SEATTLE: A new study from researchers describes how baking soda alters how people see by modifying the visual signal generated by rod and cone photoreceptors that detect light.
Researchers found that within rods and cones, a small soluble molecule, cGMP, links photon absorption to the electrical activity of the photoreceptor. In the light, cGMP is destroyed and ion channels are closed. Positively charged sodium ions cease to enter the rod or cone and the membrane potential becomes more negative or hyperpolarized. Bicarbonate directly stimulates an enzyme called guanylate cyclase that synthesizes cGMP…