AN ALKALIZING NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT THAT POSITIVELY INFLUENCES MEASURES OF AEROBIC PERFORMANCE

D.P. Heil, FACSM, E.C. Fritz, J.S. Hilpert, R.J. Miller, W.R. Robinson, W. Zhu. Montana State University, Bozeman, MT The ingestion of an alkalized diet, alkalizing agents (e.g. sodium bicarbonate), or alkalizing nutrition supplements (ANS), are known to positively influence measures of anaerobicperformance, but their influence on markers of submaximal or maximal aerobicperformance are not well documented. PURPOSE: Therefore, this study sought to test whether ingestion of an ANS could positively influence measures of submaximal and maximal aerobic performance. METHODS: Recreationally-active college-aged men (16) and women (12) performed two discontinuous incrementally-graded treadmill exercise tests to volitional exhaustion using a double-blind, placebo controlled, crossover design. After a 7-day loading phase of either placebo or an ANS tablets, each subject performed a treadmill test that included standardized moderate (MI) and high intensity (HI) submaximal stages with measures of steady-state heart rate (HR), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), blood lactate (BL), and rating of perceived exertion (RPE). The submaximal test at HI was then continued to volitional exhaustion with successive 1-min stages to measure maximal HR (HRMAX) and RER (RERMAX), maximal oxygen consumption (VO2MAX), and time-to-exhaustion (TTE). Blood pH, bicarbonate, and base excess were also determined for the same testing time points. Two-factor RM ANOVA were used to detect differences by condition (ANS versus placebo) and time point of the measurement with post-hoc planned contrasts (α=0.05). RESULTS: Measures of HR, BL, and RPE were all significantly lower (P=0.02-0.001) for the ANS condition. Further, RERMAX(+0.06), BLMAX(+1.1 mmol/dl), VO2MAX(+1.44 ml/kg/min), and TTE (+0.6 mins) were all significantly higher (P=0.02-0.002) for the ANS tablet condition. Lastly, blood pH was higher at rest and post-exercise while bicarbonate was non-significantly higher at all measures for the ANS tablet condition. CONCLUSION: The 7-day ingestion of these ANS tablets had small-moderate positive ergogenic effects (i.e., effects sizes) on outcomes for both submaximal and maximal treadmill exercise, as well as significantly higher blood pH values. This study supports the premise that consumption of ANS tablets can influence markers of both aerobic and anaerobic performance. Support was provided by pH Sciences Holdings, Inc. (Lynwood, WA)