So it has been proven that baking soda can help athletes by delaying the onset of lactic acid. Unfortunately baking soda is disgusting.
I have thought about creating a simple pill that will solve this. Has anyone ever done this?
So it has been proven that baking soda can help athletes by delaying the onset of lactic acid. Unfortunately baking soda is disgusting.
I have thought about creating a simple pill that will solve this. Has anyone ever done this?
I make my own electrolyte drink and use 1/8 tsp of baking soda. As I don't cramp up on long, hard runs I think it works. The recipe I use is:
1/2 cup orange
1/4 tsp salt substitute
1/8 tsp baking soda
fill the rest with water.
original poster wrote:
So it has been proven that baking soda can help athletes by delaying the onset of lactic acid. Unfortunately baking soda is disgusting.
I have thought about creating a simple pill that will solve this. Has anyone ever done this?
Baking soda delays the onset of lactic acid? That makes no sense for several reasons.
By the way, have you heard of Tums? Look at the ingredients.
I bit. 7/10.
I mean it really isn't a troll thing or joke, just a question.
I'll have to find all the specifc studies and cite them, but basically the idea is a tablespoon of baking soda helped 200m swimmers improve their race time. It does however give you bad poops, but if its just for a short race (under 10 minutes) then maybe thats OK
The swimming speed of each 50 m time trial is presented in Figure 1. The results of the ANOVA (F(2.28)=5. 63, p `` 0.05) indicate a significant effect of sodium bicarbonate ingestion on swimming performance in youth athletes during the 4 x 50 m front crawl test protocol. Post hoc tests reveal a statistically significant difference in swimming speed only in the first 50m sprint (1.92 vs. 1.97 m·s-1, p < 0.01). In trials 3 and 4 swimming speed was higher after bicarbonate ingestion, yet these differences were statistically insignificant. There was a significant difference in the completion time of the 4 x 50 m swim protocol between the control and experimental trials (1.54.28 vs. 1.52.85 min, p < 0.001).
Pre and post ingestion as well as post exercise values of acid-base equilibrium variables (HCO3-, BE, pH) are displayed in Figure 2 and 3. The results of ANOVA indicated a significant effect of sodium bicarbonate ingestion on blood concentration of bicarbonates (F(2.28) = 18.06 p < 0.01, Figure 2). The post hoc analysis indicated no differences in the pre ingestion and post exercise state, while a significant difference between the control and experimental trial was observed in the post ingestion state (25.13 vs. 28.49 mM, p < 0.001). When considering base excess, it must be indicated that bicarbonate intake resulted in higher values in the post ingestion state and lower ones immediately after exercise, yet these changes were not significant. The ingestion of bicarbonate had a statistically significant effect on blood pH (F(2.28)) = 10.02, p < 0.01, Figure 3). Sixty minutes after the ingestion of sodium bicarbonate, blood pH in the experimental trial was significantly higher in comparison to the placebo trial (7.41 vs. 7.33, p < 0.01).
The results of the ANOVA also revealed a significant effect of sodium bicarbonate ingestion on plasma lactate concentration (F(2.28) = 17.81, p < 0.001) which only appeared in the 1st minute after exercise cessation(13.06 vs. 11.27 mmol·l-1, p < 0.001). No changes in LA concentration occurred in the pre- and post ingestion states (p %% 0.05).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the intake of sodium bicarbonate in youth swimmers can significantly increase work capacity during short, intensive interval training. At the same time, acute ingestion of sodium bicarbonate before competition can improve swimming sprint performance at 50 m. This is most likely due to increased buffering capacity. The risk of gastrointestinal side effects, although not seen in our subjects, cannot be ignored, yet pre competition experimentation may decrease the chance of its occurrence or the severity.
KEY POINTS
Sodium bicarbonate is an effective ergogenic aid, also in youth athletes.
Sodium bicarbonate intake improves swimming sprint performance.
Sodium bicarbonate intake increases resting blood pH and bicarbonate level
Interesting, but I wouldn't swallow baking soda based on reading this paper. Two groups of n=4 is a small number to establish significance. The experimental group was faster in each, but could have had one significantly faster swimmer. There are several useful controls set up, but without controlling for the native swim speed of the participants, this data isn't entirely useful. It would be interesting to see a larger set (n=8 or larger, single group) perform this experiment multiple times (separate days), and compare the results against themselves. That would control better for the possibility that a single participant warps the data.
