Alka-Saltzer has heat treated sodium bicarbonate. My guess is that the heat treating is from the process of super-saturation. By slowing heating a solution you can get salts dissolve at much higer levels than their normal saturation points.
Point being...each alka-saltzer has almost 2 grams of sodium bicarbonate per one tablet. I think.
With all this talk of absorption of Na and Ca, and how much time you would have to wait, I would just like to add that technically a salt or ionic compound is never actually bonded together when in a solution. They are when they are a salt (NaCl) but as soon as they are put in water they dissociate. Meaning they split apart into their respectable ions. They are kept in proximity by fairly weak ionic bonds. (Ionic = pos/neg). In water, or any solution that will disolve it, the ions are floating freely about in solution. If you drink a liquid a dissolved salt within the ion will be immediatly abosrbed into your body via the intestines, and the OH ions will react with HCL stomach acid. Ask somone with bad indegestion after they have taken a tums how long before they feel better. It's usually pretty quick.
It's not anywhere as long as waiting for carbon based molecules to be broken down, absorbed, then run through first pass metabolism (in the liver) and then into the bloodstream. For example Oxycodone HCL. The oxycodone and hcl sperate into an oxycodone molecule and a HCL ion assuming equal ratios. When combined together it is a salt, ther by making it a solid substance (put in a pill).
I understand that for most of you this is fairly common knowledge, as I am trying to explain it to people who don't understand what's going on when you take an antacid.
All the Na or CA ions have to do is travel down the GI tract, enter the stomach along with their OH counterparts, grab their popcorn and watch the OH-H neutralize each other. Since you are only adding a base, the stomach will be slight more basic, creating a favorable environment for the Amps. IT TAKES A LOT OF OH- or H+ TO CHANGE THE ph by even one ph unit. I think it's a factor of 10 for each full ph. Correct me if I'm wrong but changing from 8.0 to 7.0 would take {H+} X 10(1 or 2). It's power ten of something, using logs and such but I'm getting off track. My point is that it takes quite a few OH ions. Hydrogen bonds, wich make up all the organic compounds of the world, (Carbon....O-Chem)are much stronger require more work to be broken down within the body to make ATP. How they interact with each other is the study of Organic Chemistry. ATP, THE PIMP DADDY OF MOLECULAR ENERGY. Remember the good old aerobic respiration section in bio 101?
Getting back on track; any salt with with Carbonate or Hydroxide on the end will work very close to the same speed, but Ca will neutralize twice as many acid molecules. But if you look usually there twice as much sodium bicarbonate in your average "dose" of baking soda. So they essentially equal out. Somone also said that Ca would be better since most people don't get enough calcium. I couldn't agree more. You want your sodium, go eat some Mcdonalds. You get a weeks worth in one "value" meal.
So pick your poisen...I choose tums since it tastes a little better.
I wouldn't reccomend doing this all the time though. I thought I saw a post about people being constipated on amps. I think constantly decreasing the stomach acid that breaks down the food, could slow down the digestion a bit. I'm not sure though, just an idea. What WOULD happen is a probably some really bad rebound indegestion. Overproducing acid to account for all that is being turned into water. (Neutralized)
P.S To whoever it was that said the the stomach ph doesn't matter. I'm fairly sure that food is broken down in the stomach, then absorbed via the stomach wall into the small intestine. If stomach ph didn't matter then how would that affect the amount of amp absorbed? Neutralizing stomach acid is what "ant-acids" do. Thats why stomach acid is mainly HCL; food has to be completly broken down to the simplest and smalled carbon chains small enough to pass through the stomach wall. You've seen vomit, it looks nothing like the cheeseburger you ate an hour ago. Thats the HCL doing it's job. Maybe you know something I don't, but I am pretty sure you have things a little mixed up.
fizzacyst said:
Baking soda = sodium bicarbonate
You might have a box in your fridge or something. If not, its probably like $0.50-1.00 a box at the grocery store.
