Buffering Agents: Sodium Bicarbonate & β-Alanine

What do you have in your arsenal?

You may have supplements already containing β-Alanine but you may not have thought to include sodium bicarbonate.

That's right, baking soda.

Sodium Bicarbonate and β-Alanine are known as "Buffering Agents" and worth experimenting with.

"Nutrition for Athletes", a publication by the IOC, acknowledges the benefits of these substances:

"During very hard exercise, the muscles produce lactate and hydrogen ions (acidity). This is both good (giving energy to allow hard efforts) and bad (causing pain and interfering with muscle function). In the same way that excess stomach acidity can be neutralised by taking bicarbonate, so can taking sodium bicarbonate in a dose of about 0.3 g per kg body mass before an event provide the blood with extra capacity to buffer the acidity produced by the muscle. This can reduce the fatigue and performance decline seen in all-out events lasting from about 30 seconds to 8 minutes...

...In some events there may be benefits from combining β-alanine supplementation (internal muscle buffer) and bicarbonate loading (external buffer in the blood) to maximise buffering potential."

In addition, there are acidity neutralising characteristics of potassium citrate that suggest potential for a buffering agent. Although sufficient evidence is yet to be produced.

Source: Nutrition for Athletes - International Olympic Committee