Pregnancy and Baking Soda

It is safe if taken in reasonable dose, but too muchwill cause diarrhea and lower blood pressure. Most ofthe dangerous salts is not from the sodium, it is formthe chloride, chlorine, bromine which is the realproblem.

Here is a "medical commentary":

: Med Hypotheses. 2004;63(1):138-48.

'Links

Should we restrict chloride rather than sodium?McCarty MF.

Pantox Laboratories, 4622 Santa Fe St., San Diego, CA92109, USA.

Low-salt diets have potential for prevention andtreatment of hypertension, and may also reduce riskfor stroke, left ventricular hypertrophy,osteoporosis, renal stones, asthma, cataract, gastricpathology, and possibly even senile dementia.Nonetheless, the fact that salt restriction evokescertain counter-regulatory metabolic responses--increased production of renin and angiotensin II, aswell as increased sympathetic activity--that arepotentially inimical to vascular health, has suggestedto some observers that salt restriction might not beof unalloyed benefit, and might in fact becontraindicated in some "salt-resistant" subjects.Current epidemiology indicates that lower-salt dietstend to reduce coronary risk quite markedly in obesesubjects, whereas the impact of such diets on leanersubjects (who are less likely to be salt sensitive) isequivocal--seemingly consistent with the possibilitythat salt restriction can exert countervailing effectson vascular health. There is considerable evidencethat sodium chloride, rather than sodium per se, is responsible for the known adverse effects of dietarysalt. Other non-halide sodium salts, such as sodiumcitrate or bicarbonate, do not raise plasma volume,increase blood pressure, boost urinary calcium loss,or promote stroke in stroke-prone rats. Nonetheless,these compounds have been shown to blunt the impact ofsalt restriction on renin, angiotensin II, andsympathetic activity in humans. This may rationalizelimited clinical evidence that organic sodium saltscan decrease blood pressure in salt-restrictedhypertensives. Furthermore, organic sodium salts havean alkalinizing metabolic impact favorable to bonehealth. These considerations suggest that restrictingdietary salt to the extent feasible, while encouragingconsumption of organic sodium salts in mineral waters,soft drinks, or other nutraceuticals--preferably inconjunction with organic potassium salts andtaurine--may represent a superior strategy forcontrolling blood pressure, promoting vascular health,and preserving bone density. Further clinical studiesshould determine whether a moderately salt-restricteddiet supplemented with organic sodium salts has abetter and more uniform impact on hypertension thansalt restriction alone, while rodent studies shouldexamine the comparative impact of these regimens onrodents prone to vascular disease.