You may be wondering does baking soda and apple cider vinegar lower blood pressure.
Although there is a lot of hype about the combination of these two foods and their potential to lower blood pressure read on to uncover the current research and knowledge regarding these two foods and what really happens if you mix them.
Top Takeaways
- Blood pressure is vital for delivering oxygen and nutrients, but high blood pressure (hypertension) can lead to health problems.
- Apple cider vinegar may offer some health benefits, like improving blood sugar and cholesterol levels, but its impact on blood pressure is unclear due to limited research.
- Baking soda can help with acid reflux and dental health but should be used cautiously due to its high sodium content and potential for metabolic alkalosis.
- Combining apple cider vinegar and baking soda for blood pressure management lacks strong scientific support, so it’s advisable to consult a healthcare professional for effective blood pressure control methods, such as diet, exercise, and stress management.
What Is Blood Pressure?
First off, what exactly is blood pressure? Blood pressure is the force of our blood pushing against the walls of our artery vessels.
Blood pressure is a vital part of our bodies as it helps deliver essential oxygen and nutrients to all cells at an efficient rate. This helps our organs such as our heart and brain stay nourished at all times.
Blood pressure is measured using two markers-systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Systolic is the blood pressure when the heart contracts, while diastolic is the pressure when the heart relaxes.
Normal readings for blood pressure are usually around 120/80 mm Hg. The first number refers to the systolic pressure, and the latter is the diastolic pressure.
What Is High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a chronic condition where the force of your blood against your vessels is consistently high. High blood pressure is defined as a systolic reading of 140 or higher and a diastolic reading of 90 or higher (1).
What Happens When Your Blood Pressure Is High?
Hypertension is a serious issue as, over time, this high force places immense strain on your heart. Extra force on the arteries walls and veins may become damaged, leading to narrow and thickened arteries.
Because of this, hypertension can also lead to further heart complications such as heart disease and myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack, or stroke.
Apple Cider And Baking Soda
Now that we’ve covered the basics, does baking soda and vinegar lower blood pressure? Continue to find out.
What Is Apple Cider Vinegar?
Apple cider vinegar is made using the juice from apples. The juice undergoes fermentation. This is a process where the juice is mixed with yeast that breaks down the sugars to form an alcohol. Bacteria are then added which converts the alcohol into acetic acid, or vinegar.
Yes, you heard me. Apple cider vinegar is considered an acid. But not the scary, science lab kind of acid. The pH level of apple cider vinegar is around 2-3, which is considered a mild acid.
As such, apple cider vinegar has become a common food staple over the years. In fact, its popularity is currently ever so high with reports of its “health-promoting” effects.
Health-promoting effects come from the added bacteria that gets added in the fermentation process, called the “mother”. The mother contains a bunch of nutrients, including antioxidants and polyphenols (2). This cloudy substance can be filtered out and these products are offered on the market, along with unfiltered apple cider vinegar containing the mother.
The nutritional value of unfiltered vs filtered apple cider vinegar would differ. Thus, it is important to keep this in mind when reading the literature, as researchers may opt to use apple cider vinegar with the mother.
Benefits
Now to answer your question, apple cider vinegar, and blood pressure?
Once we consume vinegar or acetic acid, it gets neutralized in our stomach and becomes a compound called acetate. Acetate is a type of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA). Studies do show that SCFA can provide important health benefits (3, 4).
One review reported that SCFA has the potential to have positive effects on blood sugar levels and, thereby, insulin sensitivity (3). Insulin sensitivity means how well our cells respond to the effect of insulin, or how well insulin can help lower blood sugar levels.
Indeed, another study shows that vinegar can help lower after-meal blood sugar levels (4). This is positive news as controlling blood sugar levels is helpful for managing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Apple cider vinegar has also been shown to potentially help lower cholesterol. One study found that apple cider vinegar could lower cholesterol in a population of individuals with type 2 diabetes. It also showed promise in raising high-density lipoprotein (HDL-cholesterol), also known as good cholesterol levels, in healthy individuals (5).
Finally, apple cider vinegar has also shown the potential to control our appetite and increase feelings of satiety. Thereby potentially helping to manage weight. However, research is still limited in this area. Further exploration into apple cider vinegar’s relation to weight loss and blood pressure is needed (6).
Disadvantages
Besides the promising health benefits, there are also some potential disadvantages to using apple cider vinegar.
Vinegar may damage your tooth enamel, the outer, protective layer of your teeth. Tooth enamel can be damaged by acidic foods and bacteria in the mouth. A study that looked at the effect of different types of vinegar on enamel samples found that vinegar did result in some damage. But, the study did not test on actual human teeth (7).
Apple cider vinegar has also been proposed to slow gastric emptying, or slowing down the rate at which food leaves our stomach. This is a disadvantage for individuals with type 2 diabetes as it could worsen their gastroparesis symptoms, including heartburn (8).
Apple cider vinegar has also caused throat burns. A pediatric article review found that the most common acidic food that caused throat burns in children was vinegar (9).
Lastly, apple cider vinegar may also interact with a few medications, these include anti-diabetic drugs, lanoxin, and diuretic drugs (10). As a result, apple cider vinegar interactions with these drugs may result in very low potassium levels in the body.
Apple Cider Vinegar And Blood Pressure
There is limited research on apple cider vinegar’s negative effects, and more research on apple cider vinegar and blood pressure is needed before we can recommend using it as an effective health remedy.
What Is Baking Soda?
