[Marika (OP)]

Pade wants to know:

Will sodium bicarbonate destroy the health benefits of vitamin c in lemon juice?

What do you think?

[chiralSPO]

By itself, no.

Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid), is deprotonated by sodium bicarbonate, producing sodium ions, ascorbate ions, water, and carbon dioxide. In your blood and cells, the pH is sufficiently high that vitamin C exists predominantly as ascorbate anyway, so mere deprotonation is not sufficient to deactivate it.

However, ascorbate is more easily oxidized than is ascorbic acid. Prolonged exposure to air will destroy ascorbic acid (especially in the presence of heat and/or light). Ascorbate will decompose much more quickly.

[thinkaroo]

Interesting question and reply. Why would one want to combine bicarbonate and lemon juice, anyway?

[Bored chemist]

Interesting question and reply. Why would one want to combine bicarbonate and lemon juice, anyway?

To make a fizzy dink?