Despite their sudden surge in importance in the health industry, the use of baking soda and lemon actually dates back decades. On their own, these two substances have plenty of healthy effects, but when combined, they can have an even more impressive impact on your overall health.
So, what makes baking soda and lemon so good for us?
let’s get into the top benefits of baking soda and lemon juice -
1. Balanced pH Levels
People often overlook the importance of reducing acid levels in the body, but maintaining a balanced pH is crucial to overall health. Baking soda is known as an alkalizing agent that can lower acid levels, reducing things like heartburn and indigestion. Although lemon juice is very acidic, small amounts mixed with water can have an alkalizing effect as well. This can help neutralize the acid in your stomach.
2. Skin Care
According to a recent study, lemon juice is a high antioxidant beverage. The high levels of antioxidants and citric acid can reduce oxidative stress and prevent the negative effects of free radicals in the body. This is particularly good for the skin and can slow the signs of aging, reduce the appearance of sunspots and wrinkles, and give your skin a healthy glow.
It’s not just lemon juice that’s good for the skin, either. The mild exfoliating property of baking soda makes it a wonder ingredient to help banish acne and pimples from your skin. It is safe to be used on the face as well after it is diluted with water. Baking soda helps dry out the pimple and its anti-bacterial property helps prevent further breakouts on your skin. Use it with lemon juice as a winning combination that helps in reducing acne scars.
3. Stomach Cleansing Properties
Lemon juice has long been known as a diuretic substance and can stimulate the body to urinate, expelling excess toxins, salts, fats, and water. This is good news for the kidneys, as it reduces the stress and pressure that they face and ensures that your body maintains a low level of toxicity. Even better, one study suggests that lemon juice has a protective activity against kidney stones, which is the formation of hard, stone-like substances in the bladder and urinary tract.
Baking soda has some stomach cleansing properties, too. Some people claim that drinking baking soda may help promote bowel movements because it draws additional water into the digestive tract. The theory is that this causes the digestive tract to contract, which can lead to a bowel movement.
4. Teeth Whitening
Recent research has found that baking soda based toothpastes are both effective and safe when used for teeth whitening. However, It’s important to note that sometimes the abrasive nature of lemon can be harmful to the teeth as it eats away on the tooth enamel. It may initially reduce staining of the teeth, and lower acidity levels in the mouth, but there are safer ways than using this decoction as a toothpaste.
Many proponents of baking soda and lemon juice for teeth whitening claim that the harmful effects of lemon get balanced out by the high pH levels of baking soda, thereby making it safe for use. Further research is needed to verify the claim.
5. Improved Digestion
The combination of baking soda and lemon juice acts as a wonderful antacid and is known to quickly reduce the symptoms of, excess flatulence, bloating, cramping, and heartburn. By preventing inflammation in the gut, which is a critical element of the immune system, lemon juice and baking soda can significantly boost the health of your whole body.
6. Heart Health
Research has shown that drinking water mixed with baking soda may help regulate levels of “bad” cholesterol, and improve levels of HDL cholesterol. Keep in mind, though, that there’s also conflicting evidence that says baking soda has been unhealthy for the heart. Further research into the beneficial effects of baking soda and lemon juice for the heart is still required.
However as we all know, lemons are a good source of vitamin C. One lemon provides about 51 percent of the recommended amount of vitamin C we get per day. Research shows that eating fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke.
