The Brownstone Institute writes, “There is no perfect medicine. The benefits and harms of any treatment must be carefully considered in order to prescribe the safest, most effective course of action for a patient.” This only applies to pharmaceutical medicine, which carries side effects, which is another name for toxic effects.

However, the terrible fires in Los Angeles are screaming out for the perfect medicine to address the sudden surge in toxicity in the air. It is an absolute tragedy that no one calls for one of the most essential medicines for such situations: baking soda, otherwise known as sodium bicarbonate in the medical world.

The American Lung Association says wildfire smoke can be “extremely harmful” to lung health. Wildfire smoke consists of a mix of air pollutants, including particle pollution, like PM2.5. These tiny particles can get lodged deep in the lungs and cause asthma attacks, heart attacks, and strokes.

Mercury (Hg) mobilization and environmental accumulation are directly related to forest fires. Studies also show a link between wildfire exposure and increased mortality, respiratory illnesses, and cancer. Naturally occurring radionuclides, such as those of the uranium and thorium series and artificial radionuclides, are accumulated in plants. Summer vegetation fires release these natural and man-made radionuclides into the atmosphere. Concentrations of uranium isotopes 238U, 235U, 234U, 232Th, 230Th, 226Ra, 210Pb, and 210Po were measured in smoke from wild vegetation fires.

A growing body of evidence shows that air pollution affects almost every organ in the body and is linked to a massive range of health problems from heart and lung disease to cancer and diabetes, depression and mental illness to cognitive impairment and low birth weight. Now, imagine if you are anywhere near the Los Angeles fires.

Simple old baking soda detoxifies and cleanses the body and the environment. There is nothing better for emergency medicine except magnesium, which we will discuss below as a perfect medicine. Bicarbonate of Soda (aka sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3, baking soda) is a simple, low-cost substance that is a helpful remedy for various ailments and chronic diseases.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) lives up to the image on the Arm & Hammer’s box; it is the ultimate heavyweight workhorse medicine that every healthcare professional and parent should use to diminish toxic poisoning from the Ohio disaster.

Sodium bicarbonate can safely remove paint, grease, oil, and smoke residue, decreasing workers’ exposure to harsh chemicals and eliminating much of the hazardous waste associated with other cleaners. “Sodium bicarbonate can clean in areas where other substances pose fire hazards because baking soda is a natural fire extinguisher,” says Kenneth Colbert, a general manager for Arm & Hammer. This is the reason oncology centers use it to control chemo agent spills, and it’s used intravenously, sometimes to protect patients from the hazardous toxicity of chemotherapy. Sodium bicarbonate is effective in treating poisonings or overdoses from many chemicals and pharmaceutical drugs by negating their cardiotoxic and neurotoxic effects.

The protective, buffering, and neutralizing properties of sodium bicarbonate are so deep that it is used even with radiation exposure to protect the kidneys and other tissues. In a world already overexposed to uranium and mercury, sodium bicarbonate becomes even more important because mercury and uranium oxide directly attack cells’ nuclear material and mitochondria.

Baking soda is like a strong janitor mopping up the messes and carrying the poisons away. This janitor protects tissues and leaves an alkaline film or trail behind to ensure everything stays safe. In medicine, sodium bicarbonate is like the cleaning and security man proven loyal through decades of faithful service. It can be brought in to protect in cases where people are suffering from radiation and chemical toxicity.

Sodium bicarbonate is a perfect medicine because it increases cell voltage, pH, oxygen, and CO2 levels in the body. It is also perfect for the kidneys.

My book Sodium Bicarbonate is available in hardcopy and eBook forms.

The point is that if you feel any of the symptoms reported from air pollution and smoke inhalation, a sodium bicarbonate detox cleanse should be immediately initiated to neutralize the hazardous toxicity. The United States government should organize an effort to provide the citizens of the Gulf area with sodium bicarbonate. Clay also should be provided for both internal and external cleansing.