Perhaps it is the sodium part that creates unease. Of course you can use potassium bicarbonate (difficult to find, use a 1/2 the dose of sodium bicarb - upset my stomach) perhaps the best is magnesium bicarbonate - this is very difficult to find but tried making it using magnesium carbonate dropped in soda water.
I know quite a few people who used sodium bicarbonate without issues (some took potassium to counteract the sodium) - brother used it for gout which resolved pretty quickly. Ted of EarthClinic has excellent information http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/alkalizing_formulas.html