You may think that the baking soda in the back of your cupboard is only used to absorb unpleasant refrigerator odors, clean fruits and vegetables, or make baked goods.

However, some people would probably tell you to think again – because they add it to their water and share online that the ingredient improves their workout performance, acid reflux, energy levels and more. But experts say whether this practice is helpful for different conditions is a nuanced matter, given limited and mixed research, risks and personal health.

“Baking soda is a really cool natural ingredient that can do a lot,” says Frances Largeman-Roth, a registered dietitian and author of “Everyday Snack Tray.”

“It can (also) neutralize odors and help you remove stains from your clothes,” Largeman-Roth said via email.

However, just because baking soda is made from natural ingredients doesn’t mean it’s safe to take without regulation, she added. Caution is advised because baking soda and the body work together chemically, and the delicate interplay between the two is exactly what can help or harm.

Baking soda, officially called sodium bicarbonate, is an alkaline substance made up of sodium, hydrogen, carbon and oxygen, said Grace Derocha, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Baking soda may especially help with problems like acid reflux by neutralizing acid.

On the pH scale of acidity and basicity, anything with a pH below 7 is acidic, while 7 to 8 is neutral and anything between 8 and 14 is alkaline or basic. The normal pH range for the human body, as measured by blood, is between 7.35 and 7.45, according to Derocha, but certain body parts and substances have their own pH levels – such as the highly acidic pH of 1 in the stomach.

If you consume too much baking soda, which has an alkaline pH of about 8.3, everything can get out of balance. Based on that science, here’s what researchers and experts say about the health effects, key risk factors, and other things you need to know.

What research shows (and what it doesn’t)

When it comes to what consuming baking soda might improve, physical endurance is one of the purposes best supported by research since the 1980s—though some studies are small or reach mixed conclusions.

During exercise — especially during intense, anaerobic exercise like sprinting or jumping rope — muscle metabolism produces hydrogen ions, exercise physiologist Tamara Hew-Butler, PhD, an associate professor of exercise science at Wayne State University in Detroit, said by email. The breakdown of muscle glycogen, which produces energy, then also leads to the formation of lactate and a hydrogen ion.

The ion buildup “increases acidity…in the blood/muscle environment, which limits exercise performance (i.e. the ‘burn’ of exercise),” Hew-Butler added. “The (benefit) of taking baking soda before exercise is therefore to reduce acidity in and around working muscles, which may improve performance during short-duration, high-intensity exercise.”

Some studies have shown that taking baking soda an hour or two before exercise can improve performance in up to 12 minutes of high-intensity activities such as cycling, running, rowing, boxing and karate, according to a comprehensive 2021 research review by the International Society of Sports Nutrition. However, it’s possible that the effects on pH could last up to three hours, Hew-Butler said.

Participants in a strength training study who consumed baking soda were able to perform more repetitions with less muscle fatigue than the placebo group.

Baking soda can also reduce stomach acid and relieve heartburn or indigestion — which is not surprising since the ingredient is a component of antacids, a common treatment for these conditions, Derocha said.

There is also evidence that baking soda can slow the progression of kidney disease.

In people with chronic kidney disease, the organs don’t function well enough to excrete enough acid each day, resulting in more acidic blood, said Dr. Paul O’Connor, a professor of physiology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University in Georgia.

“Clinically, we’ve given these people bicarbonate supplements to balance the acid load and help the kidneys excrete less acid,” O’Connor said. “Too much acid can cause bone and mineral loss and muscle wasting and some other problematic things.”

A randomized controlled trial of 153 people who had high blood pressure and were at high risk of worsening chronic kidney disease is the latest evidence of this. According to the study, published August 5 in the American Journal of Medicine, taking two doses of baking soda daily – in the form of four or five 650-milligram tablets – was associated with a slower progression of kidney disease over five years. This result was compared with the group that received only standard treatment. However, taking baking soda as a supplement was not associated with an improvement in blood pressure or the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Those results confirmed about 15 other studies on the topic, some of which also indicated a beneficial effect on kidney stones. But some recent multi-site clinical trials suggested the opposite, O’Connor said, and the reasons for that are not yet clear.

A 2018 study in rats and humans found that baking soda reduced inflammation, Largeman-Roth said, which is a risk factor for several health problems such as heart disease, depression, Alzheimer’s and more. “However, the study only lasted (two) weeks, so we cannot assume that this treatment is safe in the long term,” she said.

However, based on these results, the study authors suggested that baking soda might be helpful in inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Largeman-Roth said.

Risk management

Regardless of your situation, you should always consult your doctor to make sure a new health practice is right for you, as every body is different, Derocha said. A lack of stomach acid can cause some medications to take longer to work or make them less effective, Largeman-Roth said.

According to experts, there are people for whom this advice is crucial and for whom taking baking soda as a dietary supplement is absolutely not recommended. These include children, people with cardiovascular problems, acidosis or alkalosis, and pregnant women.

This caution is partly due to the high sodium content, as 1 teaspoon contains more than 1,200 milligrams. The American Heart Association’s ideal daily sodium limit for most adults, especially people with high blood pressure, is 1,500 milligrams per day, and no more than 2,300 milligrams daily.

There is no one-size-fits-all dosage recommendation, experts say. However, if you have indigestion, you can mix ¼ teaspoon with a glass of water, Largeman-Roth says. Some people take a teaspoon, Derocha says, but it may be better to build up slowly, as some people experience diarrhea, bloating, nausea or vomiting if they take too high a dose. It’s best to drink it after eating, as you need the stomach acid to digest food first, she adds.

In fitness studies, a dosage of 0.2 to 0.5 grams of baking soda per kilogram of body weight has typically been used. That means a person weighing about 130 pounds could use at least about a tablespoon of baking soda. In real life, however, many athletes cannot tolerate that amount, Largeman-Roth said.

In cases of kidney disease, the tablet dose is titrated by the doctor based on the patient’s blood values, O’Connor said.

Overdoing it or drinking baking soda water for long periods of time “can have devastating consequences,” Largeman-Roth said, adding that people have ended up in the emergency room because they put their bodies into metabolic alkalosis, which means the body’s pH is above 7.45. Alkalosis can damage the heart, reduce blood flow to the brain, cause mental confusion and reduce oxygen delivery to body tissues, she added.

Your stomach may also start secreting excess acid to combat the baking soda it thinks you’re ingesting, O’Connor said.

“That’s why people with acid reflux usually get other medications – proton pump inhibitors and the like,” he added. “An acidic stomach is (also) good for preventing bacteria from entering the digestive system.”

Some people limit consumption to the morning because the drink disrupts their sleep, likely because the sodium makes the heart work harder to pump blood around the body, temporarily increasing blood pressure, Derocha said. This effect explains why some people who take blood pressure medication take those medications in the evening, which results in less work for their heart and thus better sleep.

Taking baking soda as a supplement isn’t the only way to alleviate acid-related health problems. In a recent study on baking soda, kidney disease and high blood pressure, adding more fruits and vegetables to the diet was most helpful — reinforcing the fact that for overall health, the basics are always most important, experts said.