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What is it?

  • Bicarbonate is an endogenously produced extracellular anion, and an integral component of the body’s primary pH buffering system. During high rates of anaerobic glycolysis (inevitable during prolonged periods of intense exercise), the muscle can produce hydrogen ions (H+) in excess, which eventuates in metabolic disturbances and ultimately may contribute to fatigue. Extracellular bicarbonate facilitates the removal of these H+, and to a point, supports the body’s ability to match the high rates of energy demand required to maintain muscle contractile function during such activity.
  • Numerous studies have demonstrated that endogenous bicarbonate levels can be safely and acutely increased after the oral ingestion of between 200 and 300 mg/kg body mass (BM) of sodium bicarbonate.1,2 The additional bicarbonate is believed to attenuate the inevitable increase in intramuscular H+, synonymous with high-intensity exercise, although the physiologic mechanisms directly responsible for performance augmentation in humans are unclear.3
    • Meta-analyses have reported that supplementation at these levels can result in an approximate 2 to 3% improvement across a variety of performance measurements (e.g. power, speed, work capacity, time to failure) during both single and repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise typically lasting 1-10 minutes in duration.4,5,6
    • The 2018 International Olympic Committee Sports Nutrition Consensus Statement recommendations suggest that sodium bicarbonate is one of five dietary supplements that consistently improves performance in the elite athlete.7

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