BAKING SODA - a "magic bullet" in cancer?
Experiments show it can prevent, treat and supporting the body's ability to destroy it from all angles.
One incredible study (PMID: 19276390) showed baking soda was able to reduce the migration of breast cancer cells to the lungs.
It also substantially improved survival, doubling the amount of animals who survived to 120 days post cancer.
It was able to do this by raising the pH of the tumor, reducing its acidity.
The animals treated with bicarbonate (baking soda) had nearly ZERO detectable cancer cells.
It inhibited metastasis, which is one of the key events that makes cancer incredibly lethal.
A follow up study (PMID: 23936808) showed similar results - baking soda prevented the spread of breast cancer to other tissues.
It reduced circulating cancer cells,
and when injected into the tumor directly, within hours was able to stop the production of key metastatic enzymes:
➥ Cathepsin 9 - a protease that allows cancer cells to spread
➥ MMP-9 - a collagen degrading enzyme that clears space for cancer to move
Other studies (PMID: 22704445) have shown that baking soda can prevent carcinogenesis.
Giving animals baking soda prevented prostate tumors from forming and growing.
70% of these animals survived, while all animals without baking soda died.
Baking soda also enhances the effectiveness of chemo in animal experiments
One study (PMID: 35988781) in colon cancer, once again just drinking water with baking soda was shown to shrink tumor volume when in combination with chemo vs chemo alone.
This is true in humans as well.
In liver cancer, there is a surgery called TACE - which basically cuts of circulation to a liver tumor and also involved injecting it with chemo (PMID: 27481188).
When people are injected with baking soda alongside the TACE (TILA-TACE) their tumor numbers are cut by >50%,
and they survive substantially longer.
A clear reduction in the tumor.
In fact, the acidity of the body is a primary determinant of survival in cancer.
The most deadly cancer of all (end stage pancreatic) was slowed with alkalinization (PMID: 32871792).
People were given baking soda along with an alkaline diet, and those who sufficiently reduced acidity in the urine (pH >7) had markedly better survival:
25 months on average vs 10 months in the acidic group.
One of the main reasons why baking soda can be so helpful is because the immune system responds to changes in pH.
Under acidic conditions, it is less active, which allows cancer to thrive.
Another study showed a slowing of melanoma growth with baking soda, and this was dependent on the proliferation of CD8 T cells - a critical part of antitumor immunity.
One immune cell type here - natural killer (NK) cells, have worsened output of the critical anti-tumor cytokine IFN-γ.
This also prolonged their survival.
Why is baking soda such a Godsend for cancer?
One of the hallmarks of cancer is messed up metabolism - especially glucose metabolism.
Since established tumors get very little oxygen, they produce a lot of lactic acid from glucose, and this creates an acidic microenvironment.
This acidity:
➥ Slows down metabolism
➥ Suppresses anti-cancer immunity
➥ Promotes angiogenic and metastatic enzymes
➥ Promotes DNA damage
The dosage in the animal studies for the anti-cancer effects is commonly ~2-3 tsp for a human.
Monitoring urinary pH is customary - below 7 seems to be the hallmark for acidity, above 7.4 is too alkaline.