I'm wondering if any of you have developed any electrolyte solutions to create alkalinity in the blood and try to fight the very acidifying affects of CFS. For me, after exercise, I get a terrible acid accumulation in the muscles that my body just cannot process normally. It results in muscle weakness on day one, followed by a more metabolic acidosis on day two that leaves me very fatigued and breathing hard to expel the acid through respiration.
I have had a lot of luck with taking sodium bicarbonate to clear the acid from my muscles. I definitely improve my breathing and feel better after a half-teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate, and that suggests that there is a pH problem going on here.
The main problem here is that this delivers a large sodium dose to the body, which I don't think is very healthy if you have to take the bicarbonate throughout the day. I have tried to find an alternative but so far am having mixed success. I tried potassium bicarbonate, but for whatever reason it appears to burn my stomach. I tried potassium citrate, which I tolerate very well, but that doesn't seem to alkalize as effectively. Maybe we have someone whose biochemistry knowledge is better than mine who can explain this result and suggest alternatives?
I read on several sites that sodium bicarbonate cannot survive being neutralized by stomach acid. If you make the mistake of using it together with food, I understand this point, since the stomach would close off entrance to the intestine and flood the stomach with acid. But - for whatever reason - when I drink the bicarbonate one hour before any meal, some of it seems to get by acid and increases alkalinity of the blood. Maybe someone can explain that is happening as well.
I have had a lot of luck with taking sodium bicarbonate to clear the acid from my muscles. I definitely improve my breathing and feel better after a half-teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate, and that suggests that there is a pH problem going on here.
The main problem here is that this delivers a large sodium dose to the body, which I don't think is very healthy if you have to take the bicarbonate throughout the day. I have tried to find an alternative but so far am having mixed success. I tried potassium bicarbonate, but for whatever reason it appears to burn my stomach. I tried potassium citrate, which I tolerate very well, but that doesn't seem to alkalize as effectively. Maybe we have someone whose biochemistry knowledge is better than mine who can explain this result and suggest alternatives?
I read on several sites that sodium bicarbonate cannot survive being neutralized by stomach acid. If you make the mistake of using it together with food, I understand this point, since the stomach would close off entrance to the intestine and flood the stomach with acid. But - for whatever reason - when I drink the bicarbonate one hour before any meal, some of it seems to get by acid and increases alkalinity of the blood. Maybe someone can explain that is happening as well.