Powerful Powder: UTI relief and other magical things to know about Cream of Tartar - Living Well Spine Center (2024)

Welcome to Wellness Wednesday! This innocent looking powder is a health benefits powerhouse!! You probably have a bottle of it tucked away in your spice cabinet. You probably take it out for whipping egg whites or if a recipe calls for stabilizing whipping cream, but for most of it’s life, it sits quietly waiting!But good news!! There is so much more to this substance than making meringue!

So what is it?? The label is misleading! It’s not creamy at all! It's a dry, powdery, acidic byproduct of fermenting grapes into wine. It’s official scientific name is potassium bitartrate, or potassium hydrogen tartrate or tartaric acid. But you can find it in the spice aisle labeled Cream of Tartar. It keeps it’s freshness indefinitely, but once you start using it as a superfood booster, you will be replenishing it often for you and your family!

I was about 24 years old when I first utilized Cream of Tartar outside the realm of baking. I had been battling with a kidney stone, developed a kidney infection, then when I was recovered from that, a urinary tract infection manifested. I was talking with a dear friend about it, and she told me that her grandmother recommended Cream of Tartar for that ailment. The recipe, stated in grandmotherly fashion was simple: a knife tip of Cream of Tartar in a big glass of water!I was at the peak of my catering career, and had lots of cream of tartar, since one of my most-requested recipes was mini-Pavlovas - those delicious meringue disks topped with home-made vanilla bean whipping cream, topped with fresh strawberries, blueberries and kiwis! MmmMmmmm, heaven on a plate! That’s another post for another time!

After the phone call with my friend ended, I quickly prepared the Cream of Tartar solution and drank it all at once. If you have ever had a UTI, you understand the discomfort and the distraction that it creates. Fast forward 20 minutes, and all that pain had disappeared! I had been trying lots of things prior to this, including cranberry juice, apple cider vinegar, lemon water, etc, but nothing had alleviated the misery until this magical potion! I was amazed by the results, and it has become a staple in my traveling bag for a quick urinary system reset after a long day on the road!

Over the years, I’ve shared this simple trick with my daughters and also clients, and they have been equally amazed at the results. Because Cream of Tartar is acidic, it can help change your pH levels. Increasing acidity while reducing alkalinity kills off bad bacteria, which is why this tried and true home remedy has the potential to be your newest go-to when it comes to UTIs. Just mix 1 ½ teaspoons of Cream of Tartar with 1 cup warm water. You can add some freshly squeezed lemon juice if you’d like to, then drink the mixture all at once. Do this a few times a day to keep those nasty infections away. So simple, 100 toxin-free, and readily available!! I love using God’s foods for healing!

As if that’s not enough, I’ve discovered that it has other supernatural powers too! Read on:

For heartburn: Mix a ½ teaspoon of Cream of Tartar with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Add 1/2 cup room temperature water and drink all at once. This will immediately help to relieve any pain associated with heartburn. Simply balancing the pH is the process behind this effective formula!

For arthritis pain: Cream of Tartar is rich in potassium, so adding 2 Tablespoons to a warm bath along with 3 Tablespoons of Epsom salt and soaking for 30 minutes will help to reduce inflammation and joint pain. Do this once or twice per day until pain is alleviated.

For acne and other skin conditions: This bacteria-busting home remedy works from the inside out to reduce oily build-up and promote clear skin. The acidic properties of Cream of Tartar eliminates and flushes the destructive bacteria that causes skin inflammation and acne. It can even reduce blackheads. It’s the perfect toxin-free solution for healthy skin!Start with 1 teaspoon in 1/2 cup of organic fresh squeezed orange juice (or water) two times per day! You could also apply a thin paste over your skin as a face mask one or two times per week! Leave on for 15 minutes then rinse with cold water!

For high blood pressure: Hypertension is far too common these days and can lead to heart attack and strokes. One of the causes is often low levels of potassium. A simple blood test to determine your potassium levels is helpful in determining the cause of the condition. If you do suffer from low potassium, Cream of Tartar can be a toxin-free fix, packed with 16,500 mg of potassium in a mere 100 grams of cream of tartar. Just mix 1 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar in a glass of water and drink every night before bed until your potassium levels return to an optimal range.

Improve gallbladder function: The gallbladder is the liver’s best friend. They support each other in the break-down of fat and the elimination of toxicity from the body. When the gallbladder is malfunctioning, the pain can be excruciating. Unfortunately, the most common conventional treatment for an inflamed gallbladder, caused by stones, is surgery. This condition, called acute cholecystitis, affects more than 30,000,000 Americans a year. And more than 750,000 people will undergo a cholecystectomy, to have the gallbladder removed. According to researchers, approximately 75 percent of gallstones are composed primarily of cholesterol, which is fat in the blood. Cholesterol is important to help your brain, skin, and other organs grow and work the way they should, but when the body is out of balance through environmental toxicities or poor food choices, excessive, unmetabolized, under-utilized blood fats can add up to a very unhealthy gallbladder. Once again, Cream of Tartar to the rescue. Simply mix together 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon Cream of Tartar with a ¼ cup of warm water. Drink this mixture every morning on an empty stomach for 5 days and it will improve bile flow, the emulsifying agent that breaks down cholesterol, and can reduce gallbladder pain. But wait there's more!!

Nicotine withdrawal: Even after you quit smoking or using other forms of tobacco, studies show it generally takes another three months for your brain chemistry to return to pre-smoking status. Wow!!! No wonder it’s so difficult for people to quit! Surprise! Enter Cream of Tartar. This amazing substance can actually help neutralize and eliminate nicotine from the body, including people that are exposed to second-hand smoke. Bonus: Because it helps to release nicotine from the body, the cravings will dissipate faster so that tobacco habit can finally become a thing of the past! The remedy is so simple: add a ½ teaspoon of Cream of Tartar to a half glass of fresh-squeezed organic orange juice, and drink before bed. Repeat for 30 days for the highest level of success!

Pretty amazing stuff, right??? So one last thought… It’s important to be sure that the Cream of Tartar that you are buying and using is non-gmo and non-irradiated. Wine grapes, the beginning stage of Cream of Tartar, have a reputation of being radically fumigated to eliminate critters and pests, but for the purpose of cleansing our blood stream and promoting health, it is essential that we avoid all pesticides, insecticides and fungicides! This Frontier Co-op product is what I use, and it’s what I recommend until I find something better!You should be able to find it locally, but if not, I have added it to our Living Well Life Amazon storefront for your convenience!

Please let me know if you have ever used Cream of Tartar medicinally, or if you have other fantastic stories to share about this powerful powder! Your experiences can be life-changing for others, and I love reading the wisdom from our Living Well women!