Maybe the baking powder is sitting in the pantry cupboard, waiting for you to bake, clean or wash?
Then maybe it’s time to pack it in your training bag instead – at least according to new studies, which show that the ingredient can have positive effects on your physical health.
News24 have mapped the side effects of baking powder as a training supplement, and how large amounts are actually too large.
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Popular ingredient making a comeback
In addition to being used as a kitchen cleaner, stain remover and to neutralize odors from smelly clothes, the pantry product has begun to be used by some to improve their exercise performance and counteract acid reflux, explains the dietician and author Frances Largeman-Roth in an interview with the news channel CNN.
– Baking powder is a very cool natural ingredient that has many uses, says Largeman-Roth.
What are the positive health effects of baking soda?
When it comes to what baking soda can improve, endurance is one of the most researched uses, with the first studies dating back to The 1980s.
According to one major research overview from 2021the intake of baking soda one to two hours before exercise can improve performance for up to 12 minutes during high-intensity activities such as cycling, running, rowing and boxing. Participants who consumed baking soda in a study on strength training were also able to do more reps with less muscle fatigue than the placebo group.
Baking soda is also said to relieve acid reflux, indigestion and in some cases the development of kidney diseasenew studies show.
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Researchers’ warning: May be risky
But just because baking powder consists of natural ingredients does not mean that consumption is completely without risk, adds the dietitian.
The need for caution is due to the chemistry of the baking powder once it has entered the body, and the delicate interaction between the substance and the body’s organs. On the pH scale of acidity and basicity, anything with a pH of less than 7 is acidic, while 7 to 8 is neutral and anything from 8 to 14 is basic.
The normal pH range for the human body, as measured by blood, is between 7.35 to 7.45, according to Largeman-Roth.
The baking powder then? It has a basic pH of about 8.3.
When is it dangerous to consume too much baking soda?
It’s when you consume too much baking soda that things can get crazy.
According to Largeman-Roth, there is no universal dosage recommendation yet, but for indigestion, you can try a quarter-teaspoon of baking soda mixed with a glass of water.
Some people use up to a full teaspoon – but working up the amount gradually can be beneficial, the dietitian says, as many experience diarrhoea, gas, nausea or vomiting from taking too much at once.
Drinking the baking powder after – and not before – the meal is also the best time, reveals Largeman-Roth, as the stomach acid is needed to digest the food first.
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