Baking Soda Might Be a Safe and Cheap Way to Fight Autoimmune Disease

A dose of baking soda every day might be able to help reduce the harmful inflammation of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers reveal some of the first evidence of how the cheap, over-the-counter antacid can encourage the spleen to promote an anti-inflammatory environment instead, which can be therapeutic in the face of inflammatory disease.¹

The researchers have demonstrated that when rats or healthy individuals consume a solution of baking soda, it becomes a trigger for the stomach to produce more acid to digest the next meal and for mesothelial cells sitting on the spleen to tell the organ that there’s no need to launch a protective immune response.

Mesothelial cells line cavities of the body, such as the cavity containing the digestive tract, and they also cover the outside of the organs to quite literally stop them from rubbing together. Mesothelial cells have little fingers called microvilli, which also offer another level of protection. The microvilli sense the environment and warn the organs they are covering when there's an invader and an immune response is required.

The spleen is part of the immune system, which functions as a big blood filter and is where some white blood cells, like macrophages, are stored. The researchers believe that drinking baking soda informs the spleen to go easy on the immune response.

After consuming water with baking soda for 2 weeks, the population of immune cells known as macrophages in the spleen, as well as the blood and kidneys, shifted from primarily those that promote inflammation (M1) to those that reduce it (M2). Macrophages, perhaps most commonly known for their capacity to consume waste in the body such as debris from dead or injured cells, are early arrivers to a call for an immune response.

One of the numerous functions of the kidneys is balancing crucial compounds such as acid, potassium, and sodium. With kidney disease, there's impaired kidney function and one of the resulting problems can be that the blood becomes too acidic. Significant consequences can include an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Studies have revealed that a daily dose of baking soda can not only reduce acidity but slow kidney disease progression, and it's now a therapy provided to kidney disease patients.

  Acknowledgement: https://www.ahealthblog.com/

Image via: AHealthBlog

The power of Positive Thinking

Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic and it may even affect your health.

Here's how you can learn positive thinking skills:

Positive thinking doesn't mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life's less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach the unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.

Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head every day. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.

If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're likely an optimist someone who practices positive thinking.

The health benefits of positive thinking

Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

• Increased life span
• Lower rates of depression
• Lower levels of distress
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Better psychological and physical well-being
• Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress
• Practicing positive self-talk will improve your outlook. When your state of mind is generally optimistic, you're able to handle everyday stress in a more constructive way. That ability may contribute to the widely observed health benefits of positive thinking.

By Danie de Villiers - Freelance Writer