Fact check: How does baking soda affect blood pressure in men with ED?

1. Shocking case reports — how extreme baking soda use altered blood pressure in individuals

A small number of clinical case reports from decades past and more recent summaries describe patients who developed hypertension or marked blood-pressure changes after chronic, large-volume ingestion of baking soda, with blood pressure falling after cessation in at least one described case, implying a reversible, sodium-driven effect in susceptible people. These reports are not randomized or population-based and typically involve extraordinarily high, non-therapeutic consumption patterns that produce metabolic alkalosis, hypernatremia, or hypercalcemia—conditions known to affect vascular tone and cardiovascular function ^[4]. Case reports flag a plausible biological mechanism—extra sodium load raises circulating volume and can worsen hypertension—but they cannot quantify risk for the broader population of men with ED.

2. Systematic reviews tell a different story in kidney disease — limited blood-pressure impact at therapeutic doses

Two recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses focused on people with chronic kidney disease found that oral sodium bicarbonate given at common therapeutic doses did not significantly change systolic blood pressure and did not increase antihypertensive medication needs in pooled trial data, with moderate certainty (2023–2025 analyses). These findings suggest that, when used under clinical guidance and at measured doses for metabolic acidosis in CKD, sodium bicarbonate’s net effect on systolic blood pressure is minimal, likely because trials monitored dosing and excluded extreme consumption ^{[1] [2]}. These controlled settings contrast sharply with anecdotal overdoses and cannot be extrapolated to self-medication for ED or to all hypertensive patients.

3. Erectile dysfunction claims lack evidence — baking soda is not an ED therapy

Multiple reviews and health‑media assessments explicitly state there is no scientific support for baking soda improving erections or curing erectile dysfunction; the literature that does involve sodium bicarbonate relates to narrow procedural uses, such as reducing injection pain during intracavernous therapy, not addressing erectile physiology or systemic blood pressure regulation in men with ED. Advertising or social-media claims promoting baking soda for ED ignore basic pharmacology and the risk profile of excess sodium intake, including potential to worsen blood pressure and cause metabolic alkalosis ^{[3] [5]}. Responsible medical guidance emphasizes evidence-based ED treatments and cautions against unproven home remedies.

4. Clinical implications and what clinicians and patients should watch for

Clinicians should recognize two competing signals: isolated case reports indicate harm from chronic, high-dose ingestion, while controlled trials in CKD populations show minimal systolic blood-pressure effects at standard therapeutic doses. For men with ED—particularly those with established hypertension or cardiovascular disease—the sodium content of baking soda is a real concern because increased sodium intake can undermine blood-pressure control and interact with antihypertensive drugs. Patients seeking ED remedies should be counseled to avoid unsupervised baking-soda consumption and to pursue proven treatments and cardiovascular risk assessment; abrupt cessation of chronic excessive intake may itself produce shifts in blood pressure and electrolyte balance requiring monitoring ^{[4] [2] [6]}.

Conclusion: The evidence does not support using baking soda to treat ED or to manage blood pressure in men with ED. Controlled trials show little effect on systolic BP in CKD when used properly, but case reports and physiological reasoning warn that excessive baking soda intake can raise blood pressure and cause dangerous metabolic effects, so medical supervision is essential ^{[1] [4] [3]}.