Baking Soda as a Performance Drug

Baking Soda

Baking soda has a long history of being something of a miracle compound. It has many uses in cooking, hygiene, neutralizing drug overdoses, treating upset stomachs, in addition to its odor-dampening properties. It is technically known as sodium bicarbonate and is a component of the mineral natron, known as nahcolite in its natural mineral form. It can be found in humans in dissolved form as part of the makeup of bile, where it serves as a base to reduce the acidity of the natural hydrochloric acid produced by the stomach. Ancient Egyptians used it as a cleaning agent, although its common form came about as a result of the work of French chemist Nicolas Leblank in 1791.

The primary use of baking soda is in cooking, specifically in baking because it reacts with other components to help release carbon dioxide, thereby helping dough to rise. It can be substituted for baking powder when sufficient acidic compounds are also added to the recipe, but it is also used in laboratories because it is an amphoteric, reacting to both acids and bases. Since it is relatively innocuous in most situations, it can be safely used in excess quantities. It has been used medically for years as either an antacid to treat heartburn and indigestion, or in oral form to treat conditions such as chronic renal failure. It has also been used to help with aspirin overdose, and as a treatment for hyperkalemia. It is a well-known component of toothpastes, and can be used as a dry or wet deodorant because of its anti-fungal properties, which also allows it to be used as an anti-dandruff shampoo. And lastly, but certainly not least, is the new discovery that baking soda can supposedly be used to enhance an athlete’s performance.

Say What?

Since baking soda acts as a base, and is part of the body’s natural balancing of acids, different parts of the body vary in their pH value because the acid-base balance is determined by certain enzymes which function more effectively in different environments. An example would be the gastric acids in the stomach which are acidic, while those in the intestine are alkaline in nature. Blood doping as a result of baking soda is understandable when one examines the pH balance of blood and muscle cells. The pH in muscle cells is slightly alkaline in nature when at rest. During this time the enzymes that produce energy via lactic acid and oxygen perform at the optimum level, and experts believe that by locating the concentration of hydrogen ions and acidity and increasing same within the muscle cell, the optimal functioning of the enzymes will be reduced, thus decreasing potential energy production which can result in fatigue.

For more than 40 years personal trainers and coaches have sought to find a way to use baking soda supplements to reduce the acidity of muscles and thereby improve the overall energy performance of the muscles by adjusting the pH balance of the blood and muscle cells. The theory was that the ingestion of salts during exercise could help facilitate the removal of hydrogen ions from the muscle cell, which in turn helps to maintain the muscle cell near its optimal pH for enzyme functions and energy production. One of the first studies was conducted in 1980 when Dr. G.W. Mainwood discovered that the more acidic blood becomes when filled with bicarbonate, the more it creates a pH gradient between muscle and blood, which effectively pulls the acid from the muscle..

The Studies

One study involved researchers from Loughborough University. During their initial trial they gave baking soda pills to nine different swimmers, and found that eight of them reduced their time in the 200 meter races by an average of 1.5 seconds. Considering that the wins and losses in Olympic time trials can be literally fractions of a second, such results are staggering in their implications. This led to a second study, where researchers from the American College of Sports Medicine gave a variety of baking soda pills, along with placebo pills, to a number of runners in an 800 meter dash. According to lead researcher Ronald Deitrick, “If you took out the participants who experienced negative side effects, such as indigestion or diarrhea, you would see an average improvement in running times of about 2.2 seconds. For relatively short running distances, that is fairly significant”.

Dr. David Costill and a team of researchers at the Human Performance Laboratory at Ball State University conducted a test in 1983 in which they gave athletes a low dose of baking soda: 200 mg per kg of bodyweight. They then had the athletes perform five one minute sprints on a bicycle, with the last sprint extending to complete exhaustion. According to their findings as published in the Journal of Sports Medicine, the time to exhaustion increased by 42% in athletes who received a dose of baking soda.

While these new findings are not conclusive in and of themselves, they do raise the question of whether or not baking soda has the potential to be added to the list of banned substances that athletes are prohibited from consuming during sporting competitions. According to Dr. Deitrick, “If it comes down to whether or not an athlete has a competitive advantage by taking an aid, then in the case of sodium bicarbonate I believe the answer is yes. It violates the spirit of fair play by artificially enhancing performance.”

Stress, aging and exercise -- especially overtraining -- can break down your body's defenses. As you age, you become more vulnerable to oxidative damage, infections, and disease, as well as tissue degradation, muscle wasting and visible signs of aging. Do Your Body a Favor -- Give It the Best Whey Protein Powder. There's never been a better time to treat yourself to better health. By supplementing your diet with Miracle Whey™, you're supercharging your health and wellbeing from the very first drink! Today, when you choose Miracle Whey™, you're making a statement that says, “I want to achieve the best health of my life.” Learn More