We’ve talked at length before about all the various ways that baking soda can benefit
your life and health.
Far from being just a simple ingredient for leavening baked goods, baking soda has a million
and one other uses ranging from whitening your teeth to preventing heartburn.
For a full rundown on some of the ways baking soda can be useful to your life, check out
another video on our channel titled “7 Unexpected Health Benefits of Baking Soda”.
Today though, we’re going to focus on one potential benefit of baking soda that might
be a little bit more “irregular”.
Specifically, today we’re going to take a look at how baking soda might be able to
help people who struggle with constipation.
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So to begin, let’s talk a little bit about constipation and why it can be such a major
problem for the people who suffer from this condition.
Constipation is a medical problem in which you struggle to pass stool on a regular basis.
As a general rule of thumb, if you’re making a number two less than three times every week
on average, chances are you may be constipated.Other possible symptoms of constipation include
acute abdominal pain as well as painful or irregular bowel movements.
While constipation can be painful, uncomfortable and embarrassing, that’s not where the problems
end.
If left unchecked, constipation can lead to all sorts of unfortunate complications, such
as hemorrhoids, fissures, and fecal impaction.
The Mayo Clinic suggests that you might have chronic constipation if you continue to experience
the symptoms of constipation for several weeks or longer.
As for what causes constipation, there are a number of potential factors that can lead
to this particular type of toilet trouble.
Some of the contributing factors that can lead to chronic constipation include eating
a low fiber diet, not drinking enough water, and not exercising enough.
Another problem which can complicate into constipation is if you’re not listening
to your body and using the bathroom whenever you feel the urge.
In other words, don’t try to “hold it in”.
When you gotta go, you gotta go.
There are some other less common causes which can lead to constipation as well.
In some cases, constipation can potentially be a symptom of other conditions such as irritable
bowel syndrome, diabetes, thyroid problems, weakened pelvic muscles, or even colon cancer,
among a number of other possible conditions and illnesses.
In most of the more common cases, you can help to curb constipation by making some adjustments
to your lifestyle in order to keep yourself more regular.
This means eating more fiber, exercising and making sure to stay properly hydrated to ensure
that your digestive system is running as efficiently as possible.
For more serious cases of chronic constipation, laxatives and stool softeners can potentially
provide a helping hand; just make sure not to rely on laxatives too often or they might
only serve to make your constipation even worse.
With laxatives having the potential to worsen the situation, some people have tried to explore
other, more natural remedies in order to get rid of their constipation issues….which
brings us full circle right back to baking soda.
So with all of that preamble out of the way, can baking soda really do anything to help
your constipation?
If you’re hoping for a clear cut, concrete and scientific explanation for whether or
not baking soda can cure your constipation, we’re sad to say you’re sorely out of
luck.
At this time of writing, no actual scientific research has been conducted in order to determine
whether or not baking soda has any impact on constipation.
For starters, baking soda is able to neutralize acid, including stomach acid.
This means that consuming baking soda can help remedy your heartburn (also known as
acid reflux) as well as indigestion.
Because of its antacid properties, some people speculate that baking soda might be able to
cure constipation as well.
There is also some belief that baking soda can help your digestive system by pulling
water into your digestive tract and assisting with muscle contractions.
However, consuming too much baking soda can have some unwanted side effects, including
vomiting, diarrhea, weak or spasming muscles, frequent urination, or convulsions.
Consuming too much baking soda can also lead to constipation, which sounds a little bit
counterintuitive if you ask us.
In addition to consuming baking soda, constipated individuals have also tried to relieve their
symptoms by soaking in a bath of water mixed with baking soda as well.
As we said before though, there’s no concrete evidence to suggest that this or any other
baking soda treatment actually helps with constipation, so make of this speculation
what you will.
For avid baking soda fans, what are some other uses for baking soda that you can think of?
If you have something to share, be sure to let us know in the comment section below and
help us keep the conversation going.