Sodium Bicarbonate Goodness – AKA Baking Soda

How Baking Soda Works Naturally for You!

What comes to mind when you think of house cleaning? What about health remedies? Or beauty secrets? Bet it is not baking soda! The general population has forgotten one of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to quick fixes that for a cheap price. Saturated with commercials for products specializing in cleaning, health, and beauty, most individuals flock to mass-produced, chemically created items that could cause their health to deteriorate or expose their families to harmful compounds.

Ancient Egyptians used natron, a mineral that consists of the baking soda compound nacholite, as a soap thousands of years before Western civilization began making use of it in 1846. That year, Dr. Austin Church and John Dwight began to produce the compound sodium bicarbonate for sales purposes, marketing it as baking soda. From there, baking soda held reign as one of the most versatile household products available for purchase. As more chemical products weaved their way into the scene with more attractive names and specific purposes, baking soda began fading into the background. We want to highlight this product once more, and open your eyes to the endless possibilities that baking soda leaves in its wake.

 

Natural Household Helper

You can toss most of toxic housecleaning products created with chemical compounds into the trash, and replace them with baking soda – and maybe one or two other products to compliment it. Many people do not realize the vast variety of uses that baking soda can fulfill around the house. So, we made a list of things to use it for when you need a simple fix here or there.

Does your drain’s lack of function drain the fun out of your day? Dealing with nasty, grimy clogs in sinks or tubs makes a hassle for anyone who has to reach inside and dig it out. The only other option is to drown it out with Drain-O or another pollutant that promises results – but not without potentially poisoning our water. Right? Wrong! Dust some baking soda into the mouth of the drain, before pouring some apple cider vinegar in to wash it down. The chemical reaction between the two substances will blast out any blockages with ease – without polluting our water or soil.

If you need something to help scour dishes clean after meals, but do not want to expose your eating utensils to potentially harsh detergents, then reach for baking soda instead. Adding baking soda to a sink full of hot water and dirty dishes, and letting it settle for about fifteen minutes, will eat away at food residue and make your load of dishes much easier to clean. You also get to keep your skin away from harmful chemicals that companies may use in detergent-based dish soaps.

You ever get that lingering odor in your rooms – an odor that you cannot quite place or figure out where it is coming from? Instead of reaching for a chemically fragrant air freshener, sprinkle some baking soda across the whole of the carpet covering the floor, and let it settle for about ten to fifteen minutes. Then, vacuum the baking soda up. This will allow the powder to soak up any bacteria hidden on the floors that may cause offensive odors.

Whenever your refrigerator starts to have bad breath of its own, an opened box of baking soda may do the trick at eliminating the smell. It is a simple and favorite trick of mine. Simply open a fresh box of baking soda, and leave it in the refrigerator. The baking soda will absorb any bacteria causing the odor, thereby ridding your fridge of it.

 

It’s Naturally Good For Your Health

Baking soda also paves the way for good health. You can create a tonic of water and baking soda, and experience relief for a number of irritating or exhausting symptoms. Once thought to balance the pH level in the human’s bloodstream, baking soda can stave off symptoms and ease sickened bodies.

Dissolve baking soda in a glass of cold drinking water, then drink the whole concoction quickly. This provides relief from cold and flu. This method is recommended at least once or twice a day for the individual trying to fight off the illness. Adding honey to sweeten can add a more pleasant flavor, along with natural antibacterial properties.

Create this same concoction to handle some forms of upset stomach. If you are struggling with an ulcer or acid reflux, baking soda can neutralize stomach acids, allowing healing for any ulcers and keeping acid from rising into the throat. This helps prevent any further damage to the lining of the stomach or esophagus.

Stop toying with the germ-ridden tweezers when trying to remove a painful splinter, and reach for the baking soda instead. Dissolve the powder into a small amount of water, and dab onto the affected area once or twice a day until the splinter comes out on its own. This should take about three days.

Create this same solution to provide relief for bug bites from spiders, mosquitos, chiggers, and mites. This solution draws out the poison and neutralizes bacteria, which eases any itch, pain, or other irritation associated with bug bites. After about two or three days, even the red mark from the bite will dissipate.

 

Beauty’s Great Friend

Baking soda also offers an excellent alternative when it comes to beauty products. It can work in a number of areas to help you naturally be the best you possible. Appropriate for numerous ways to maintain appearance, you can use baking soda for your hair, skin, teeth, and nails to experience the benefits of a versatile beauty product.

You do not have to turn to chemical white-strips that wear away at the enamel and mineral buildup of the teeth to have a gleamingly white smile. Rely on one strawberry mashed up and mixed into a tablespoon of baking soda. Simply brush on your teeth to apply evenly, then let it sit for ten minutes. Do this once a week for naturally whiter teeth.

Baking soda makes for an excellent method in ridding your hair of toxins, chemicals, and other pollutants that stick and build up. Simply pour a small amount into your hand, and work through your scalp and hair strands. This is especially helpful to those switching from mass-produced products to naturally organic products, as it strips the hair of the chemical cuticle much quicker.

For acneic skin types, applying multiple different products to maintain a good face for the public can be extremely hard and confusing work. Baking soda provides a quick and easy fix. In the shower, you can apply baking soda to your wet face or any acneic areas, and leave on for a few minutes. Baking soda helps lighten the appearance of irritation and draw out any bacteria affecting the acneic blemish. The appearance of the blemish will shrink and seem less noticeable once you rinse.

If you want to create an invigorating, homemade body scrub, then a mixture of three parts baking soda, one part hot water, and one part crushed oatmeal provides an excellent venue. Simply mix the ingredients together well, and rub all over your body while in the bath or shower. This scrub will exfoliate, relieve irritation, and even out skin tone.

 

How Does face naturals Utilize Baking Soda?

Wanna know how we incorporate baking soda into our own lives? Well, the answer is simple, of course! We have a couple of different product lines that utilize baking soda as a non-toxic alternative to many of the chemical compounds used in store-bought skin-care products.

We use baking soda as a natural ingredient from earth in our natural tooth cleansers – also known as tooth paste. As mentioned before, it whitens teeth and kills bacteria, letting you experience that sparkly clean feel and look you can get from going to the dentist. It also helps keep your breath in check, as baking soda absorbs the odor-causing bacteria.

We also use baking soda in our line of all-natural deodorants. Its lack of toxicity makes it a safe and equal alternative to aluminum-based deodorants that could have carcinogenic effects on the body and skin. It works with arrowroot to absorb odor from sweat, and keep your underarms dry.

For more information about how we use baking soda in our products, drop us line. If you have any suggestions on using baking soda as a cleansing, health, or beauty secret, and we did not mention it here, then feel free to comment below to share your baking soda techniques. How do you incorporate baking soda into your life?

 

References

• 10 Things You Can Do With Baking Soda
• Use Baking Soda to Remove Splinters – and to Address Many Other Health Needs
• Seven Surprising Uses for Baking Soda