Sodium Bicarbonate cannot be banned from any sporting event, because there is no way to differentiate between extrinsic bicarbonate and bicarbonate created by the kidneys. Doing a CO2 table for 60 minutes will result in a blood bicarbonate level far higher than you could ever get by ingesting NaHCO3, so how could you possibly detect it? Besides, 'banning' bicarbonate would be telling people that they cannot eat foods which contain bicarbonate precursors such as citrus fruits!! Suddenly orange juice is now banned as well!!
The IOC has no rules on electrolytes; the IOC does not ban substances which help, they ban substances which are harmful. Ginseng has been shown to increase performance, but the IOC does not ban it because it is not harmful. You are allowed to ingest anything that helps, so long as it is not harmful.
I would like to know which organization 'bans' NaHCO3, and how do they test for it. How can they differentiate between native bicarbonate and extrinsic bicarbonate?
Eric Fattah
BC, Canada
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