Nutricost Potassium Bicarbonate Powder 2 LB - Gluten Free, Non-GMO

I've been a fan of Nutra cost products for quite some time. The recommended serving size spoon for this product is very tiny, which tells me that it's pretty strong! A lot of people out there will take some sort of electrolyte blend that's usually loaded with sugar. But I like to do is go right to the source, and avoid the sugar altogether. That's why I like this product. It's just potassium bicarbonate, and nothing else. The way I take it is mid-morning, we're about a couple hours before doing any kind of physical activity. If I know I'm going to go to the gym, I'll take one serving. In my specific situation, it helps to prevent muscle cramps while working out, riding a bicycle, being active, you get the idea. As a warning, do not take more than the recommended dose. Even though it looks tiny, it packs a punch. I have heard stories of people taking twice the dose, and then having heart palpitations, and disruptions in the signal from the systolic and diastolic, eurythmia, abnormal heartbeat after. So you may want to check with your doctor before using this product. With that being said, I do not use this product everyday "just because." I only take it when I know I'm going to engage in strenuous physical activity where my electrolytes are going to be depleted. Usually I will mix it up with some water, or put it into some form of juice. Be prepared for a volcano eruption though, since it does tend to make acidic things foam. It's an acquired taste if you drink it straight with water. But the taste is horrendous if you do it that way.

Booger water is how I would describe the taste. 2 scoops in maybe 4 ounces of water, morning and evening has helped consistently keep my blood pressure down. Taste doesn't linger, you get used to it pretty quick, definitely worth it for the benefits.

Great Quality and Works Well! This potassium bicarbonate powder is super pure and dissolves easily in water. I use it for muscle cramps and as a low-sodium baking substitute—it works perfectly. The included scoop makes measuring easy, and I love that it's gluten-free and non-GMO. Great value for the price! This potassium bicarbonate powder is super pure and dissolves easily in water. I use it for muscle cramps and as a low-sodium baking substitute—it works perfectly. The included scoop makes measuring easy, and I love that it's gluten-free and non-GMO. Great value for the price!

I don't think this is likely a necessary supplement for everyone, but for me it has been really helpful. My muscles cramp pretty easily. Calf cramp, quad cramp, random charlie horses around my body, whatever. To be clear, I am not talking about cramps that occur from fatigue during intense activity. Actually, I rarely get those. I mean casual things like rolling over in bed, and suddenly my hamstring will lock itself down. For reference, I am 6 ft tall, 165 lb, in my mid-thirties, and am very active and fit (<15% body fat). I maintain a structured diet, take a daily multivitamin, and do not show any deficiencies of any sort in my blood work. So the weird random cramping is either genetic or due to some factor that is very difficult to pin down. Potassium supplementation has helped. Noticeably helped. If I consistently take this stuff everyday, my cramping is much diminished. Everybody is different and your mileage may vary, but for me it has been great.

This product is the potassium version of baking soda. You can substitute this for regular baking soda, and save yourself the sodium. You can use it to make sodium-free baking powder by mixing it with cream of tartar, 1 tsp cream of tartar per 1/2 tsp potassium bicarb. Some say that you need to use double the potassium bicarb in recipes as sodium bicarb. But this has not been my experience. Making your own sodium-free baking powder is possible by mixing 1 part of potassium bicarb with 2 parts of cream of tartar. This will be a single-acting baking powder that will not have additional rise when baked/heated. Some experimentation may be needed to get the proportions of soda to tartar right. Potassium bicarbonate is 39% potassium by weight. A quarter teaspoon of potassium bicarbonate weighs approx. 2250 mg (2.25g). That means 1/4 tsp potassium bicarb has 878 mg potassium (2250*0.39). A mEq of potassium is 39 mg potassium. This means a quarter tsp potassium bicarb contains 22.5 mEq potassium (878/39). This will taste somewhat like sweat if mixed with at least 8 oz water. Keep the product dry and sealed tightly to prevent clumping. It clumps more than sodium bicarb in my experience. If using it for baking you'll want to replace it every year or so.

GOOD

Nutricost is a great. I make my own electrolyte powder & this is a must have. I also add magnesium glycinate & potassium chloride. Mary’s Nest on YouTube has a DIY sports drink recipe. Hers doesn’t call for bicarbonate but this a safe dose to add to my glass. Be careful of the desiccant pack. I recommend tossing it out immediately. I thought it was a bad batch & it was the dang pack broken.

This stuff is so nasty I cannot take it. I tried mixing it with every beverage and even with applesauce. It bubbled up in the applesauce like gross lava and made a huge mess... and was still so nasty I almost vomited when I tried to get a tiny bit of it down. It's so caustic, it feels like it is damaging my tongue. It's like lye. The pH on it has to be unsafe for consumption. I had my family try tiny, tiny bits of it and everyone was completely revolted. What a waste!