Benefits and Risks of Drinking Baking Soda in Water!

Is drinking baking soda in water a remedy for common health problems or does it pose some risk? Learn the potential benefits and possible risks of ingesting baking soda in a glass of water.

The Effect of Baking Soda in the Body

Baking soda, or bicarbonate of soda, is a well-known external remedy. It can be used for problems ranging from acne to insect bites. It helps to balance pH levels and has a cleansing, softening effect on the skin. What about drinking baking soda in water? What are the health benefits of ingesting bicarbonate of soda and what are the health risks?

1. Antacid: When ingested, baking soda helps to balance body pH. In cases where the body is too acidic, it has an alkalizing effect. For this reason it may be taken as an antacid, relieving heartburn, acid indigestion and an upset stomach due to heartburn and indigestion, to use baking soda for heartburn relief use:1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
   4 ounces of water
   
   Dissolve the baking soda completely and then drink every two hours. Do not have more then seven one-half teaspoon servings within any twenty-four hour period. To use properly be sure all the baking soda is dissolved in water and do not consume on a full stomach. Do not take if you are taking other antacids or prescription drugs or if you have high blood pressure.
2. Gout:  Gout is a type of arthritis that occurs when there is an accumulation of uric acid in the blood, tissue and urine. As drinking dissolved baking soda can balance your body's pH level, some doctors may recommend bicarbonate of soda to help address the uric acid build-up. As with using it for heartburn, to use as a remedy for gout, the baking soda must be completely dissolved. You should talk to your doctor about proper doses, as there are side effects of drinking baking soda in water regularly.
3. Urinary Tract Infections: Baking soda's alkalizing effect may also benefit urinary tract infection sufferers. Drinking a full glass of water with one teaspoonful of baking soda, completely dissolved, may prevent further symptoms and help the body overcome the infection by making the urine less acidic. Drinking plenty of water and cranberry juice can help as well.

Risks

• Baking soda may be ingested for heartburn, gout or even urinary tract infections. Mixing a small amount of this white powder for relief is a relatively simple and very inexpensive way to help improve your body's pH so that these health conditions are not as severe. Baking soda is not a cure for any disease, nor is it a substitute for regular medical care. Be sure to talk to your doctor first to see if ingesting baking soda is right for you and how much is safe.
• Baking soda is high in sodium and is not safe in high doses nor should it be used over a long period of time. It is also not safe for people who have certain medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, liver or kidney disease or edema. Pregnant women and nursing mothers should avoid it unless directed by their doctor. If not dissolved properly or if taken on a full stomach it can cause an upset stomach.
• Possible side effects of drinking baking soda in water include stomach cramps and increased thirst. If you notice more serious side effects such as nausea, weakness, slow breathing, mental changes or swelling of the feet, contact your doctor.

More Uses

Everyone knows that baking soda is aces at keeping fridges smelling fresh, but who knew just how many other things it could do around the house?
Kitchen, Fire Protection

• Baking soda's a natural fire-stopper. Keep a box close at hand when you're working with live fire of any kind. A handful can put out grease, electrical, wood, and fuel fires.
• Run a baking soda and water solution through your coffee maker, followed by two fresh-water brew cycles to keep your java tasting tip-top.
• It's also great on the grate. Sprinkle it on the grill, or make a paste with water, and scrub grit off the grill without the danger of adding nasty cleaning chemicals to your food.
• Zap nasty cutting board tastes and smells but scrubbing them with a mixture of baking soda and salt. It'll cut grease, won't dry out the wood, and will also take garlic and onion smells off your skin.
• Use a damp paper towel and a sprinkling of soda to remove tea and punch stains from china and plastic.
• A pinch of baking soda in a gallon of freshly-brewed iced tea takes out bad-tasting tannins and prevents cloudiness.
• When you're soaking dried beans or cooking cabbage, add a dash to the water to make them more digestible.
• To keep tomato soup from curdling, sprinkle some soda on the boiling tomatoes and skim off the white foam before adding milk or cream.
• Two tablespoons added to boiling corn and cauliflower keeps the veggies crisp.

Oral Health

• Don't give oral health the brush-off. Soak retainers, mouthguards and dentures in a baking soda and warm water solution (2 tsp to a drinking glass full) and keep your choppers feeling clean.

Go for a natural glow!

• Make a paste of 3 parts baking soda to one part water for an effective and inexpensive skin exfoliant. Just apply it to your skin with fingertips or a washcloth in a gentle, circular motion and rinse. It also works well
• Mix a little soda into your shampoo to strip out product build-up, or rub it into your conditioner for extra-healthy, non-split-prone tips.

