Sodium bicarbonate for digestion

miquelangeles

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Joined
Mar 18, 2021
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928
Taking 1 - 1.5 grams of sodium bicarbonate 20-30 minutes before meals (that is 2 or 3 times per day) has improved my digestion dramatically. Not just digestion but I will discuss only the digestive improvements in this thread.
There are already many threads on this forum about bicarbonate and much of this has already been discussed before.
I understand that dosing is very individual and this is what I found works best for me. Anything more than that taken in a single dose makes me feel off.
It has completely resolved bloating and fullness after meals, gave me two solid bowel movements per day and eliminated reactions to some trigger foods (I can eat servings of acidic or fermented foods, yogurt etc without affecting my mood or getting a runny nose or histamine reaction whatever you may call it).

All of the possible mechanisms have already been discussed in various threads here, but this is what I speculate explains my current experience digestion-wise:

- taking advantage of the rebound effect of acid secretion after bicarbonate administration; Ray also mentioned several times that sodium bicarbonate only stops acid for a short time the secretion quickly returning to normal; also the study from a few years ago on the anti-inflammatory effects of sodium bicarbonate mediated by the spleen also identified the acid secretion as being the key trigger of this process; when they administered PPIs concomitant with baking soda the anti-inflammatory effect was abolished; the circadian timing in my GI tract might be dysregulated and stimulating acid production before meals in this way probably sets the right cascade of signalling for proper digestion

- studies show that 95% of pancreatic juice bicarbonate is derived from plasma bicarbonate; metabolic CO2 is not the source of juice bicarbonate; the pancreas secretes 2-3 L per day of bicarbonate rich juice which is important for buffering of acid chyme entering duodenum and for activation of enzymes; pancreatic bicarbonate is critical to neutralizing the acid coming into the small intestine from the stomach; the small intestine is not specialized to withstand the strong acids from the stomach; the digestive enzymes secreted by the pancreas are active at a basic pH;

So I think one key factor is to take the sodium bicarbonate 20-30 minutes before meals to take advantage of the rebound acid secretion. I hope this helps someone.
 
OP
miquelangeles

miquelangeles

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Mar 18, 2021
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928
@miquelangeles would you mind mentioning the other effects you got from bicarb?

Increased sense of wellbeing, markedly reduced anxiety, improved breathing.
Also increased urinary comfort and, perhaps most interestingly, significant increase in ejaculation latency. People with premature ejaculation might benefit from raising their urine pH to neutral or slightly alkaline. I haven't seen this discussed anywhere else, there's probably just one or two mentions of this on the whole internet.
 

Dawid

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Oct 15, 2019
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Przyjmowanie 1-1,5 grama wodorowęglanu sodu 20-30 minut przed posiłkiem (czyli 2 lub 3 razy dziennie) radykalnie poprawiło moje trawienie. Nie tylko trawienie, ale omówię tylko poprawę trawienia w tym wątku.
Na tym forum jest już wiele wątków na temat wodorowęglanów i wiele z nich zostało już wcześniej omówionych.
Rozumiem, że dawkowanie jest bardzo indywidualne i to, co uważam za najlepsze dla mnie. Cokolwiek więcej niż zażywane w pojedynczej dawce sprawia, że czuję się nieswojo.
Całkowicie ustąpił wzdęcia i uczucie pełności po posiłkach, dał mi dwa solidne wypróżnienia dziennie i wyeliminował reakcje na niektóre pokarmy wyzwalające (mogę jeść porcje kwaśnej lub sfermentowanej żywności, jogurtu itp. bez wpływu na mój nastrój, katar lub reakcję histaminy jakkolwiek to nazwiesz).

