A recent scientific study revealed that consuming baking soda could be helpful to prevent health problems. Some of those ailments include autoimmune diseases.

All About The Experiment

The Journal of Immunology published a study conducted by the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University that found that drinking water with baking soda could reduce people's chances of getting rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The research team, led by Dr. Paul O'Connor, a renal physiologist at the medical school, decided to give baking soda to two cases of test subjects, healthy humans and rats.

When both subjects drank baking soda, the product would trigger both their stomachs and the spleens. While the stomach would generate acid to digest the food, the spleen's mesothelial cells would reassure the body part that a bacterial infection is not attacking it. The team identified the mesothelial cells as the body's protectors by covering up essential organs and acts as a wall between them. It was also noted that the spleen, a part of the immune system, acts as the bloodstream's filter. The scientists wrote that several types of white blood cells are in the organ.

The Benefits Of Drinking

The scientists discovered that after their subjects drank the baking soda and water mixture for two weeks, the immune cells would change their jobs. The immune cells, known in the scientific community as macrophages, would focus on reducing inflammation instead of promoting it. Macrophages can be found in the spleen, kidneys, and bloodstream, and they are also able to consume dead or injured cells.

Another benefit that the team found was that the spleen increased its size after consuming baking soda. The group believed that the body part increased due to the anti-inflammatory stimulus it produces. O'Connor is optimistic about the study's findings and believes that it would help people that are struggling with autoimmune diseases.

"You are not really turning anything off or on, you are just pushing it towards one side by giving an anti-inflammatory stimulus. It's potentially a safe way to treat inflammatory disease," said O'Connor to Laboratory Equipment.

Baking Soda Usage

In addition to being labeled a potential remedy to fight autoimmune diseases, baking soda can be a very versatile product. Baking soda could be used as an ingredient in creating homemade house cleaners and slime. It has also been noted that the combination of a teaspoon of baking soda and a glass of water could be a solution to combat heartburn.

Tech Times reached out to the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University for a comment on this story.

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