You forgot a major thing that baking soda does: it cures the gout! I suffered from gout and read on a bunch of sites about how baking soda cures gout. Of course, I was skeptical and didn't believe it. But I tried it, and honestly, it really does work! (they say its because Gout is caused by high acidity levels in the blood and the basic qualities of BS lower the acidity level in the blood). Tastes awful, but if you can down a spoonful of it in a glass of water, you'll be gout free like me.