- Introduction
- Your pH Levels during Exercise
- How Can Baking Soda Balance my pH Levels?
- What is the Recommended Dose?
- When Should I Use Baking Soda Before my Workout?
- Is it Safe to Have Baking Soda Regularly?
- What Increases Your pH Levels During Your Workout?
- Signs of Chronic Acidosis (prolonged low pH levels)
- Other Things You Can Do to Improve Your Runner’s High
- Conclusion
Introduction
Have you ever wondered if there are any supplements or you could take to decrease that workout muscle soreness? I did some research and found some interesting information on using baking soda prior to your workout to battle muscle soreness during and after your workout. Here is what I found regarding the development of your runner’s high using baking soda.
Baking Soda can enhance your runner’s high by decreasing your perceived exertion while running. It does so by balancing your pH levels from acidic to more alkaline. This has been verified by studies examining both short, high-intensity running, as well as endurance running.
Your pH Levels during Exercise
Your pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline a fluid is. Bodily functions are highly dependent on your blood pH. The regulation of your pH is often referred to as your acid-base. Your acid-base is controlled by the function of your kidneys and your lungs.
If your blood is too acidic, you will be experiencing more muscle pain and muscle soreness during you workout. Regular blood pH levels should range between 7.35 – 7.45. If your pH levels are below 7.35, you are acidotic (have greater levels of acid in your blood). On the other hand, if your blood pH is above 7.45, you are alkalotic (i.e. your blood is not acidic enough). You can find out your blood’s ph levels through these pH strips.
How Can Baking Soda Balance my pH Levels?
Baking soda, also known as bread soda, sodium bicarbonate, and cooking soda, is an alkaline salt with a pH of 8.4. It functions as a buffer of your Hydrogen levels (the chemicals that cause your blood to become more acidic as a result of energy production) during physical exercise. It increases your pH levels to make your blood less acidic and more alkolotic.
What is the Recommended Dose?
There are various studies conducted on the optimal dosage of baking soda to have prior to your workout to optimize your athletic performance. While some studies have shown that 0.3g/kg / 0.136g/lb of bodyweight seem to be the best dose to counteract blood acidity, others state that 0.2g/kg / 0.09g/lb of your bodyweight seem to be the safer option by causing less indigestion. According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition, doses greater than 0.3g/kg do not seem to have any additional effect on muscle soreness and athletic performance. Baking soda can be taken as a powder or in small capsules.
Sample Calculation
150 lb. / 68kg female. Recommended dose (0.2 – 0.3 g/kg) = 13.5g – 20.5g
200 lb. / 90kg male. Recommended dose (0.2 – 0.3 g/kg) = 18.0g – 27.0g
When Should I Use Baking Soda Before my Workout?
The best time to have baking soda prior to your workout appears to be anywhere between 60-180 minutes. Make sure that you give your body sufficient time to absorb it and to have a positive effect on your blood pH. Do not take in on an empty stomach as this could cause stomach problems.
Is it Safe to Have Baking Soda Regularly?
To be able to answer this question, you would need to figure out your average pH levels throughout your day. To avoid problems with indigestion, try out different ways to decrease your blood pH (more on this later). If you like to add baking soda to your pre-workout routine, stick with a lower dosage. This is to avoid blood alkalosis and ensure you are not overworking your kidneys.
What Increases Your pH Levels During Your Workout?
There are multiple factors that can affect your blood pH during your workout. Let us dive a little deeper into the main factors that affect it so you know how you can control it.
Physiological Factors
- Working Out: Being physically active can increase the acidity of your blood through chemical changes. As a result of intense exercise, your body produces higher levels of lactic acid. Lactic acid is produced when carbohydrates in your body are broken down for energy. This in turn causes your pH levels to become more acidic and you to experience greater levels of muscle fatigue. Higher fatigue levels can take away from the mental benefits of your workout.
- Stress: Increased levels of stress can throw off your pH levels significantly. This happens because your body produces greater levels of your stress hormone cortisol. This is an example of how greater levels of stress can cause a downward spiral with regard to your mental health, so try your best to keep your stress under control [1].
Nutrition
- Caffeine: You may have noticed in the past how having that extra cup of coffee can cause indigestion. Coffee, soda, and other caffeinated beverages can significantly mess with your blood pH. They tend to be more acidic and increase your levels of stress and anxiety. In turn, these can have an additional negative effect on your pH levels.
- Dehydration: If you are dehydrated your blood becomes more viscous. As a result, chemicals within your blood are not able to dilute as well, resulting in lower pH levels (greater levels of blood acidity). Ensure to drink about 8-12 cups of water each day. If you are wondering how much water you should be drinking each day based on your unique lifestyle, check out this article.
- Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages have been found to be quite acidic, with beer and wine being in the 3 – 4.5 pH level range and some Alcopops having pH’s of as low as 2.49 [2]. Additionally, you may have already guessed that alcohol can cause short- and long-term dehydration the day following. Ensure to replenish your water levels.
- Other: This list is by no means exhaustive. There are other factors such as the food your eat and your overall nutrition that can have a great impact on your pH levels. If you want to know more about how food affects your pH levels and about what foods you can eat to make your blood more alkaline (i.e. less acidic), I recommend that you check out this article.
Signs of Chronic Acidosis (prolonged low pH levels)
If your body is experiencing prolonged periods of acidosis (greater levels of acid in your blood, i.e. if your blood pH tends to be close to / below 7.35), it can let you know in various ways. Below you can find the most common signs and symptoms associated with chronic acidosis.
- Poor Sleep: Researchers have found that lower pH levels can lead to decreased sleep quality due to a lack of important nutrients. You may be experiencing this lack of nutrients as a result of indigestion related to blood acidity (see below).
- Low Energy Levels: You may be experiencing low energy levels as a result of less quality sleep or difficulty absorbing vital nutrients due to lower blood pH levels.
- Indigestion: As mentioned above, your body requires a certain pH level to function properly. If it is outside of the 7.35 – 7.45 range your gastrointestinal tract is unable to efficiently absorb important nutrients. This can cause feelings of indigestion.
Other Things You Can Do to Improve Your Runner’s High
If you are curious about other ways to improve your runner’s high experience, check out my blog. In it, you will be able to find many ways on how you can prepare yourself to have a great runner’s high, actionable steps to recreate it during your run, as well as other training methods that are able to reproduce it.
For example, did you know that you have a biological prime time where your natural energy levels surge and you experience greater feelings of exercise euphoria?
Conclusion
Baking soda is a fantastic supplement that can significantly decrease muscle soreness experienced before, during, as well as after you workout. The optimal dosage appears to be 0.2g/kg of bodyweight, as greater levels have shown to cause indigestion. It is safe to take baking soda to counteract the negative effects of high blood acidity, however I recommend that you switch it up to avoid negative side effects such as indigestion and stomach pain.
Low pH levels and blood acidity are often a result of poor nutrition, stress, caffeine, dehydration and working out. Did baking soda work for you in the past? Have you tried other ways to make your workouts more enjoyable? What has worked best for you in recreating that intoxicating feeling of the runner’s high? Let me know what you think in the comments section below and subscribe to my newsletter.
*DISCLAIMER*
Prior to starting any vigorous exercise regimen, make sure to talk to your doctor and physical therapist.