Benefits
High-intensity exercise performance
A sports nutrition position stand concluded that 0.2 to 0.5 g/kg improves performance in hard efforts lasting about 30 seconds to 12 minutes, including cycling, running, swimming, rowing, combat sports and muscular endurance work, in men and women. An umbrella review rated this evidence low to moderate quality, with effects ranging from trivial to large.
Buffering acid build-up during hard efforts
Bicarbonate raises blood pH and bicarbonate, which speeds the movement of acid and lactate out of working muscle. In studies of women pooled in the position stand, plasma bicarbonate rose by about 7 mmol/L. Part of the performance effect appears to come from placebo.
Repeated sprint and interval efforts
Results vary. Pooled trials found no clear effect on repeated-sprint ability but better scores on an intermittent running test and in later bouts of repeated 30-second cycling sprints. Swimmers finished eight 25 m sprints about 2% faster in one trial, while a dose before rugby training in 17 players changed neither jumps nor fatigue markers.
Combining with beta-alanine
Beta-alanine raises carnosine, a buffer inside muscle, while bicarbonate works in the blood. A meta-analysis of 10 studies (243 adults) found a small benefit for the combination, but no significant effect for either supplement alone. Its senior author has received research support from a beta-alanine maker.
Mechanism of action
Raising blood bicarbonate
Swallowed bicarbonate raises the pH and bicarbonate concentration of the blood, a mild state of metabolic alkalosis.
Faster acid and lactate exit from muscle
A more alkaline blood creates a steeper gradient for hydrogen ions, which speeds their transport, together with lactate, out of exercising muscle through monocarboxylate transporters (MCT1 and MCT4). Better pH control inside the muscle allows a higher rate of energy production during hard efforts.
Clinical trials
Double-blind, parallel-group randomized controlled trial of a single 0.3 g/kg dose taken 90 minutes before a high-intensity, rugby-specific training session. (Couce et al. 2026, Sports (Basel))
17 male professional rugby players.
No detectable improvement in countermovement jump or in lactate and perceived-exertion fatigue markers, and more stomach discomfort than placebo. The authors noted the trial was too small to detect small differences between groups.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of 10 studies on beta-alanine and sodium bicarbonate, alone and combined, on exercise capacity and performance. (Curran-Bowen et al. 2024, Biol Sport)
243 healthy adults, from athletes to recreationally active people.
Neither beta-alanine alone (SMD 0.18) nor sodium bicarbonate alone (SMD 0.17) significantly improved performance, but the combination showed a small benefit (SMD 0.32, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.57). The senior author reports past funding from a beta-alanine maker.
Randomized, counterbalanced, single-blind crossover trial of 0.3 g/kg versus a salt placebo taken 2.5 hours before eight 25 m front-crawl sprints. (Siegler et al. 2010, J Strength Cond Res)
14 competitive non-elite swimmers (6 men, 8 women).
Total sprint time was about 2% faster with bicarbonate (159.4 vs 163.2 seconds; P = 0.04), and blood buffering rose before the swim.