Baking soda to relieve arthritis

[Suet3942]

Just saw the above article in the Daily Mail. Has anyone tried this and if so, was it successful?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Ahh, the good old Daily Mail - must be true then! 🤨

Still we have had wackier suggestions on this forum over the years.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to DorsetLady]

Yup - the People's Medical Journal...

[Suet3942 in reply to PMRpro]

I know..... just wondered

[MayH]

I have no idea if this is any use but when I was growing up baking soda was the ‘go-to remedy’ for minor ailments 😀

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Wouldn't say it was impossible - but we don't have arthritis, PMR/GCA are vasculitis.

[HeronNS in reply to PMRpro]

But our bodies are still mounting unnecessary autoimmune defense.

[Nikkigabi in reply to PMRpro]

vasculitis, Never heard that before. I thought this PMR was muscle and joint problem, or is vasculitis more to do with GCA?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Nikkigabi]

PMR and GCA are now generally regarded as the same underlying disease, just different expressions. Some 50% or so of patients with GCA also have PMR symptoms, about a fifth of patients with PMR would show GCA if they looked more closely, even more patients have large vessel vasculits which affects the arteries in the trunk (80% for GCA, a third for PMR).

This paper

academic.oup.com/rheumatolo...

talks about it - some of it is not too bad to understand - and the image in Fig 1 shows how they overlap.

[HeronNS]

medicalxpress.com/news/2018...

[Soraya_PMR in reply to HeronNS]

Well done Heron. I knew I’d read this recently.

[Rose54]

All it would do for me is make me retch

Many years ago had Gall Stones only thing that relived pain was Bicarb mixed with water just the thought of it now has me reaching for a bucket

[SheffieldJane]

I bought some when it was raised on here a few weeks ago. It lies neglected in my drawer with other supplements. I will try it again, I quite like it.

[HeronNS in reply to SheffieldJane]

How much should one take? Thinking of trying it.

[Soraya_PMR in reply to HeronNS]

Good question.

When I used to take Andrews Liver Salts (basically bicarbonate) it was a heaped teaspoon in a glass of water. That link says the anti inflammatory response lasts 4 hours in humans. So....a teaspoon every 4 hours, yup, that’ll send you to the loo pronto!

Short answer, no idea.

[HeronNS in reply to Soraya_PMR]

Maybe a bedtime glass then, to damp down that early morning cytokine release?

[Soraya_PMR in reply to HeronNS]

Possibly.

Let me know how it goes. Definitely not needing the toilet side effect myself ATM.

[yogabonnie in reply to Soraya_PMR]

I have a friend who read this article (not the daily mail the other one) and didn't know how much to take (he also has PMR) and took heaping tablespoons I think a couple times a day and ended up in the hospital.. he blew up like a balloon. all the sodium... I think. so don't take TOOOOO much! maybe a tsp or two a day!

[Soraya_PMR in reply to yogabonnie]

😲

[Rosedail in reply to yogabonnie]

Yikes! Good to know.

[SheffieldJane in reply to HeronNS]

I took a level teaspoon full. Not an exact science yet.

[Rosedail in reply to HeronNS]

I will try it also but will proceed cautiously.

[CT-5012]

Interesting but still a treatment. Wonder what the side effects would be if you had that much sodium bicarbonate over an extended period.

[HeronNS in reply to CT-5012]

It took about two weeks for the treatment to have the desired effect, which was to alter the nature of the macrophages being produced from inflammatory to anti-inflammatory.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to CT-5012]

Seeing what it does when used as a cleaning agent, don’t think I’ll take the risk!

[CT-5012 in reply to DorsetLady]

With my IBS it might clean me out all the way through. 😱

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to CT-5012]

😱 indeed!

[HeronNS in reply to DorsetLady]

I use vinegar as a cleaning agent too, doesn't stop me putting it on my salad. And we use baking soda all the time in baked goods! It's also an ingredient in some toothpaste. I wish I knew what the dose was, however. Maybe a quarter teaspoon, maybe more?

Incidentally, I remember hearing years ago that coca cola is an effective toilet stain remover....

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to HeronNS]

Coke certainly takes the tarnish off dirty coins!

I think the crux is what the dosage of BS is! If you use it in baking it’s usually only half a teaspoon or so, for a whole cake or pudding- still not convinced I want to take even that much unadulterated every day!

But unless you try, you’ll never know!

After you?

[HeronNS in reply to DorsetLady]

Qubby has posted that she (he?) takes it every morning in water, but if that's the case it hasn't worked to prevent PMR.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to HeronNS]

I rest my case, m’lord! 🤔

[HeronNS in reply to DorsetLady]

But you can't deny the results of the tests they ran on human subjects.

"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."

medicalxpress.com/news/2018...

This article is reporting on work published in the Journal of Immunology.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to HeronNS]

I’m not denying it, just said it’s not for me.

