Re: Does carbonation affects how much oxygen can be carried in the blood?

In blood increased CO2 causes increased H+ ion concentration. This happens as a result of following reaction: H2O + CO2 --> H2CO3 --> H+ & HCO3- But the blood has very efficient buffering capacity for such changes in pH. Now coming to the point, much of CO2 in the beverages (that we take in) makes flatus (gas in Gastro intestinal tract) which is expelled either orally or anally. The amounts that are still able to get absorbed through the intestinal cells into the blood are not able to cause any significant and disastrous changes in blood pH because of 1) effective buffering in the blood and because of 2) weak acidic nature of CO2. Secondly CO2 level when increased in blood causes removal of oxygen from hemoglobin i.e. it decreases the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood slightly and this effect is called Bohr’s effect.