Also worth considering (probably more important) is the duration of the event. 4 x 50m in trained swimmers is less than 60s each event. Does lactic acid even begin to accumulate in noticeable values that quickly? If this study were to prove that NaHCO3 has some impact on lactic acid, we should see greater significance in later events, which is opposite what was found.
So... although NaHCO3 probably has some certain effect on lactic acid production, but it is not evident from this paper that this effect improves performance.
I am truthfully no expect on reading these journals, just a young guy with a entrepreneur mindset.
You seem knowledgeable. I will post more studies and you tell me what you think.
Background
During high-intensity exercise, muscles keep up with the demand for energy by converting some carbohydrate to lactic acid. A build-up of acid inside the muscle cells is one of the factors responsible for fatigue. Reducing the build-up of acid should reduce fatigue and allow the athlete to go faster or further.
The body's defenses against an increase in acidity are the bicarbonate, phosphate, and protein "buffers", which help to neutralize the acid produced by intense exercise. Attempts to enhance performance by increasing the effectiveness of the buffers have focused mainly on bicarbonate. Taking a sufficient quantity of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) before high-intensity event should make the muscles and blood less acidic during the event and should enhance physical performance. Sodium citrate is another substance that should enhance performance by buffering the acidity of intense exercise. Here we give a brief review of research on the effects of bicarbonate and citrate on the performance of athletes.
Literature
Over 30 studies of bicarbonate or citrate "loading" have been published--too many to review here. We describe three of these studies to illustrate the research (including one performed in our laboratory), and give a digest of five recent reviews.
Effect on Performance
Interest in the effects of buffers on performance began to pick up with publication of the work of Jones et al. (1977). Their study involved five male athletes who acted as their own controls, performing cycle ergometry after ingestion of calcium carbonate (a placebo), ammonium chloride (to increase acidity in the tissues to see if performance got worse), or sodium bicarbonate (to see if performance got better). The exercise protocol consisted of 40 minutes of exercise at low to moderate intensity, followed by exercise to exhaustion at high intensity (95% of maximum oxygen uptake). In the bicarbonate condition, exhaustion time was approximately twice that of the placebo, while in the acidic condition it was about half that of the placebo.
A number of studies in the early 1980s suggested that ingestion of sodium bicarbonate could be effective in improving short-term exercise performance. For example, Wilkes et al. (1983) compared the effects of sodium bicarbonate and control treatments (no treatment, and an inert placebo) in six competitive 800-m runners. The bicarbonate was given over a two-hour period at a dose equivalent to 21 gm for a 70-kg person (0.3 g per kg of body weight). For each of the three conditions, the athletes completed a competitive 800-m race. Average performance was 2% faster in the bicarbonate condition than in the control or placebo conditions.
In a similar study, but using a higher dose of sodium bicarbonate (0.4 g/kg, or 28 gm for a 70-kg person), Goldfinch et al. (l988) investigated the 400-m race performance of six trained runners. Athletes competed in pairs to simulate real competition. The performance of the bicarbonate group was 2% better than the control and placebo, which were not different from each other. The time difference was equivalent to a 10-m distance at the finish.
Reviews of these and many other studies support the idea that performance of short-term exercise can be enhanced by reducing the level of acidity. In a review of 29 studies of the effects of ingestion of sodium bicarbonate, Matson and Vu Tran (1993) concluded that the effect on performance varied between athletes, but that the greater the dosage and the shorter the exercise, the more likely that bicarbonate buffering would enhance performance. Maughan and Greenhaff (1991) concluded that ingestion of sodium bicarbonate can enhance performance of high intensity exercise lasting 1-10 minutes. Lindermann and Fahey (1991), Williams (1992), and Lindermann and Gosselink (1994) concluded that sodium bicarbonate can produce a significant ergogenic effect in maximal exercise lasting between 1 and 7 min. All these reviewers indicated that effective dosages for sodium bicarbonate were in the range 0.3-0.4 g/kg, or 21-28 gm for a 70-kg person.
