Kidney Cleanser

When it comes to cleaning, baking soda is a lot like duct tape:  It has a multiplicity of usages.  From cleaning out stubborn stains in laundry, to stubborn scents in the refrigerator, its universality stops at the user’s imagination.

But could baking soda be a kidney cleanser as well?  And by “kidneys,” I don’t mean cleaning tonight’s batch of kidney beans.  I’m talking about the kidney – the actual organ – the body’s own sort of cleansing mechanism.

Well according to researchers, baking soda may indeed act as a sort of kidney cleanser.

The secret to baking soda’s powerful cleansing ability is in its sodium bicarbonate levels.  Bicarbonate, the element, is something the body contains naturally, but people who suffer from kidney disorders like chronic kidney disease are severely lacking in this element that’s crucial for proper digestion and acid balance.

So when researchers supplemented approximately 130 CKD sufferers with small dosages of sodium bicarbonate, the rate of kidney function decline was significantly slower than in those who didn’t supplement with the dose.

Both groups received the same care outside of bicarbonate supplementing, but the rate of kidney decline was reduced for nearly one-third of those who supplemented (the rate of decline remained consistent for nine percent of those who supplemented).

And in terms of rapid progression, rapid progression of the disease declined for nearly 50 percent of those who supplemented (for nine percent, rapid progression remained just that, despite their supplementing).

As the researchers themselves say, there are limitations to this study, as 10 percent is a high number.  Further, there was no placebo group in the study, or those who took a supplement that they thought was sodium bicarbonate but was in fact something else entirely.

Still, it’s a wonder to know that a naturally-occurring substance like sodium bicarbonate can enhance our body’s ability to fight a disease that afflicts some 26 million Americans.  And if those numbers don’t hit close to home, how about a disease that affects one in nine Americans.

This study was conducted by researchers from Royal London Hospital and was published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Chronic kidney disease is rarely diagnosed in isolation:  People with kidney disease often go on to develop other serious health problems, like heart disease, weakening bones (osteoporosis), and high blood pressure.

While chronic kidney disease is treatable, early detection is essential to preventing kidney failure, which requires significant and invasive treatment just to maintain kidney function.  Kidneys rarely return to normal function after being diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.

Sources
medicinenet.com
kidney.org