Does Sodium Bicarbonate Make You Faster? w/ Dr. Jason Siegler – Science of Getting Faster Podcast Ep 8

The buffering capacity of Sodium Bicarbonate and Sodium Citrate has been well-studied for their potential to decrease the acidity of our blood during exercise, and ultimately attenuate fatigue.

In a larger effort to reevaluate the hyperhydration strategies in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics, Dr. Siegler and colleagues aimed to uncover if buffering agents such as Sodium Bicarbonate and Sodium Citrate have the potential to enhance performance in ways that had not been previously studied.

In this episode of the Science of Getting Faster Podcast, Dr. Siegler, a leader on the subject of buffering agents, joins us to discuss buffering agents and his study The Hyperhydration Potential of Sodium Bicarbonate and Sodium Citrate.

TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

(0:45) What is a buffer?
(3:05) How does our blood become more acidic during exercise?
(4:03) Can we train our buffering capacity?
(6:22) How do our bodies naturally buffer our blood?
(9:47) Can our nutrition impact the acidity of our blood and thus our buffering capacity?
(11:35) Currently, why do athletes supplement with buffering agents?
(14:30) At what intensity of exercise do buffering agents have the greatest impact?
(15:31)The side effects of buffering agents and how you can mitigate those side effects
(16:50) Why you might experience side effects and what those side effects are?
(18:50) Buffering agents for endurance events
(19:32) How long do buffering agents stay in your blood?
(21:10) How your supplementation regimen and method of delivery can impact GI symptoms
(25:21) Differences between Sodium Citrate and Sodium Bicarbonate
(26:25) Why this study is novel
(31:40) What is hyperhydration and why is it beneficial to endurance performance?
(34:08) Study protocol
(40:51) Supplementation and fluid regiment for both hyperhydration and buffering protocols

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