First Aid

• Apply a paste of baking soda and water to take the ouch out of bug bites, bee stings, sunburns, rashes, poison ivy, or pour in bathwater for relief from the itch of chicken pox and measles.
• Drink 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in 1/2 a glass of water to relieve acid indigestion and heartburn, or use it as a mouthwash to soothe canker sore pain.

Garage

• Neutralize spilled battery acid in a flash with a handful of baking soda.
• Baking soda on a wet wash cloth makes an excellent bumper buffer when little scuffs appear. It also shines up bike chrome.
• Use a soft brush and a baking soda and water paste to clean efficiency-killing grease and grime from your car's battery.

Clothing

• No one likes reeking of smoke, sweat or spit-up. Rub baking soda directly on baby spit-up to nix the smell quickly. Soak sweat-drenched headbands, hats and gloves or smoky clothes in a baking soda solution before they hit the washing machine. Or, if you're pressed for time, sprinkle it on clothing for a quick odor mask, and wash when you get a chance.
• Shoes can smell a bit iffy after you've been wearing them all day. Once you've kicked them off, stick a small cloth pouch of baking soda in the toe overnight to tame any icky odors.

Garden

• Keep fungus, black spot and powdery mildew off your precious plants by mixing baking soda, horticultural oil and soap and applying it to affected leaves. It's also effective on rose leaves. Just add 1 tsp of soda and a few drops of dishwashing soap to a gallon of water, and spray once a week, and after it rains.

Have a beautiful day! ^_^

The Myth Of: ''Bananas Cause Weight Gain''

Bananas are loaded with potassium, which is an essential mineral that is sometimes missed if you are on a diet because it is vital for controlling the body’s fluid balance and regulating heartbeat as well as blood pressure. In addition, the ease of which bananas can be packed, transported, and eaten makes them a great choice if you are on a diet. While bananas are relatively low in calories and fat, they don't necessarily have a whole lot of fiber. Fiber is an essential nutrient if you are on a diet, because it helps to keep you feeling fuller, longer and prevents overeating at future meals. In short, bananas make a good choice if you are on a diet because they are low in calories and fat.Banana is an ideal fruit. They are cheap. There is a good supply all year. They can be digested by almost everyone. Nutritionally, bananas have a lot to offer. They have a higher carbohydrate content than most other fruits (by weight), making them a good snack choice for endurance athletes.

Does banana contain fat?
Well...Yes, banana does contains fat, but only 0.6 grams of fat. 

Health benefits
As mentioned, bananas contain high amounts of potassium up to 422 mg which is good for Blood Pressure, it is also a good source of Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Manganese and Folate along with being rich in fiber.

• Instant source of energy

Bananas consist mainly of sugars namely glucose, fructose and sucrose and fiber, which makes them ideal for an immediate and slightly prolonged source of energy.

• Anemia

Bananas are high in iron and can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and hence are recommended to those with anemia.

• PMS

Bananas contain vitamin B6 which helps regulate blood glucose levels and help with dealing with PMS symptoms. They are definitely a better solution than other PMS drugs.

• Blood Pressure

Banana contains very little sodium and is high in potassium hence it is ideal for someone with high blood pressure. Even FDA of US has accepted banana’s ability to reduce the risk of stroke and Blood Pressure.

• Bowel movement

Bananas contain good amount of fiber that helps the bowel movement and relieves constipation. Even in the case of diarrhea, the potassium in bananas helps replace the electrolytes lost due to it.
Bananas are also known to promote healthy bones, help in treating heartburn and reduce the risk of stroke and Age related muscular degeneration (ARMD) that causes vision loss in old age.

Myth that bananas cause weight gain
A medium banana contains about 100 calories. It contains about 22-25 gm of carbohydrates, almost 0 gms of fat and 2 gm protein and 3 gm of fiber.

Besides this, it also delivers 15% of the daily requirement of Vitamin C, a dose of Vitamin A, Vitamin B and Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium.

Banana may be high in calories but it contains fiber, potassium, vitamin C that is certainly better than pure calories and no nutrition that other foods you eat leave you with. Besides, if you are working out than banana is a perfect post workout food, that refills your energy reserves and helps build that muscle…

Banana is the best ‘fast food’ as it regulates the blood sugar level and gives instant energy. Banana is also cheaper and found all over the year.

Last Word

In the competition of the best fruit, there are no clear winners or losers. All fruits have their unique properties that make them good for specific ailments.

