The effect of buffering high acid load meal with sodium bicarbonate on postprandial glucose metabolism in humans—A randomized placebo-controlled study

Background: High dietary acid load relates to increased risk of type 2 diabetes in epidemiological studies. We aimed to investigate whether buffering a high acid load meal with an alkalizing treatment changes glucose metabolism post meal. Methods: Non-diabetic participants (n = 32) were randomized to receive either 1680 mg NaHCO3 or placebo, followed by a high acid load meal in a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover (1–4 weeks apart) study. Thirty (20 men) participants completed the study. Venous blood pH, serum bicarbonate, blood glucose, serum insulin, C-peptide, non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), and plasma glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) concentrations were measured at baseline (fasting) and at 15–30 min intervals for 3 h post meal. Results: The treatment was well tolerated. Venous blood pH declined in the first 15 min post meal with the placebo (p = 0.001), but not with NaHCO3 (p = 0.86) and remained decreased with the placebo for 3 h (pinteraction = 0.04). On average over the 3 h blood pH iAUC was greater with NaHCO3 compared with placebo (p = 0.02). However, postprandial glucose, insulin, C-peptide, NEFA and GLP-1 were not different between treatments (pinteraction ≥ 0.07). Conclusions: An alkalizing medication administered pre-meal has no acute effect on glycaemia and insulin response in healthy individuals. Long-term interventions in at-risk populations are necessary to investigate the effect of sustained alkalization on glucose metabolism.