London, July 18 - A daily dose baking soda or sodium bicarbonate, used in baking, cleaning, acid indigestion, sunburn and more slows the decline of kidney function in some patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), a new study has found.

'This cheap and simple strategy also improves patients' nutritional status, and has the potential of translating into significant economic, quality of life, and clinical outcome benefits,' comments Magdi Yaqoob, of the Royal London Hospital (RLH), who led the study.

Researchers studied 134 patients with advanced CKD and low bicarbonate levels, also called metabolic acidosis. One group received a small daily dose of sodium bicarbonate in tablet form, in addition to their usual care.

For this group, the rate of decline in kidney function was greatly reduced -- about two-thirds slower than in patients. 'In fact, in patients taking sodium bicarbonate, the rate of decline in kidney function was similar to the normal age-related decline,' says Yaqoob.