Wszystkie możliwe mechanizmy zostały już tutaj omówione w różnych wątkach, ale spekuluję, że moje obecne doświadczenie w zakresie trawienia wyjaśnia:

- wykorzystanie efektu odbicia wydzielania kwasu po podaniu wodorowęglanu; Ray wspomniał również kilkakrotnie, że wodorowęglan sodu tylko na krótki czas zatrzymuje wydzielanie kwasu i szybko powraca do normy; również badanie sprzed kilku lat dotyczące przeciwzapalnego działania wodorowęglanu sodu za pośrednictwem śledziony również wykazało wydzielanie kwasu jako kluczowy wyzwalacz tego procesu; kiedy podawali PPI wraz z sodą oczyszczoną, działanie przeciwzapalne zostało zniesione; rytm dobowy w moim przewodzie pokarmowym może być rozregulowany i stymulować produkcję kwasu przed posiłkami, w ten sposób prawdopodobnie ustawia właściwą kaskadę sygnalizacji dla prawidłowego trawienia

- badania pokazują, że 95% wodorowęglanów soku trzustkowego pochodzi z wodorowęglanów osocza; metaboliczny CO2 nie jest źródłem wodorowęglanu soku; trzustka wydziela dziennie 2-3 l soku bogatego w wodorowęglany, co jest ważne dla buforowania kwaśnej treści pokarmowej wchodzącej do dwunastnicy i aktywacji enzymów; wodorowęglan trzustki ma kluczowe znaczenie dla neutralizacji kwasu przedostającego się do jelita cienkiego z żołądka; jelito cienkie nie jest przystosowane do wytrzymania silnych kwasów z żołądka; enzymy trawienne wydzielane przez trzustkę są aktywne w zasadowym pH;

Myślę więc, że jednym z kluczowych czynników jest przyjmowanie wodorowęglanu sodu 20-30 minut przed posiłkiem, aby skorzystać z odbicia wydzielania kwasu. Mam nadzieję, że to komuś pomoże.
Do you mix it with water or take in some other form?
 

WonMore

Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2021
Messages
72
Taking 1 - 1.5 grams of sodium bicarbonate 20-30 minutes before meals (that is 2 or 3 times per day) has improved my digestion dramatically. Not just digestion but I will discuss only the digestive improvements in this thread.
There are already many threads on this forum about bicarbonate and much of this has already been discussed before.
I understand that dosing is very individual and this is what I found works best for me. Anything more than that taken in a single dose makes me feel off.
It has completely resolved bloating and fullness after meals, gave me two solid bowel movements per day and eliminated reactions to some trigger foods (I can eat servings of acidic or fermented foods, yogurt etc without affecting my mood or getting a runny nose or histamine reaction whatever you may call it).

All of the possible mechanisms have already been discussed in various threads here, but this is what I speculate explains my current experience digestion-wise:

- taking advantage of the rebound effect of acid secretion after bicarbonate administration; Ray also mentioned several times that sodium bicarbonate only stops acid for a short time the secretion quickly returning to normal; also the study from a few years ago on the anti-inflammatory effects of sodium bicarbonate mediated by the spleen also identified the acid secretion as being the key trigger of this process; when they administered PPIs concomitant with baking soda the anti-inflammatory effect was abolished; the circadian timing in my GI tract might be dysregulated and stimulating acid production before meals in this way probably sets the right cascade of signalling for proper digestion

- studies show that 95% of pancreatic juice bicarbonate is derived from plasma bicarbonate; metabolic CO2 is not the source of juice bicarbonate; the pancreas secretes 2-3 L per day of bicarbonate rich juice which is important for buffering of acid chyme entering duodenum and for activation of enzymes; pancreatic bicarbonate is critical to neutralizing the acid coming into the small intestine from the stomach; the small intestine is not specialized to withstand the strong acids from the stomach; the digestive enzymes secreted by the pancreas are active at a basic pH;

So I think one key factor is to take the sodium bicarbonate 20-30 minutes before meals to take advantage of the rebound acid secretion. I hope this helps someone.
Same question: do you dissolve it in water and if so, how much? The concentration is important
 

Dutchie

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Joined
Nov 21, 2012
Messages
1,413
Interesting, I've always been wary of taking sodium bicarbonate before food as it's said to lower stomach acid. (which in turn would lead to bad digestion).
That's why I always take some at night, before I go to bed.
 

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