Is Baking Soda Useful For Weight Loss?
Baking soda is a substance that can be very useful around the house. In addition to being used as an ingredient in numerous dessert recipes, it is also used in different ways to clean, degrease and polish objects and surfaces of all kinds.
Could this substance be useful for achieving other goals as well, such as losing weight? If so, what use should we make of it? Don’t worry: in the following lines we will provide you with all the answers to these questions.
What is baking soda and what is it used for?
Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), also known as “sodium hydrogen carbonate” or “sodium hydrogen carbonate”, is an alkaline substance that is obtained through a chemical process and, as the name suggests, has a high sodium content. It is a salt of carbonic acid.
At first glance, it appears as a fine white powder that dissolves very easily in water and other liquids.
- It is frequently used in the bakery industry and in everything that requires leavening, as it favors fermentation and the increase in the volume of the dough.
- It is also used in household cleaning to remove dirt thanks to its abrasive action.
- As a deodorant, it positively contributes to the elimination of bad odors. In addition, it removes stains, gushes and cleans various surfaces.
Since it can be useful in cooking and cleaning the house, many people find it can also be used for other more specific purposes, such as losing weight. However, this idea has more cons than pros.
Baking soda and weight loss
To lose the extra pounds, there is nothing better than adopting and maintaining good lifestyle habits. Eating healthy, hydrating well, exercising and following the doctor’s advice represent, in this sense, essential rules.
Nonetheless, there are people who feel they need a “boost” to help them continue to lose weight. For this purpose, they are looking for home remedies.
The famous glass of water with baking soda is one of the most popular remedies for weight loss. There are those who use it daily and those who use it occasionally, but, in both cases, it is a risky practice.
Drinking a glass of baking soda water does not help you lose weight, although you may want to believe the opposite. When ingested, it does not act as a “fat burner” capable of slimming the figure in record time.
In reality, it attacks the gastrointestinal system and the only thing it does is burn and irritate what it encounters along its path, which can lead to various health problems. In fact, it has been shown that large quantities of this substance are capable of generating intestinal disorders.
The idea of ”burning” fat with a drink may seem like an easy way to lose weight, but it is by no means safe and even less recommendable. Therefore, it is better to consult a doctor, improve your lifestyle and establish a coherent relationship between what the body needs and the methods to be used to satisfy it.
Some aspects that should be taken into account
The amount of sodium bicarbonate and the frequency of use with which it is used are two extremely important factors. Having a certain amount of this substance in a product (such as a toothpaste) is a far cry from dissolving a tablespoon of it in a glass of water to make a homemade mouthwash or any other remedy.
The toothpaste will have the right (and safe) amount that allows the substance to perform its function, without causing damage; in the second case, however, the risks are innumerable. In any case, it should be noted that high quantities of this substance are actually used in certain contexts. An example can be found in the sports field, where its ergogenic effects have been demonstrated.
While it may appear that a glass of water with baking soda may produce some relief for stomach pain, it actually carries a risk to gastric health. The mucous membrane of the stomach suffers a lot, especially if consumption is regular.
For this reason, it is better to give up home remedies based on this substance. Even in the case of weight loss.
Baking soda is not an adequate option
Many people set themselves the goal of losing weight, but not all of them put into practice the best measures to achieve this. In fact, unwittingly, they endanger their health and end up encountering various problems that damage the quality of their life.
One of the least adequate measures that people take to lose weight is precisely the consumption of sodium bicarbonate (dissolved in water or as an ingredient in another drink).
It doesn’t matter how much, how often or how it is consumed. What matters is that baking soda alone cannot make a person lose weight, much less in a healthy way. There are practices that are much more useful and have produced scientific evidence, such as, for example, well-planned intermittent fasting. So says a study published in Clinical Nutrition ESPEN.
Baking soda won’t make you lose weight
Ultimately, the popularity of baking soda does not represent a sufficient guarantee that it can be considered a remedy suitable for regular consumption, in order to lose weight. To find other really effective strategies, talk to your nutritionist.
