Sodium bicarbonate ingestion mitigates the heat-induced hyperventilation & reduction in cerebral blood velocity during exercise.., 2021,Katagiri et al

I seem to recall Hip, Cort Johnson and others taking sodium bicarbonate before exercise to help reduce PEM?

Sodium bicarbonate ingestion mitigates the heat-induced hyperventilation and reduction in cerebral blood velocity during exercise in heat, 2021, Akira Katagiri et al

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Hyperthermia causes hyperventilation and concomitant hypocapnia and cerebral hypoperfusion. The cerebral hypoperfusion may underlie central fatigue. We demonstrate that sodium bicarbonate ingestion reduces heat-induced hyperventilation and attenuates hypocapnia-related cerebral hypoperfusion during prolonged exercise in the heat. In addition, we show that sodium bicarbonate ingestion reduces ratings of perceived exertion during the exercise. This study provides new insight into the development of effective strategies for preventing central fatigue during exercise in the heat.

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/japplphysiol.00261.2021

 

I found a few years ago that a tiny bit of baking soda in milk helps fix my PEM nausea.

 

I’ve been using bicarb for a while - and my entirely subjective, anecdotal, n=1, conclusion is that I think it helps!

 

Never tried it myself, but then again I can't even stand up in heat, let alone exercise!

 

I wonder if it would help with swimming?

I'm going to try a little bit (3/4 tsp) before my walks, not that I let myself go into PEM, but just to see. I take BCCA/electrolyte formula but haven't have a good opportunity to test it out too much b/c of a viral 'thing' that won't go away!

 

The pool is used for club training, so it's kept cool enough that you shudder when you first get in. It probably wouldn't make much difference, as you don't get too warm even when working hard.

Hope your viral 'thing' departs soon! They're so infuriating, specially when they can't even be bothered to cause proper cold symptoms...just grumble away for weeks making you feel crap.

 

i have a distant memory of taking bicarbonate of soda all it did was make me feel very nauseous for several hours . not touched it since .

 

Transcutaneous delivery of sodium bicarbonate increases intramuscular pH, 2023

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1142567/full