What are the dangers of drinking baking soda? Drinking baking soda is not suitable to digest for long term use and its not suitable for pregnant women or children. It is an alkaline substance that has been used temporarily for indigestion relief. For basic indigestion purposes the powder must be mixed with water.
What are the dangers of drinking baking soda? iStock-photo credit: Rosendo Serrano Valera
One of the negative benefits of taking too much sodium bicarbonate is that the body will try to correct salt balance by drawing too much water into your digestive system. And the result of that is diarrhea, seizure and potential kidney failure.
Another serious toxic symptom is if you take too much baking soda it can potentially cause your stomach to rupture. If you have indigestion issues and want to take sodium bicarbonate you shouldn’t take it longer than 2 weeks at a time.
If your indigestion issue hasn’t cleared up, then you may need to contact your medical provider. There have been case studies where people that overdosed on baking soda caused a cardiac attack and or heart arrythmia.
A benefit that a 2020 metanalysis study showed is that sodium bicarbonate improved muscle endurance. And there was also a small, randomized study in 2017 that showed it improved the endurance performance in trained elite runners. It is important to know that everybody in this specific study were men.
If you have a friend or family member that has ingested too much baking soda, then contact the poison center at (800) 222-1222.
The Bottom Line is there are dangers of drinking baking soda if you overdose or overconsume it. Baking soda consumption is typically used temporarily to relieve indigestion but in lesser amounts. Not everybody can digest baking soda such as pregnant women and young kids from a health and wellness perspective.
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References
1) Grgic, J., Rodriguez, R.F., Garofolini, A. et al. Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate Supplementation on Muscular Strength and Endurance: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Med 50, 1361–1375 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-020-01275-y
2) Hughes A, Brown A, Valento M. Hemorrhagic Encephalopathy From Acute Baking Soda Ingestion. West J Emerg Med. 2016 Sep;17(5):619-22. doi: 10.5811/westjem2016.6.30713. Epub 2016 Jul 21. PMID: 27625729; PMCID: PMC5017849.
3) Han, Y.J., Roy, S., Siau, A.M.P.L. et al. Binge-eating and sodium bicarbonate: a potent combination for gastric rupture in adults—two case reports and a review of literature. J Eat Disord 10, 157 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-022-00677-9
