefits, but you may not be able to experience the benefits if you are not absorbing your CoQ10 supplement.

CoQ0 has poor absorption, therefore, you should choose one that is both water and fat-soluble which is better absorbed by the body than regular CoQ10.

(Source: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?te...

[Hidden in reply to kcc9993]

Thanks KCC, I take 200mgs of Lamberts CoQ10 per day with a fatty diet and have a blood test every 6 months and my levels are well up so I am thinking it is working for me.

[kcc9993 in reply to Hidden]

That's great that your health care provider offers CoQ10 blood tests, as I know many who will not do them!

[Hidden in reply to kcc9993]

The tests are privately paid for through BioLab in London, around £40 I think the last one was.

[Solarjdp69]

I would advise TO TAKE apple cider vinegar - Sometimes people put 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda into ACV to make it easier to take. My wife sometimes takes iACV when she has acid reflux and she's "right as rain" within 20m.

See these links -

homeremediesforlife.com/app...

healthline.com/health/diges...

webmd.com/vitamins-suppleme...

Helps for many other ailments as well - and it's CHEAP. In America it's $8.00/32OZ which lasts for several months. I recommend BRAGGS Organic ACV (tastes good, more "apple-lly."

[Hidden]

Thanks just had some ACV this morning < breakfast, gut feels good so far!

[Pjt55]

Our Nutritionalist that is also a pharmacist teaches wellness classes and always touts the importance of keeping the body in good physical. A too high or low pH indicates illness. So she says the stomach should be acid (so as to digest) but rest of body needs to be alcoline. One way she suggests doing this is to take baking soda and apple cider vinegar 2-3 times a day (depending on what you pH test strips indicate). She suggested testing urine pH 2times /day. That should help also with gerd to keep acid in stomach where is is supposed to be. An acid body results in unhealthy. Acid stomach, alcoline body. Home monitoring health using urine pH strips has kept hubby healthy now for 3years.

[Hidden in reply to Pjt55]

Thanks PJT interesting, I'll ask at my chemist for pH strips. Not sure how you test the stomach and body separately though, am I missing the obvious?

[Pjt55 in reply to Hidden]

The urine pH stating between 7.0-8.0 will indicate overall health. If stomach or body is not correct it will show as entire body pH is off. Take pH first urine in morning before food and around 5pm before supper. After meals isn't accurate. Hope that explanation helps.

[Hidden in reply to Pjt55]

Thanks Pjt, will try it.

[MargaretWendy]

Baking soda is NaHCO3 - Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate, or Sodium Bicarbonate. It

is not caustic to human skin or to the mouth or to the oesophagus or to the stomach. Caustic Soda is NaOH Sodium Hydroxide and is quite different and is dangerous for the body

I understand that if you do wish to neutralise body fluids by drinking bicarbonate of soda dissolved in water, this should be at least an hour before or after taking food as you do not want to disturb the acidity of the stomach as it digests your meal. My life like many of us tends to be chaotic and not regular, so I have taken to preparing a glass of water with bicarbonate of soda dissolved in it and drinking it in the middle of the night when sadly I need to get up to have a pee! This way I do not disturb my digestion and it does seem to help.

[Hidden]

Thanks MW, some good tips there.

[Ohhello143]

You mix a half tsp of baking soda I'm half a cup of water... It's salty it's not vile hahaha... The best thing to do is stop eating no later than 5:30/6:00pm. Have at least 5 hours after eating and going to bed.

These responses are so funny.. it's not vile 🤣🤣

When I stopped eating past 6 I got rid of my asthma because I no longer had acid getting into my lungs from heartburn.

Best of luck