Daily supplementation with sodium bicarbonate decelerates the progression rate of renal failure to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and improves nutritional status among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), suggested a randomized, open-label study published online in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. In all, 134 adult patients with CKD (creatinine clearance (CrCl) 15-30 mL/minute/1.73 m²) and serum bicarbonate levels 16-20 μmol/L. All patients were randomly assigned to receive either 600 mg oral sodium bicarbonate tablets at 1.82 ± 0.08 g/day (n = 67) or standard treatment (n = 67) during a 2-year period. At the end of the study, the rate of decline in CrCl was significantly slower for those treated with the bicarbonate supplementation compared with the control group (5.93 vs. 1.88 mL/minute/1.73 m²).