So,dont be afraid of enjoying your bananas...have a nice day! :)

Foods & Drinks That Can Damage Your Teeth And How to Minimize The Damage?!

There are so many foods that can attack your tooth enamel and reduce the strength of your teeth, that's why the intake of the below-mentioned foodstuffs should be minimized or avoided to maintain tooth enamel strength. These are some of the foodstuffs and dietary practices which raise a small or large red flag for teeth.

Refined and processed food such as

• sugar/ white flour
• cooked starches

1. Sugar :  Of course is hidden in numerous unexpected foodstuffs such as baked beans, salad dressings, deli meats, cream substitutes, bottled juices, ketchup etc. Foods with less than 1% sugar content however, are considered non-cariogenic. It also matters when the sugary food is eaten. This was determined over a number of years in unethical human experiments performed on patients of VipeholmMental Hospital in Lund, Sweden (1940s to 1950s). These non-voluntary human guinea pigs were given four meals a day containing a total of 350g of carbohydrates (of which 90g were sugar), but no snacks. Later, a control group additionally received sticky sugary snacks to eat between meals over the course of the day. The results were clear: only those who snacked on sweets in-between meals developed significant new tooth decay (in contrast to the very slow progression observed on the no-snacks diet), proving that carbohydrates ingested as part of the main meal do not cause caries (at least not in any significant manner)
2. Cooked starches:  Interestingly, a study done at New York University arrived at the conclusion that chocolate is better for teeth than products made of cooked starch (such as potatoes). The researchers determined how long carbohydrates will stay in the mouth after ingestion and how much acid is produced from them. They found that cooked starches are broken down into glucose over a longer period of time than for instance sweets. In other words, the subsequent fermentation into lactic acid by oral bacteria will go on longer as well. This means that foods containing cooked starches is thought to stimulate acid production in the mouth more vigorously than very sugary foods and are thus a greater threat in terms of tooth decay. Considering however that people in developing countries found to have no or little tooth decay (until sugar is introduced to them) traditionally eat many starchy (but "whole") foods, it might appear that sugar is the major culprit after all - unless it is the fact that Western "industrialized" diets generally lack the proper mineral spectrum due to industrial farming methods while those who live on less impoverished (richer and properly balanced) soils might be better protected thanks to the rich mineral and trace element content of their food.

Acidic/acidulous food

• Vinegar and pickled foods
• Sour fruits (oranges and other citrus fruit)
• Unripe fruit
• Fruit juices

Concentrated natural sugars such as

• Dried fruit
• Honey
• Syrups made from fruit, grains etc.

The reason why the intake of refined and processed foodstuffs such as sugar and white flour as well as acidic foods such as vinegar and sour fruits should be minimized or avoided to maintain tooth enamel strength, in a nutshell lies in the following:

Three factors, one structural, one nutritional, one bacterial, seem to form the basis of tooth decay: structural weakness of teeth (due to insufficient mineralization = lack of minerals), lack of nutritional factors required for tooth health, and attack by acids leaching out calcium. Acids stem from acidic foodstuffs but particularly are a byproduct of bacterial decomposition of food rests notably from refined edibles (such as white flour, sugar) and highly concentrated natural sugars (as found in dried fruit etc.)

<sup>Hence the importance of cleaning and flushing out any and all food rests, and more particularly the prevention of plaque deposits (where germs colonize) (compare

Dental Care and Oral Hygiene
Important note: while it is true that sugar is a highly cariogenic (tooth-decay-causing) substance, it is equally true (and highly surprising) that there is (at least) one naturally occurring sugar that frequently has the opposite (anti-cariogenic/cariostatic) effect.</sup>

You think you know everything about proper brushing and flossing techniques? Do You Understand the basics and what you can do to promote oral health?
 Your smile depends on simple dental care habits, such as brushing and flossing. But are you using the right techniques? Follow these steps to protect your oral health.

Brushing for oral health

Oral health begins with clean teeth. Consider these brushing basics:

• Brush your teeth at least twice a day. When you brush, don't rush. Take enough time to do a thorough job.
• Use the proper equipment. Use a fluoride toothpaste and a soft-bristled toothbrush that fits your mouth comfortably. Consider using an electric or battery-operated toothbrush, especially if you have arthritis or other problems that make it difficult to brush effectively.
• Practice good technique. Hold your toothbrush at a slight angle against your teeth and brush with short back-and-forth motions. Remember to brush the inside and chewing surfaces of your teeth, as well as your tongue. Avoid vigorous or harsh scrubbing, which can irritate your gums.
• Keep your equipment clean. Always rinse your toothbrush with water after brushing. Store your toothbrush in an upright position, if possible, and allow it to air dry until using it again. Don't routinely cover toothbrushes or store them in closed containers, which can encourage the growth of bacteria.
• Know when to replace your toothbrush. Invest in a new toothbrush or a replacement head for your electric or battery-operated toothbrush every three to four months, or sooner if the bristles become frayed.

