Supplemental sodium bicarbonate can be baking soda bought from the grocery store; they are the same molecule, so store-bought baking soda will work.

When used before exercise, supplemental dosages of sodium bicarbonate are in the 200–300 mg/kg range. While 200 mg/kg seems to produce an ergogenic effect in most people, 300 mg/kg appears to be the optimal dose. Doses of 400–500 mg/kg are also ergogenic when taken before exercise, but not necessarily more than lower doses. These higher doses also tend to be associated with a higher degree of intestinal side effects.

If taking sodium bicarbonate acutely for exercise, a dose can be taken 60-150 minutes before anaerobic activities associated with metabolic acidosis (i.e., “the burn”) for maximum benefit.

In studies that used a multiple day (3 to 7 days) supplementation protocol, an overall sodium bicarbondate dose of 500 mg/kg divided into four smaller doses taken throughout the day was more effective than an overall dose 300 mg/kg.^[1]

Some health effects (increase in metabolic rate or attenuation of metabolic acidosis) can be achieved at more reasonable doses, such as 5-10 g, and may be more practical for nonathletes.

Additionally, as 27.3% of sodium bicarbonate's weight is due to sodium, every 100 mg/kg confers about 27 mg/kg sodium to the diet; this needs to be accounted for, and severely limits usage by persons with salt-sensitive hypertension.

As the doses are measured in reference to body weight, obesity may result in a falsely high oral dose. If you are not within a normal or overweight BMI range, estimate your oral dose based on your “ideal weight” instead.

The means of consuming bicarbonate is important, as excessively high doses or rapid ingestion can cause gastric upset due to a reaction between bicarbonate and stomach acid. Bicarbonate should be sipped slowly over a period of a few minutes with a moderate amount of water (500 mL), and the first time bicarbonate is used a half-dose should be ingested to assess tolerance.

Rapidly ingesting the drink, or taking too much, is likely to induce stomach pain and nausea within an hour followed by increased diarrhea and flatulence; sticking to 200 mg/kg may alleviate the risk of these side effects.

Independent of the dose taken, caution should be exercised with the manner by which sodium bicarbonate is ingested, so as to minimize intestinal and gastric side effects; these side effects occur with rapid or excessive consumption of bicarbonate, and include nausea and diarrhea.