Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23746564›Full record

Trial reportNutrition research (New York, N.Y.)2013

Acute sodium bicarbonate loading has negligible effects on resting and exercise blood pressure but causes gastrointestinal distress.

Laura E Kahle, Patrick V Kelly, Kathrin A Eliot, Edward P Weiss

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.), 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
4.5field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Sport supplementation in competitive swimmers: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025
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  17. From Science to Dressing Room: Dietary Supplements for Elite Soccer Performance.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025
    Review
  18. Sodium Bicarbonate Decreases Alcohol Consumption in Mice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Laura E KahleDepartment of Nutrition and Dietetics, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA.
Patrick V Kelly
Kathrin A Eliot
Edward P Weiss
Saint Louis University · US

Funding

Caloric restriction, exercise, and glucoregulation in humansK01DK080886 · NIDDK · SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY · PI WEISS, EDWARD P · 2008 to 2012
$520k
NIDDK NIH HHS K01 DK080886
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Oral ingestion of sodium bicarbonate (bicarbonate loading) has acute ergogenic effects on short-duration, high-intensity exercise. Because sodium bicarbonate is 27% sodium, ergogenic doses (ie, 300 mg∙kg⁻¹) result in sodium intakes well above the Dietary Reference Intakes upper limit of 2300 mg/day. Therefore, it is conceivable that bicarbonate loading could have hypertensive effects. Therefore, we performed a double-blind crossover trial to evaluate the hypothesis that bicarbonate loading increases resting and exercise blood pressure (BP). A secondary hypothesis was that bicarbonate loading causes gastrointestinal distress. Eleven endurance-trained men and women (exercise frequency, 4.6 ± 0.4 sessions/wk; duration, 65 ± 6 min/session) underwent testing on two occasions in random sequence: once after bicarbonate loading (300 mg∙kg⁻¹) and once after placebo ingestion. BP and heart rate were measured before bicarbonate or placebo consumption, 30 minutes after consumption, during 20 min of steady state submaximal cycling exercise, and during recovery. Bicarbonate loading did not affect systolic BP during rest, exercise, or recovery (P = .38 for main treatment effect). However, it resulted in modestly higher diastolic BP (main treatment effect, +3.3 ± 1.1 mmHg, P = .01) and higher heart rate (main treatment effect, +10.1 ± 2.4 beats per minute, P = .002). Global ratings of gastrointestinal distress severity (0-10 scale) were greater after bicarbonate ingestion (5.1 ± 0.5 vs 0.5 ± 0.2, P < .0001). Furthermore, 10 of the 11 subjects (91%) experienced diarrhea, 64% experience bloating and thirst, and 45% experienced nausea after bicarbonate loading. In conclusion, although a single, ergogenic dose of sodium bicarbonate does not appear to have acute, clinically important effects on resting or exercise BP, it does cause substantial gastrointestinal distress.

Indexed as

AdultBicyclingBlood PressureCross-Over StudiesDose-Response Relationship, DrugDouble-Blind MethodExerciseFemaleGastrointestinal DiseasesHeart RateHumansMaleNauseaOxygen ConsumptionPhysical EnduranceRestSodiumSodium Bicarbonate

Identifiers

PMID23746564
PMCPMC3680785
OpenAlexW2049845354

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.