Bicarbonate or citrate are not usually thought of as potential ergogenic aids for endurance events, because muscles accumulate less lactic acid in these events. However, Potteiger et al. (1996) recently tested the effect of sodium citrate on 30-km cycling performance. Performance times averaged almost 3% faster than those in the placebo condition. The effects of ingestion of citrate or bicarbonate on other endurance events now need to be determined.
Practical Considerations
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not explicitly ban the use of sodium bicarbonate sodium citrate, or other buffering agents. However, their use may be considered a violation of the IOC Doping Rule, which states that athletes shall not use any physiological substance in an attempt to artificially enhance performance. In horse racing, where the use of buffering agents is banned, limits have been set on the concentration of bicarbonate in blood samples taken before races. We believe it would be possible to set up a similar system to screen for the use of buffers by human athletes.
Athletes wishing to use these substances should try them first in training and then use them only for short-term, high intensity competitions. Dosages should be 20-30 gm (0.3-0.4 g per kg of body weight), taken with large quantities (0.5 L or greater) of water. Athletes in most studies have taken the substance between 60 and 90 minutes prior to exercise.
Likely side effects are gastrointestinal upsets such as vomiting and diarrhea (Mc Naughton, 1992). Frequent use could lead to cardiac arrhythmias, apathy, irritability and muscle spasms (Heigenhauser and Jones, 1991). Gastric ruptures have also been reported (Downs and Stonebridge,1989).
I'll be glad to offer opinions, but I'm no expert. I used to work in a physiology lab (basic science/medicine) but don't know too much about sport science.
You may want to see if the link is in the NaHCO3 itself or its alkalinity. If the relationship exists, there may be better vectors than Arm and Hammer.
"Soda loading" was a fad in the 1980s. Some considered it unethical.
The studies say that .3 grams per kilo of weight is the proper dosage.
This would mean a 145 pound person would need 20 grams of sodium bicarbonate.
The ingredients for alka seltzer are:
Active ingredients (in each tablet). Purpose
Anhydrous citric acid 1000 mg. Antacid
Aspirin 325 mg (NSAID)*. Analgesic
Sodium bicarbonate (heat-treated) 1916 mg. Antacid
*nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug
Does this mean 1 alka seltzer pill has roughly 20 grams of bicarbonate? So one pill would be close to the effective dose for a 145 runner?
I want to test some pills or powders. But some studies say a person would need to inject roughly 4 table spoons of baking soda to get the right dosage.
In order to create a product I would need to have a powder drink mix or pill. Pills are easier but if it takes 4 table spoons ten that would mean like 10 or 20 pills.
What effort are you putting into your "long run" that would result in you accumulating blood lactate?
lada wrote:
I make my own electrolyte drink and use 1/8 tsp of baking soda. As I don't cramp up on long, hard runs I think it works. The recipe I use is:
1/2 cup orange
1/4 tsp salt substitute
1/8 tsp baking soda
fill the rest with water.
1 gram = 1000 milligrams, so you're talking about 10 or 11 Alka Seltzers. Probably not the recommended dosage.
Back in the day (early 90's) I took a product from Twin Lab called Phospho Fuel or something like that. I did notice less soreness after running the 800 and my sprint to the toilet after the race was truly impressive :-)
There was a thread on this a few years ago.
1. You get intense abdominal cramps which can lead to
2. The trots
This happens if you ingest enough sodium bicarbonate to be effective.
But go ahead and try. Everybody is different.
bump
baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) does in fact act as a pH buffer in the blood. You have already stated the reason why people don't use it though- it can give you really bad sh*ts or send you puking over in the trash can. Unless you have an absolute iron stomach it would be hard to keep down.
We learned about it in my sport nutrition class, but the studies we discussed were all done on rugby players in practice, so it was over a duration of time. It would be interesting to see how this would work for a 400m runner though. That and I would hope that if they did hold it in throughout the race, they wouldn't go pooping on the victory lap :O
The human body does not produce lactic acid at any time therefore your premise is wrong from the start.
I wonder if the sodium bicarbonate could be mixed with a flavor and some type of stomach calming ingredient and work.
Or perhaps if it could be pill form.