By the way, what is baking soda?

A natural white powder, non-polluting, edible, without side effects and not expensive. Only drawback: its strong salty taste is not very pleasant. For simplicity, baking soda is a mineral consisting of salt and chalk, whose formula was developed in the eighteenth century by a French chemist, Nicolas Le Blanc. He had discovered his alkaline power , that is, his ability to neutralize the acidity of a medium.

It relieves the stomach

His best known asset. Thanks to its alkalinity, baking soda acts as a buffer that reduces the acidity of the stomach . Effective against heartburn and gastric reflux, difficult digestion, feelings of nausea or hangover after feast . A teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water gives us back to attack (oh yes, it's not very good ...). We can also add a pinch in cooking food that is difficult to digest (garlic, cabbage ...). They will be better!

Bicarbonate: an antidote for urinary tract infections

Cystitis often comes from too acidic urine (acidity promotes inflammation by the proliferation of bacteria). Again, bicarbonate combats this acidity by rebalancing the pH of the body (pH = potential Hydrogen, or balance between acid and basic). As soon as the symptoms of the crisis appear, such as bladder burns, quickly, you swallow a teaspoon of bicarbonate diluted in a glass of water. To shorten the infection, you can drink the same potion 3 times a day. In prevention, especially if you have made a meal too acid (alcohol, coffee, sugar, excess meat etc.) bicarbonate will make the urine more alkaline.

It calms sore throats

In inhalation, bicarbonate decongests and clears the airways and soothes the throat when it is irritated. The recipe: boil one liter of water with 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate, pour the mixture into a bowl, and, a towel placed on the head, breathe the vapors for 10 minutes. You can also gargle (a teaspoon in a glass of hot water) for a few minutes, 3 times a day.

It heals mouth ulcers

By softening the mucous membranes of the mouth , it treats these small ulcerations of the cheeks, the palate, the gums .... It is applied directly on the lesion, with a wet finger, a pinch of bicarbonate, the morning on waking and the evening before of sleeping. Or, there is the option of mouthwash: 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate in a glass of water and you rinse your mouth thoroughly with this solution, the time to soak up the palate. To do morning, noon and evening.

Practical information :
Food sodium bicarbonate is found in supermarkets, pharmacies or parapharmacies. From 2 to 5 € the package of 500g.

Thanks to Alix Le Fief-Delcourt, author of the "Big Book of Bicarbonate" (Leduc.s Editions)