This next food surely doesn’t need an introduction. Baking soda, also called sodium bicarbonate, is a common household item that has various functions.
It is often used as a leavening agent for recipes, to minimize odors, clean kitchen surfaces, and silverware, to clear out your drains, and even sometimes acts as a natural deodorant.
Baking soda’s many uses can be attributed to its pH. Baking soda has a pH level of around 8.3, meaning that it is a base as it falls on the opposite spectrum of the pH scale to apple cider vinegar.
Benefits
Some research does suggest that sodium bicarbonate can help with acid reflux. Sodium bicarbonate is an antacid that is used to help heartburn. One study found that half of the participants with burning mouth syndrome felt relief when they took a pill containing sodium bicarbonate (11).
Baking soda may also help protect our teeth and prevent cavities. A study found that a sodium bicarbonate mouth rinse could help raise the mouth pH of the participants. In other words, it creates an environment in our mouths that will kill bacteria and prevent dental cavities (12).
However, in terms of eating baking soda, there is no conclusive research that suggests consuming baking soda regularly can provide health benefits.
Disadvantages
Metabolic Alkalosis
Our bodies have a natural pH level of around 7.35 to 7.45. When this level goes above 7.45, it is known as metabolic alkalosis. Metabolic alkalosis is a condition where bicarbonate is built up in your body, accounting for the raised pH.
Usually, our kidneys can excrete any excess bicarbonate and maintain our pH balance. However, if the kidneys fail or aren’t working very well, this could lead to a build-up.
Taking a high amount of sodium may lead to an excess amount of it in our blood. And if our kidneys cannot keep up, this can lead to a dangerous change in our pH levels. A change in our pH levels can be highly threatening as it could lead to lower blood flow to our brains, confusion, and irregular heartbeats (13).
High Sodium Content
It is also important to be extra cautious in taking baking soda because of its high sodium content. High amounts of sodium can increase our blood pressure, and with it, a greater risk for serious heart issues, such as heart failure.
High levels of sodium in our bodies, called hypernatremia, can also cause twitching, seizures, confusion, and weakness and can be life-threatening if untreated.
Other
Sodium bicarbonate may interact with other drugs, including (14).;
- Antacids
- Aspirin
- Benzodiazepines
- Iron
- Flecainide
- Quinidine
- Methenamine
Apple Cider Vinegar AND Baking Soda Combo
Now that we’ve covered apple cider vinegar and baking soda on their own, what happens if we combine the two? Can you lower blood pressure with apple cider vinegar and baking soda together?
It is proposed that adding baking soda to apple cider vinegar may help neutralize the acid, which would benefit those who may experience a burning sensation when taking apple cider vinegar alone.
However, the best option remains to add water to dilute apple cider vinegar if you wish to lower its acidity.
But, when we look at the research on if you can lower blood pressure with apple cider vinegar and baking soda, it is presently limited.
Safety
Research on apple cider vinegar and baking soda for blood pressure is VERY limited, hence the research on how the two of them work together is scarce as well.
So does baking soda and vinegar lower blood pressure?
Currently, no long-term studies suggest that apple cider vinegar and baking soda can offer health benefits like lowering blood pressure when consumed on a regular basis. As such, it shouldn’t be recommended to use apple cider vinegar and baking soda for blood pressure management until further research is conducted and published.
How To Consume
The research on whether it is healthy or safe to consume baking soda is scarce and thus, consuming baking soda regularly is not recommended.
On the other hand, the consumption of apple cider vinegar has more promising results. Much of the research has focused on around 15-30 mL of apple cider vinegar per day (5). But, it is important to remember that the research is still ongoing, and is best to consult a medical professional or dietitian on a recommended dose.
If you choose to have apple cider vinegar, know there are plenty of safe ways to eat it. Apple cider vinegar is a great ingredient to add to prepared meals as its acidity helps lend flavor and can act as a substitute for salt and or sugar.
Ways to include apple cider vinegar in your meals include:
- Adding it to water
- Making a vinaigrette and pouring it over salads
- Adding it to smoothies or juices
- Making gummies out of them
These methods also help to dilute the vinegar and lower its acidity.
How Else Can You Lower Blood Pressure?
Just because the literature on if you can lower blood pressure with apple cider vinegar and baking soda is lacking, doesn’t mean all hope is lost.
Various methods exist that can lower blood pressure and maintain overall health, such as:
- 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week
- Getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night
- Stop smoking
- Don’t drink alcohol excessively
- Manage stress
- Eat a balanced whole diet, focusing on fruits, vegetables, lean meat, nuts and seeds, fish, beans, etc (see DASH diet or Mediterranean diet)
Final Thoughts
And breathe! I know that might have been a lot of information to process so here are the main takeaways:
- The research between apple cider vinegar and blood pressure is still ongoing but shows some promise that it can lower our blood pressure by lowering cholesterol levels and managing blood sugar levels.
- There is limited research to suggest that baking soda can lower blood pressure and it may even be a health risk as it could raise our sodium levels.
So, can you use apple cider vinegar and baking soda for blood pressure? The short answer is no. But, there are many other, more effective ways to lower blood pressure through lifestyle changes, including a balanced diet, exercise, stress management, etc.
Our bodies are also amazing machines that regulate our pH levels and keep them balanced, so there is no need to use foods to correct our pH levels.
I hope this article has alleviated some of your uncertainty regarding whether we can use apple cider vinegar and baking soda for blood pressure.
