7 Benefits of Baking Soda for Hair, Skin, and Body

5. Rock Your Workout

Baking soda is actually quite popular among endurance athletes. Certain studies have shown that baking soda allows you to perform at your peak for a longer period of time, especially during high-intensity training. During this type of exercise, your muscle cells produce something called lactic acid. Lactic acid is the reason you feel a burning sensation while exercising hard. It also lowers the pH inside your cells, which causes the muscles to fatigue.

Baking soda has a high pH and can compensate somewhat for the lactic acid. This may help keep you going longer. One study found that people who ingested some baking soda before exercising went for about 4.5 minutes longer than those who didn’t. Remember that this is 4.5 minutes longer at peak exertion. It may not sound like a lot in terms of an everyday workout, but when you’re running a race, it can make all the difference.

6. Soothe Itchy Skin and Sunburns

Baking soda is a good treatment for all kinds of skin ailments. It is especially good at taking the chronic itchiness and irritation out of bug bites and stings. For this, make a thick paste with baking soda and water and apply it to the affected areas.

If your itchy skin is the result of a sunburn, try a baking soda bath. Simply add 1-2 of baking soda to a warm (not hot) bath. Then soak for at least 30 minutes, making sure that the affected areas are completely covered. Some evidence suggests that sunburns respond even better when cornstarch and oatmeal are added to the bath as well.