Originally Posted by hawkeye1877
Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) can be considered both a biochemical, and physiological buffer within the body; commonly considered to be a medicine effective in the treatment of gastric acidity (stomach acid).
Sodium Bicarbonate can be considered to have nutritional ergogenic benefits, as baking soda can be easily included in a variety of common recipes; with athletes supplementing additional Sodium Bicarbonate in a wide variety of marketed forms. Within sporting literature, the use of Sodium Bicarbonate has been referred to as ‘buffer boosting’, ‘soda loading’ and ‘soda doping’.
In high intensity anaerobic exercise, an athletes fatigue has been closely associated with a corresponding increase in lactic acid.
Supplementing Sodium Bicarbonate can increase the athlete’s own Sodium Bicarbonate levels, and subsequently increasing the bodies ability to ‘buffer’ the lactic acid and delay the onset of fatigue in an anaerobic exercise activity.
More than 50 years of research into the potential ergogenic benefits of Sodium Bicarbonate supplementation have shown positive effects in approximately half of the studies. Recent research has shown significant positive effects attributable with Sodium Bicarbonate supplementation, with reported increases in plasma pH, thus reducing the acidosis in the muscle cell; with performance improvements in high intensity anaerobic exercise lasting approximately 1-7 minutes.
The precise mechanism behind the success of Sodium Bicarbonate has not been fully explained, although additional research has shown that other substances containing Sodium Bicarbonate (Sodium Citrate, Trisodium Phosphate and Sodium) have also been shown to have positive ergogenic benefits.
A typical supplemented dosage of Sodium Bicarbonate is 0.3g of per kg of bodyweigh approximately one hour prior to competition.