Special Alkaline Drink Boosts Exercise Performance in Athletes
- Authors
- Sergej M. Ostojic, Marko D. Stojanovic, Julio Calleja-Gonzalez, Milos D. Obrenovic, Dragoljub Veljovic, Bojan Medjedovic, Kristina Kanostrevac, Mirjana Stojanovic, Boris Vukomanovic
- Journal
- Serbian Journal of Sports Sciences
- Year
- 2011
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Serbia
- Health Condition
- Exercise Fatigue
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Drinking a special alkaline water (NORP) for a week helped athletes exercise longer with less muscle fatigue and no side effects.
Key Finding
After 7 days of drinking an alkaline negative oxidative reduction potential beverage, physically active participants showed lower blood lactate accumulation and reduced heart rate at peak exercise intensity compared to placebo.
Summary
In this small study, 11 physically active people drank either a special alkaline drink or a placebo drink for one week, then switched to the other drink in a second week. Researchers measured how their bodies performed during treadmill exercise. The alkaline drink appeared to lower blood lactate levels (a substance that builds up during hard exercise) and reduce heart rate at a specific exercise intensity, while increasing a blood buffer that may help delay fatigue. No serious side effects were reported.
Practical Takeaway
This small study (11 people) suggests alkaline water may support exercise performance, but the findings are preliminary and limited by the tiny sample size. Before considering this drink for athletic purposes, larger and longer studies would be needed to confirm whether these effects are real and how they compare to other recovery strategies. The study does not establish whether hydrogen water specifically—rather than other components—produced these results.
Abstract
In the current study we tested the hypothesis that an acute (7 days) intake of an alkaline negative oxidative reduction potential formulation (NORP) drink would reduce the rate of blood lactate accumulation during and after exercise, increase time to exhaustion, increase serum buffering capacity and not increase prevalence of adverse effects as compared to the control drink. Eleven participants (9 men and 2 women) met the criteria to take part in the study. Participants were randomized in a double-blind, cross-over design to receive the control and the NORP drinks within two single-week periods to study the efficacy of the NORP drink (at a dose of 1 L per day by oral administration). The NORP drink was supplied in bottles containing 2 g NORP, 6 g sucrose, 1-2 mg sodium per dose. The control drink was identically supplied and formulated except that it contained no NORP. Exercise testing was performed using a treadmill based ramp protocol. Blood glucose or total antioxidant capacity were not affected by supplementation (p > 0.05) while serum bicarbonates were significantly higher after the NORP trial (p < 0.05). Critical HR at the velocity of 8.1 mph during the test was significantly lower in NORP as compared to the control drink trial (p < 0.05). Blood lactate sampled at velocity 8.1 mph during the test was significantly lower in the NORP group (p < 0.05). No athletes reported any vexatious side effects of supplementation. It seems that NORP supplementation could have a beneficial effect on human performance during maximal exercise.