Influencers tout unproven baking soda remedy for influenza

"Did you know that baking soda was once used as a medicine, but later buried because of how powerful it is?" Kashif Khan, a Canadian health and wellness influencer with more than 369,000 followers, asks in a November 11, 2025 Facebook reel.

"Back in 1924, doctors used it to combat the flu," another reel from a fitness influencer in Toronto claimed.

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Screenshot of a Facebook post taken November 20, 2025

The claim is popular across Facebook, with additional posts recommending diluting a half teaspoon of baking soda in cold water and drinking up to six glasses on the first day of the regimen. 

A keyword search for the recipe surfaced the same image that appears in Khan's reel of an undated pamphlet published by Church and Dwight, the company who produces Arm & Hammer baking soda, which provided similar advice based on the recommendation of a nameless physician.

Sodium bicarbonate has multiple health uses, including oral care and heartburn relief (archived here). But experts, who warn Canada and the United States may face a harsh influenza season, told AFP there is no evidence drinking baking soda diluted in water will prevent or treat influenza. 

"It would be very hard to prevent a viral infection from ingesting something," said Zain Chagla, associate professor with McMaster University's Department of Medicine (archived here). "There's no evidence that it would prevent infection."

He told AFP on November 20 that the social media posts rely on outdated advice from the early 1900s, and disregard modern therapeutics (archived here and here).

Misleading claims about natural treatments for the flu crop up each year alongside the spread of the virus, often pushed by accounts that also sell supplements.

Katie Stephens, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Nursing (archived here) agreed that baking soda does not kill viruses.

"The best way to fight the flu is with public health measures and proven medications, not by trying to drink baking soda," she told AFP on November 18.

Prevention tools

In both Canada and the United States, vaccination against the flu is recommended as the best preventative measure for everyone age six months and up (archived here and here). 

Each year, the flu vaccine is reformulated to try and match the various strains of the virus circulating. In February, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the composition, but Canadian researchers have warned of a possible mismatch with the H3N2 subclade K emerging as more dominant this season (archived here and here).

"Subclade K emerged at the tail end of Southern Hemisphere's season after the WHO made the choice of the strain, which is subclass J2," Danuta Skowronski, the epidemiology lead for influenza at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, told the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (archived here and here).

Nevertheless, Chagla recommends the shot.

"The vaccine still has the H1N1 component that's very protective. It has the influenza B component that's very protective," he said pointing out that the shots help prevent the worst outcomes.

Thorough and frequent hand washing is also key to preventing the flu. 

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Graphic showing how to properly wash hands to reduce the spread of infectious diseases (Public Health Agency of Canada)

Potential risks

Experts also told AFP the recommendations on social media are not without risk.

Baking soda is very high in sodium and discouraged "for people who already have high blood pressure or heart disease, as it can make those conditions worse," certified family nurse practitioner Stephens said.

Overconsumption of the compound can also impact the body's chemistry, leading to an imbalance in key minerals including electrolytes, she said. At the extreme end, this may lead to metabolic alkalosis, a dangerous shift in the pH level of blood (archived here).

For most people, time and rest are the best treatment for influenza.

"Part of that rest and recovery is making sure people are appropriately hydrated," McMaster's Chagla said.

He said baking soda is an ingredient in oral rehydration solutions recommended by the WHO to treat acute dehydration, usually due to diarrhea, but he said this needs to be administered in a specific formula for a limited time period (archived here).

Find more of AFP's reporting on health misinformation here.