Is soda good for you? On the pros and cons of taking penny medicine
Many people keep baking soda not in the kitchen, but in the home first-aid kit.
00:09 06/04/2019 Alexander Melnikov 53758
Is soda good for you? On the pros and cons of taking penny medicine
Article from the newspaper: Weekly "Arguments and Facts" № 14 03/04/2019
Many people keep baking soda not in the kitchen, but in the home first-aid kit.
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The Internet is full of "soda recipes", which should help in the battle with a dozen diseases - from heartburn to cancer. Should I resort to this help?
Alkali against acid
Sodium bicarbonate (as chemists call baking soda) is officially released as a medicine. It is administered intravenously in case of severe infections, poisoning, diabetes mellitus and in other cases when acidosis (blood acidification) develops. This is an emergency therapy tool. But more recently, soda was sold in the form of heartburn powders, and in Soviet times it was also used for rectal suppositories to fight against motion sickness (sea and airborne diseases).
Powders and candles were gone from sale, but nobody prevents us from using ordinary baking soda. It really helps with a number of diseases. For example, soda liquefies phlegm and thereby relieves cough. The optimal route of administration of such drugs - inhalation with soda. You can also drink it with warm milk (1/3 tsp. Per glass of milk). By the way, soda is a part of multicomponent cough medicine like thermopsis and terpinkode. They cost a penny on the background of modern drugs, but not much inferior to them in efficiency. Rinsing the throat and mouth with a solution of soda for colds and stomatitis also helps.
The most famous use of soda is the treatment of heartburn. Even the profane in chemistry know the mechanism of its action. Soda is alkali that neutralizes hydrochloric acid that causes heartburn. It is one of the fastest and most effective antacids (drugs intended for the treatment of acid-related diseases of the gastrointestinal tract).
But, alas, not the best. When it reacts quickly with acid, a lot of carbon dioxide is released, it stretches the stomach (this can manifest by belching), and thus the production of a new portion of acid is triggered. This is called rebound syndrome. Soda acts for a short time, it has to be taken often, and this can lead to alkalosis - alkalization of blood. Therefore, if you extinguish soda heartburn, then only sporadically. And even better from improvised means to use milk for this. For long treatment it is better to use modern antacids.
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