My favorite performance supplement costs less than three dollars per kilogram, has been used medicinally for over a century, requires no prescription, and has a growing body of research behind it that reaches well beyond athletic performance into cancer biology. It's sodium bicarbonate — baking soda. And the reason most people don't know about it as a serious tool is that you can't patent it and you can't charge premium prices for it. I use Bob's Red Mill. I take it daily. Here's the full breakdown.
Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) is a naturally occurring alkaline compound that the body already produces to regulate blood pH. External supplementation amplifies the body's existing buffering capacity — with downstream effects on exercise performance, gut environment, and — based on emerging research — tumour biology.
This post covers three areas: the performance science (acid buffering and grappling output), the gut health application, and the cancer research that makes sodium bicarbonate one of the most interesting compounds in current oncology and longevity research.
The Performance Mechanism: Acid Buffering
During high-intensity exercise, hydrogen ions accumulate in muscle tissue faster than the body can clear them. This acidosis — not lactic acid itself — is what causes the burning sensation and the performance drop in the later rounds. Sodium bicarbonate raises the blood's buffering capacity, allowing more hydrogen ions to be neutralised before the threshold is reached.
- Dose: 0.2–0.3g per kg bodyweight
- Timing: 60–90 minutes before training
- Method: dissolved in 500ml water — consuming too quickly causes GI discomfort
- Ramp: start at 0.2g/kg and assess GI tolerance before increasing
- Brand: Bob's Red Mill baking soda — food-grade, no aluminium, clean sourcing, the only brand I use
Orally consumed sodium bicarbonate raises blood bicarbonate concentration, increasing the extracellular buffering capacity. As intramuscular pH drops during intense work, the higher bicarbonate gradient accelerates the efflux of hydrogen ions from muscle to blood — delaying intramuscular acidosis and extending high-intensity work capacity.
A 2021 meta-analysis of 35+ randomised controlled trials found that sodium bicarbonate loading improves high-intensity exercise performance by an average of 1.7–3%. For a combat athlete whose match is decided in the final minutes, this is a meaningful margin. The effect is most pronounced in repeated bouts of high-intensity effort — exactly the structure of BJJ rolling.
Carr AJ et al. (2011) — Effect of Sodium Bicarbonate on [HCO3−], pH, and Gastrointestinal Symptoms. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.
Gut Health: Alkalising the Internal Environment
Sodium bicarbonate raises intragastric pH — creating an alkaline environment less hospitable to certain pathogenic bacteria that thrive in acidic conditions. It has been used therapeutically for acid reflux, gastric ulcers, and gut irritation for over a hundred years — long before omeprazole and proton pump inhibitors existed.
The relationship between gut pH, bacterial environment, and overall microbiome health is complex — but the evidence that an alkalised gut environment supports beneficial bacterial species while suppressing certain pathogens is consistent. For athletes eating high-protein diets that tend toward acidic metabolic byproducts, a daily small dose of bicarb may provide meaningful gut environment support.
The Cancer Research: Tumour Acidity and Bicarbonate
Cancer cells exploit the Warburg effect — generating energy through anaerobic glycolysis even in the presence of oxygen, producing lactic acid as a byproduct. This creates a distinctly acidic tumour microenvironment that promotes growth, suppresses immune detection, and facilitates metastasis.
The acidic microenvironment surrounding tumours impairs T-cell function — reducing the immune system's ability to recognise and destroy cancer cells. Neutralising this acidity has been a target of cancer research for decades.
Research from the University of Arizona, led by Dr. Robert Gillies and colleagues, found that oral sodium bicarbonate reduced tumour acidity in mouse models, slowed metastasis, and enhanced the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy. The mechanism: bicarbonate neutralises the acidic tumour microenvironment, improving immune access to tumour tissue.
Human clinical trials are in progress. The research is preliminary in humans — but mechanistically coherent, safe at the doses studied, and inexpensive. This is not a claim that baking soda cures cancer. It is a statement that the underlying science is serious, the side effects at moderate doses are minimal, and the cost-benefit ratio for daily low-dose consumption is highly favourable.
Gillies RJ et al. (2012) — Bicarbonate Increases Tumor pH and Inhibits Spontaneous Metastases. Cancer Research.
Peart G et al. (2021) — Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate on High-Intensity Exercise Performance. Nutrients.
You cannot patent baking soda. That's why you've never seen it marketed as a performance tool. The research doesn't care about the patent.
— Josh Button · @thatjiujiteiroThe Bottom Line
This didn't come from a textbook or a coach handing me a protocol. It came from years of training hard, getting injured, burning out, and rebuilding — smarter every time. Everything in this post is something I do, have done, or have researched deeply enough to stake my performance on.
Start with one thing. Implement it fully. Then add the next. The compounding effect of doing the basics with precision beats any biohack or supplement stack.
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