GLOSSARY

Blood pH is a logarithmic measure related to blood hydrogen-ion activity, interpreted with specimen type and respiratory or renal compensation.

For example, interpret a post-race electrolytes result with sampling time, drinking and recent illness; one value alone is not a supplement prescription.

Higher pH indicates lower hydrogen-ion activity and lower pH the reverse; the scale is not simply linear. Changes may be respiratory, metabolic or mixed, with compensation separating the underlying process from final pH. Intense exercise changes muscle and blood conditions, but a food's sour taste does not directly establish blood acidification. Interpret the specimen type and timing alongside the physiological or clinical question.

Buffers limit rapid hydrogen-ion changes; lungs regulate carbon dioxide removal and kidneys adjust acid excretion and bicarbonate. Acid-base balance does not mean making blood ever more alkaline. A urine-pH change after eating does not establish an equal blood change. An alkaline drink is not a simple means of deliberately resetting healthy athletes' blood pH, which is maintained within a physiological range.

Bicarbonate is in reversible balance with carbonic acid and carbon dioxide and is a major extracellular buffer. Lung removal and renal regulation make this an open regulated system. Bicarbonate alone does not define every disorder; blood gases and clinical context may be needed. Sports bicarbonate protocols are a separate activity-specific topic with gastrointestinal limitations, not a daily prescription for all athletes or a general nutritional mineral target.