Baking soda may help those with kidney problems ward off dialysis
July 27th, 2009 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
People who suffer from chronic kidney disease may be able to ward off dialysis by taking a daily dose of baking soda, according to researchers from he Department of Renal Medicine and Transplantation at the William Harvey Research Institute Barts, and the London NHS Trust in London.
The randomized controlled trial involved 134 people with both chronic kidney disease and metabolic acidosis, a condition in which there is an acid-alkali imbalance in the blood resulting in high blood acidity and low bicarbonate levels in the blood. Kidney failure and metabolic acidosis can be caused by various conditions and even solutions, including oral sodium phosphate (OSP) products, such as over-the-counter Fleet solutions and prescription brands Visicol and Osmo Prep, used to cleanse the bowel prior to colonoscopy, radiological procedure or colon-rectal surgery.
Participants in the study also did not suffer from other medical conditions such as morbid obesity, cognitive impairment, chronic sepsis, congestive heart failure, or uncontrolled blood pressure.
The baking soda, or sodium barcarbonate, treatment was taken by participants daily over a two-year period, and urine samples were taken every two months to check creatinine levels. Creatinine is a waste product that healthy kidneys remove. Measuring how much creatinine is in the urine gives an idea how severe is one’s kidney disease.
Researchers found that only 9 percent of people given the sodium bicarbonate supplements suffered from rapidly progressing chronic kidney disease, compared to 45 percent of those who did not take the supplement. Only 6.5 percent of participants who took the supplement developed end-stage renal failure requiring dialysis, compared to 33 percent of patients who did not take the supplement. The supplements also showed to improve nutritional benefits with no unusual adverse events reported.
The researchers have called for a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial to provide stronger evidence of the oral bicarbonate supplement for people with chronic kidney disease.
Source: NHS