Flossing for oral health
You can't reach the tight spaces between your teeth or under your gumline with a toothbrush. That's why daily flossing is important. When you floss:

• Don't skimp. Break off about 18 inches (46 centimeters) of dental floss. Wind most of the floss around the middle finger on one hand, and the rest around the middle finger on the other hand, leaving about 1 inch (3 centimeters) to floss your first tooth.

• Take it one tooth at a time. Use your thumbs and forefingers to gently pull the floss from the gumline to the top of the tooth to scrape off plaque. Rub the floss against all sides of the tooth. Unwind to fresh floss as you progress to the next tooth.
• Keep it up. If you have trouble getting floss through your teeth, try the waxed variety. If it's hard to manipulate the floss, use a floss holder or an interdental cleaner, such as a dental pick or stick designed to clean between the teeth.

<sup>Extremely hard as well as icy foods
Depending on the breaking strength of your teeth, you may wish to be careful with hard items such as certain kernels and ice.

Raw food = healthy?
Interestingly (Assimilable calcium from greens), a scientific study conducted in Germany on the health of raw-foodists showed that this section of the population develops more cavities and dental erosion than "normal" people, an observation confirmed by raw-food leaders/authors who noted that the dental health status of those adhering to a raw food diet is indeed deplorable. The reasons are not to do with raw food being damaging but with unwise food choices of raw foodists who tend to overindulge in dried fruits, acid fruit, dehydrated food etc. while "underindulging" for instance in calcium-rich greens.

One-sided (imbalanced) “mono-diets” and extreme fasting
Teeth weakening (i.e. structural damage) can also be induced by eating for instance mostly whole-grain noodles for a while
or radical prolonged fasting (such as 14 days) without adequate amounts of water. (On the other hand, properly conducted, fasting can induce dental and gum improvements and heal cavities and toothache.) So it would seem advisable to aim for a varied diet and (digestive capacity permitting) to go heavy on raw organic foods and seaweed.

Suggestions how to minimize the damage from ingestion of the above food items
Apart from strict avoidance which demands a lot of discipline and may not be invariably wise (for instance apple cider vinegar apparently shows astounding health benefits when regularly consumed), here are several immediate ways to contain any damage to enamel:</sup>

1.  ^{Rinse your mouth well after eating acidic or sticky food.}
2. ^{Add xylitol to acidic fruit and drinks.}
3. ^{Drink acidic drinks through a straw.}
4. ^{When ingesting apple cider vinegar and water (and possibly honey) as a health drink, add baking soda to neutralize the acid (raise its pH to tooth-friendly levels).}
5. ^{Rinse with an alkalinizing baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) solution afterwards.}
6. ^{Rinse your mouth with (alkalinizing) sea salt.}
7. ^{Rinse your mouth with xylitol after (and before) meals or use pure xylitol chewing gums (expensive).}
8. ^{Eat and thoroughly chew something salty after a meal (if you eat dairy, cheese apparently is one of the most tooth-friendly items to eat).}
9. ^{Brush teeth after meals but not immediately after ingestion of acidulous items (otherwise you are likely to scrape off precious minerals such as calcium from your somewhat softened enamel).}
10. ^{Get yourself some "chewing sticks"}
11. ^{Natural toothbrush alternatives: chew on them after meals.}
12. ^{Rinse your mouth with (herb-based) disinfectants or with special mouthwashs containing enamel-repairing hydroxyapatite.}

^{General recommendations and advice re oral cleansing.
Follow a varied tooth-friendly, mineral-rich diet to the extent possible and go heavy on raw organic foods and seaweed while making sure your food agrees with you. To allow better/proper absorption, chew well, only eat when hungry and in a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere. You also may wish to do internal cleanses such as liver, gallbladder and colon cleanses and if you feel drawn to it, work on your body's energy system to keep your juices "flowing". Keep your immune system in shape by avoiding stress(or learning to handle it constructively) and regularly clean your teeth using natural, non-toxic cleaning agents. Try to "compensate" any damage done to your teeth by regularly ingesting "super foods"/natural supplements rich in trace elements resp. tooth-friendly alkalinizing minerals.
Have a nice weekend!}