Research summary · Nutrition and supplements
Combining caffeine and bicarbonate: uncertain added benefit
Thirteen crossover trials compared combined caffeine and sodium bicarbonate with placebo or either supplement alone. The review assessed performance, physiological responses, perceived exertion and gastrointestinal symptoms, searching through July 2026.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Systematic review and meta-analysis
- Journal
- Nutrients
- Population / context
- Exercise performance across sports
What the publication reports
Pooled results suggested modest power and time-trial benefits versus placebo, but those findings lost statistical clarity when influential studies were removed. The combination did not clearly improve mean power beyond either supplement alone. Gastrointestinal tolerability remained uncertain.
Limits and interpretation
Few heterogeneous trials, sensitivity to individual studies and assumptions about paired measurements weaken confidence. Changes in blood bicarbonate or lactate do not themselves demonstrate superior performance, and the evidence does not justify assuming that combining supplements is better.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
The Effects of Combined Caffeine and Sodium Bicarbonate Supplementation on Exercise Performance, Physiological Responses, and Gastrointestinal Tolerability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42884622DOI: 10.3390/nu18193171Full text at the sourceReader discussion
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