[Rosedail in reply to CT-5012]

I find myself wondering if the people who fast to help their autoimmune response and eat only one meal a day...are having a similar effect on their mesothelial cells.

[HeronNS in reply to Rosedail]

All I know is such a regimen would leave me cross and headachy. Perhaps the discomfort of fasting distracts from the discomfort of PMR?😆

[whitefishbay]

All you need to say is Daily Mail and then disregard the info. Tomorrow they will say the opposite.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to whitefishbay]

[HeronNS in reply to whitefishbay]

I posted link to the article which states the research was done in a university and funded by nih.

[violetsnowdrop]

I don't know the truth of it but it got a RISE out of me. In the current warm weather maybe it is the PROOF we need. Use your loaf!?!?

[Suet3942 in reply to violetsnowdrop]

Ha ha 🥖🥖🥖

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to violetsnowdrop]

Perhaps that’s not the best comment to make to a person with the moniker “suet”! Or maybe it should be “sue t” 😳🤨

[violetsnowdrop in reply to DorsetLady]

Who's this Monica Sue T??

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to violetsnowdrop]

😳 new member obviously!

[Suet3942 in reply to DorsetLady]

Do you mind DorsetLady!! I don’t look like a dumpling!! Haha. My name is Sue and my surname starts with T so my login at work was Suet. All the managers started calling me that!! Lol.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Suet3942]

Hi,

I wasn’t making that assumption - honest! I know my sense of humour is an acquired taste, but no offence intended. I just couldn’t let violetsnowdrop’s comment go unheeded 😉

[Suet3942 in reply to DorsetLady]

😂😂😂

[Grammajoy]

I drink baking soda and vinegar in a glass of water first thing in morning

[Hidden in reply to Grammajoy]

Ok nice, but how much in a glass of water?!

[Grammajoy in reply to Hidden]

1 tablespoon vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 8oz warm water. Dissolve bs and vinegar, add water

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Grammajoy]

I don't quite see the point - vinegar is acetic acid, baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, mixing them gives a solution of sodium acetate and water.

[HeronNS in reply to Grammajoy]

Don't they cancel each other out?

[Qubbie]

Thank you good to know. I do baking soda and warm water every day.

[HeronNS in reply to Qubbie]

How much baking soda? How long have you been doing this? Didn't stop you from getting PMR anyway?

[Qubbie in reply to HeronNS]

No it did not suppress my getting PMR.

It assists my digestive system. I have not noticed any relief from my PMR symptoms, I wish it did, just to get off of the prednisone

[HeronNS in reply to Qubbie]

Well that answers the question, then. Thank you for being our test case!

[Rosedail in reply to HeronNS]

That's interesting Qubbie.

I am reading the back of the Arm&Hammer bag and it says the following: Active Ingredient is Sodium Bicarbonate 100% and Purpose is Antacid./ Warnings Ask a doctor before use if you have a sodium restricted diet. As a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are taking a prescription drug. Antacids may interact with certain prescription drugs. Do not administer to children under 5./ Stomach Warning: to avoid serious injury, do not take until powder is completely dissolved. It is very important not to take this product when overly full from food or drink. Consult a doctor if severe stomach pain occurs after taking this product./Stop use and consult a doctor is symptoms last more than two weeks./Directions*add 1/2 teaspoon to 1/2 glass (4 fluid ounces) of water every 2 hours or as directed by a physician. Dissolve completely in water. Accurately measure 1/2 teaspoon.*do not take more than the following amounts in 24 hours: seven 1/2 teaspoons and no more than three 1/2 teaspoons if you are over 60 years*do not use the maximum dosage for more than two weeks./Other information*each 1/2 teaspoon contains 616 mg sodium.

Just for kicks, I also wrote to their customer service to see what they had to say about the article

And then lastly there is a ton more information about how to clean a pool with this baking soda, so that's a bit intimidating.

[HeronNS in reply to Rosedail]

That's way more information than on the el cheapo store brand I have in my kitchen. It lists deodorizing and cleaning uses, as well as baking. I guess they don't expect anyone to be consuming it outside baked goods!

[Qubbie]

I only do a pinch. Not enough to counteract any medications.

[HeronNS in reply to Qubbie]

Possibly not enough, then, to modify the macrophages? Maybe 1/2 tsp daily for a fortnight would be a good test, and hopefully not enough to cause anything else to get skewed. The extra sodium isn't likely to be a problem. I've been happily lapping up extra salt for over a month now and my blood pressure continues to get lower.

[Mic67]

Just came across this post. I dont have any experience of using it for arthritis but it did help me wean myself off a decade on PPI's!! No matter how hard I tried, I couldnt get off Omeprazole because of this awful 'reflux rebound' thing. (Think heartburn x 1000).

As soon as I realised I was having vitamin absorbption issues, I wanted out and baking soda changed everything!

[Suet3942 in reply to Mic67]

Thanks.