Yield: 1 glass (about 8 fl oz)

Baking Soda Recipe for Weight Loss: Does It Work?

The exact baking soda and lemon water ratio in US and metric measures, the sodium in each version, and a plain look at what the research does and does not show.

Prep Time3 minutes

Total Time3 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 fl oz (240 mL) cold water, a clear glass lets you see the bubbles
• 1/4 tsp (1.15 g) food-grade, aluminum-free baking soda, level measure; baking powder is a different product and does not substitute
• 1/2 lemon fresh lemon, juiced, about 24 g (0.79 fl oz) of juice; strain out the seeds

Instructions

1. Measure the soda. Level 1/4 teaspoon (1.15 g) of food-grade, aluminum-free baking soda with the back of a knife. A heaped spoon can hold much more, and the sodium rises with it.
2. Dissolve it in the water. Pour 8 fl oz (240 mL) of cold water into the glass, add the baking soda and stir until the water looks clear and no white grains sit at the bottom.
3. Add the lemon slowly. Pour the juice of half a lemon in a thin stream while stirring gently. Fine bubbles will rise and the surface will foam a little. Adding the juice to the water, rather than soda to the juice, keeps the foam from climbing the glass.
4. Wait for the fizz to stop. Let the glass stand until the bubbles thin out and the surface is nearly still. A glass that has stopped fizzing has finished reacting.
5. Drink it fresh. Drink the glass in one sitting. Make a new one each time, since we found no sourced storage time.

Notes

Metric amounts are rounded. The 1.15 g figure is 1/4 teaspoon at USDA's household portion of 4.6 g per teaspoon.

Nutrition values are estimates calculated from typical USDA FoodData Central values for raw lemon juice (half a lemon, 24 g) and for baking soda. They are not measured. Only the listed values were calculated.

Potassium, calculated from USDA lemon juice data: about 25 mg per glass. The recipe card has no potassium field.