Baking Soda: The Performance Supplement You Are Missing

When we hear “baking soda,” we think of laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, and the stuff we put in refrigerators so they don’t smell bad.But baking soda has other uses as well, especially in regard to fitness and fatigue.

There are a few things about chemistry you need to know before discussing baking soda (I promise it’s not crazy). First, a few facts:

• Baking soda is also known as sodium bicarbonate
• This is written as NaHCO3 chemically. 
• Baking soda is alkaline, or basic. 

Now let’s talk abut buffers. In chemistry, buffers resist pH change by neutralizing added acid or added base. Buffers contain significant amounts of both a weak acid and its conjugate base. A conjugate base is part of a reaction where one part of the compound transforms into the other by gaining or losing a proton. The conjugate base gains or absorbs a proton in this chemical reaction.
We’ve all heard about lactic acid, but as new science shows, it’s not the cause of muscle fatigue as originally thought. The actual cause of muscle fatigue is the process of an exercise-induced decrease in pH, which is also known as metabolic acidosis. (The lower the pH the higher the acidity.)

Complete fatigue may occur with lactate concentrations between 20 and 25 mmol/L, and some cases more than 30 mmol/L following multiple dynamic-exercise sessions.There are other factors that cause an increase in H+ but since we are strictly talking aboutlactate, we will stick with this.

Baking Soda and Fatigue
According to Food and Nutrition Sciences, a build-up of acid inside the muscle cell is a factor responsible for muscular fatigue. Thus, the total muscular capacity is limited by the progressive increase in acidity within the muscles caused by an accumulation of lactate and H+ ions. This inhibits energy transfer and the ability of muscles to contract. The body’s defense against this is bicarbonate buffers, which help neutralize the acid produced by intense exercise.

Since baking soda is an alkalizing agent, it reduces the acidity of the blood (the buffering action). This action may be able to draw more of the acid within the muscle cells out into the bloodstream, and thus reduce the level of acidity within the muscle cells. This in turn can delay the onset of fatigue.

This would benefit athletes whose intensities range between 80-125% of peak oxygen uptake. People within this category regularly stress the anaerobic glycolysis system, which produces a lot of acidity. So, think of your sprinters (swimming, cycling, or running) CrossFitters, Olympic lifters, and even those who do high intensity interval training on a different platform.

Does Baking Soda Prevent Performance Decline?
A study conducted by the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition tested baking soda supplementation on tennis athletes. Prolonged tennis matches result in fatigue, which invariably impairs skilled performance.

Nine male college tennis players were recruited for this randomized crossover, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. The participants consumed baking soda (0.3 g. kg-1) or sodium chloride (0.209g. kg-1). On their third match, the participants were given an additional supplementation of 0.1g. kg-1 of baking soda or 0.07g. kg-1 of sodium chloride. The study called for the Loughborough Tennis Skill Test, which was performed before and after each simulated match.

Can Baking Soda Enhance Power Output?
A study conducted by the British Journal of Sports Medicine sought to assess the effect of sodium bicarbonate ingestion upon repeated bouts of intense, short-duration exercise.

Twenty-three subjects participated in this study, which included eight females and fifteen males, aged at 21.4 ±2.3. Subjects completed six trials, three following the ingestion of sodium bicarbonate (300mg/kg bodyweight) and three following the ingestion of a placebo (8g of sodium chloride or salt). Each trial consisted of ten, ten-second sprints on a cycle ergometer with a fifty-second recovery between each sprint.

How to Introduce Baking Soda Into Your Life
Some of you may be thinking, “I’m going to buy a huge tub of baking soda and put it on everything.” Please, don’t do that. Ingesting too much baking soda can cause unpleasant side effects such as vomiting, gastrointestinal discomfort, bloating, and diarrhea. If you don’t drink enough water, vomiting and diarrhea are common side effects. Even small amounts of baking soda can cause GI distress depending on your body. In addition, you should always contact your primary care manager before you add any supplement into your routine.Now that I have given you a bit of a disclaimer, the normal recommendation is that you need one liter of water when ingesting 0.3 grams per kilogram of body mass. The water will help with absorption and decrease your chances of GI distress. Baking soda does not linger around the body, so it’s important to take it and work out about an hour or so later. Don’t take it and then train five hours later.