Carbonates VS Citrates

Controversial debates regarding the superiority of citrates vs. carbonates have recently taken place within the medical community. The following explanation helps clarify and resolve this controversy.

Does citrate have a “deeper effect” than hydrogen carbonate?
Hydrogen carbonate and citrate are transported via the circulatory system. Citrates are first transported to the liver, metabolized to hydrogen carbonate. This decomposed citrate (a hydrogen carbonate precursor) has an indirect and slower affect than its original form. However, this is not the whole story.

Citrates appear in all cells throughout the citric acid cycle. They are created through the build-up of energy during fat, sugar, and amino acid metabolism. Citrates are intermediate products which through further decomposition become carbon dioxide and water. Since citrates in food are metabolized in the liver, they only reach the citric acid cycles of body cells in small amounts; this process requires a normally functioning liver.

                                                           HCO₃^-

Citrate     →    Intestines     →     Liver        →        Blood   →     Tissue
(Food)          ↑    
Decomposing Citrate to Hydrogen Carbonate (HCO₃^-)

The facts are:
Both citrate and hydrogen carbonate are alkalizers. However, citrate is the slower of the two because it needs first to be processed in the liver and by no means has a “deeper effect.”

Does hydrogen carbonate buffer only stomach acid?
The answer is “no” because Hydrogen carbonate HCO₃^- will de-acidify the entire organism. However, the time of ingestion will influence the de-acidification process.

HCO₃^- during meals
Due to the alkalinity of HCO₃^-, the pH of the stomach becomes alkalized (as what naturally occurs during any meal, only stronger). During digestion, stomach acid (mainly H⁺CL^-) is created. The border cells in the stomach walls will form hydrogen carbonate using carbonic acid (H₂CO₃) and protons (H⁺). Carbonic acid can be delivered and built-up in abundance in the blood.

H₂CO₃    →   HCO₃^-   +   H⁺

It is of the utmost importance that H⁺ ions, which are slowly and continuously excreted into the stomach lumen, and HCO₃^- are formed in the same amount. The HCO₃^- ions will slowly and continuously seep into the blood. Hydrogen carbonate is alkaline; causing an alkaline flush after every meal. This guarantees the de-acidification of body tissue.

H⁺                                         HCO₃^-
Stomach lumen     ←    Border Cells     →     Blood     →     Tissue
(Stomach Wall)

Hydrogen carbonate is the body’s own bio-chemical substance that guarantees de-acidification. Citrate does not. The fact is that natural de-acidification occurs through the activity of hydrogen carbonate.

HCO₃^- between meals
On an empty stomach, gastric juices consisting mainly of water, mucous and some electrolytes are available in small amounts. In this state, the terrain is mildly acidic. Most of the hydrogen carbonates in the supplement NEMABASE are unchanged in the intestines. They are therefore absorbed into the blood and directly increase the alkaline reserves.

HCO₃^-     →    Intestines     →     Blood     →     Tissue

When taken as a supplement, NEMABASE provides the body’s “own material” required for tissue de-acidification. NEMABASE will de-acidify tissue when taken during or between meals. However, the effects are stronger and realized faster when taken between meals. When the intracellular pH shifts to the acidic side, cellular metabolism slows down; creating less energy. Hydrogen carbonate will be transported into the cells, and therefore can also be called an intracellular de-acidifier.

The statement that the effect of hydrogen carbonates instantly dissipates and will be excreted via the kidneys is incorrect.  It is first transported via the blood into tissue, where it buffers acids. What remains is filtered and excreted by the kidneys. This chain of events always follows the same course, regardless as to whether the alkaline flush takes place by hydrogen carbonate, citrate, or food.

 

Literature:
Zander R., Physiologie und Klinik des extrazellularen Bikarbonat-Pools; Pladoyer fur einen bewusten Umgang mit HCO₃^-, Infusionther Transfusionsmed 1993; 20:217-235 Schmidt, Thews, Physiologie des Menschen, Springer-Verlag Berlin , 27.Auflage 1997

 

By: Dr. Andreas Marx