Sam's News — diet-exercise — 2026-10-09

Diet & Exercise

6 Sodium Bicarbonate and Carbohydrate Co-ingestion Improves Athletic Performance When Fatigued

A study from Liverpool John Moores University, in collaboration with World Athletics, found that combining sodium bicarbonate with carbohydrate in a novel energy gel format helps endurance athletes sustain high-intensity efforts during fatigue while causing only mild gastrointestinal discomfort. The sodium bicarbonate acts as a buffer against metabolic acidosis that occurs during intense exercise.

• Study tested a new energy gel combining sodium bicarbonate and carbohydrate during three hours of moderate-intensity exercise followed by high-intensity efforts
• Sodium bicarbonate ingestion improved performance after prolonged exercise compared to carbohydrate alone
• The compound works by limiting metabolic acidosis through its buffering capacity, maintaining higher blood pH
• Only mild gastrointestinal discomfort was reported with the co-ingestion approach

Sources: World Athletics AI Web Searched