Baking soda is known for a wide range of uses, from deodorizing refrigerators to whitening teeth. Weight loss is one of its latest benefits.
Some people suggest that if you dilute baking soda with water, apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice and drink it on an empty stomach, it will help you get rid of excess weight. Others believe that soaking in a baking soda bath will help.
This article examines whether baking soda has any weight-loss benefits, as well as the potential risks associated with consuming the baking soda concoction. Does baking soda help you lose weight?
There are many claims that baking soda combined with water, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice is particularly effective in shedding excess body fat. However, there is little science to support this.
It may not have an immediate effect on weight loss
Baking soda is believed to have an alkalizing effect on the body, which is believed to prevent weight loss or weight gain. However, this theory has been repeatedly debunked.
That’s because your body uses tightly regulated processes to control your pH levels, and what you eat and drink has little effect on them ( 1 , 2Trusted Source ).
Another theory is that adding baking soda to your bath water can boost your metabolism and help you lose weight by replenishing your magnesium and sulfate levels, which flush out toxins. However, this theory has not been scientifically proven.
However, baking soda can help relieve indigestion due to its ability to neutralize stomach acid (3).
This chemical reaction produces carbon dioxide, the gas that makes you burp. Although it makes your stomach feel lighter, it doesn’t directly affect your total body fat.
May have a small indirect effect on weight loss
Baking soda has an indirect effect on weight loss, mainly because of the liquid you mix it with.
One popular option is to mix baking soda with apple cider vinegar, a liquid that old studies have shown to help reduce hunger pangs. However, recent studies supporting the weight loss effects of apple cider vinegar are limited ( 4Trusted Source , 5Trusted Source , 6Trusted Source ).
Baking soda is usually diluted with water, either alone or with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
When consumed daily, such a drink increases the daily fluid intake. It can improve your overall hydration levels, and research shows it can reduce hunger, increase metabolism, and increase body fat loss ( 7Trusted Source , 8Trusted Source , 9Trusted Source ).
It’s important to note that these weight-loss effects have nothing to do with baking powder, but with other liquids. Adding baking soda to the mix seems to have several additional benefits.