Over the last couple of years devices that generate hydrogen water have given people an easy way to up their daily quotient of extra H2 (hydrogen), which seems to promote better health in a variety of ways.
Read about hydrogen and some of its many benefits below and you may just want to add it to your daily routine as well!
“Over 500 peer-reviewed articles demonstrate hydrogen to have therapeutic potential in essentially every organ of the human body and in 150 different human diseases.” – Molecular Hydrogen Foundation
Molecular hydrogen (H2) is a tasteless and odorless gas and has demonstrated various biological and therapeutic effects on many diseases, from acute illnesses, including ischemia–reperfusion injury, to chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, neurodegenerative, and metabolic diseases.
H2 is non-toxic even when used at high concentrations and rapidly crosses different tissue barriers, including blood–brain barriers, and penetrates various organelles4,5,6. H2 interferes with reactive oxygen species (ROS) in living systems, a characteristic that supports its well-established antioxidant functions that lead to its frequent use to treat diseases associated with oxidative stress3,7,8.
Molecular hydrogen is applied in therapeutics through various delivery routes, including hydrogen inhalation (HI), oral administration of hydrogen-rich water (HRW) or hydrogen tablets, and hydrogen-saturated saline injections. The concentration of H2 in tissues after exogenous supply depends on the type of organ4 and the H2 delivery route9. The liver is the organ that accumulates more exogenous H24,9, which appears to significantly affect its homeostasis10. H2 protected the liver against various acute and chronic injuries in animal models by suppressing excessive oxidative stress, inflammation, and cell death11,12. In addition to the liver, preventive and therapeutic effects were obtained for H2 in various animal experiments of disease models2,3 and clinical trials in humans13,14,15. The preventive aspect of H2 in disease models, its antioxidant effects7,8, its function in aging13,16, among many others17,18,19, are paving the way for the use of H2 in healthy people to improve body performance or as a preventive therapeutic strategy.
In a recent clinical trial that was evaluated in a cohort of young and healthy people, the effects of inhaling 4% H2 20 min per day for 7 days on exercise performance revealed ergogenic properties such as improved running performance and torso strength20. Although Sim M. and colleagues had reported the beneficial effect of H2 inhalation on the increase of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory response in healthy adults21, other groups found that H2 only reduced delayed-onset muscle soreness after running downhill22 or improved muscle function during exercise without any effect on blood oxidative markers23. These data suggest that still little is known about H2 performance under healthy conditions and therefore requires further research. As part of an effort to provide more data to help better understand the therapeutic functions attributed to the biological activities of H2 in health conditions, our laboratory has initiated a study that evaluated the effect of long-term (6 months) hydrogen intervention on the physiological function of healthy rats24. The study found that H2 induces a time-dependent alteration of different biochemical parameters, among which liver injury markers such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and total bile acid (TBA) were significantly reduced in the serum of H2-treated rats24, suggesting that liver physiology and functions could be positively affected by prolonged exposure to H2. In the present study, we used transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches coupled with biochemistry and micro-CT techniques to access the global effects of long-term H2 treatment on the liver and its relationship with body conditions.
MORE interesting and exciting information about the benefits of extra hydrogen….
By 2019 more than 1000 studies had been carried out on humans and animals in regard to the effects of hydrogen, and by 2021 over successful clinical tests on 170 diseases had been conducted. AND supposedly 40% of Japan’s population uses it on a daily basis!
*INHALED HYDROGEN
Inhaled hydrogen gas (H2) has been shown to have significant protective effects on ischemic organs. Clinical trials abroad have shown promise that treatment of patients suffering from stroke, cardiac arrest, or heart attacks may benefit from inhaling hydrogen gas during the early recovery period.
Source: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04046211
PERSONAL NOTE: I read somewhere where doing 30 minutes of inhaled hydrogen is as good as drinking 15L of hydrogen water. If so, then it would be great to do even 10 minutes and feel like you’ve gotten what you normally get by making a number of batches of H2 water to drink!
*RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
In one pilot study, 20 patients with rheumatoid arthritis drank 0.5 L/day of hydrogen water for 4 weeks. By the end of the study, all patients with early rheumatoid arthritis achieved remission and 20% became symptom-free.
National Library of Medicine – Published Study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23031079/
*GUM HEALTH
Drinking hydrogen water 4-5 times daily improved gum health in 13 patients with inflamed gums after 8 weeks. It also seemed to increase blood antioxidants and the effects of non-surgical treatment. No conflicts of interest were declared. However, this study was small and its findings have not been replicated yet.
But it seems like extremely positive news for hydrogen water benefits!
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4665424
*LIPIDS & GLUCOSE METABOLISM
Supplementation of hydrogen-rich water improves lipid and glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. For more information, check out the following link:
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19083400/
A more comprehensive list of possible H2 benefits includes:
*Improve athletic performance
*Reduce disease risk
*Promote cardiovascular health
*Improve cognitive function
*Anti-inflammatory properties
*Reduce side effects from radiation therapy
*Reduce stress and anxiety
*Slow down visible signs of aging
*Boost natural ATP energy levels
*Improve post-workout muscle recovery
*Reduce muscle fatigue
And here’s some info about the H2 device I recently started using….
As you can see from this post and the upcoming Part II, there are a number of ways to take in extra hydrogen and numerous positive effects on our health! And there are a number of companies offering various types of hydrogen generators these days, but that wasn’t the case several years ago when I bought my first device.
Recently I switched to the Ion Bottle Pro 3000 because it offered several features my old device didn’t have, including a nasal cannula inhaler attachment, a self-cleaning option, carry handle and lighter weight (for easier portability), and not only a 3 min. cycle, but also a 10 min. one for making super concentrated hydrogen water.
The Ion Bottles’ hydrogen generator ionizers are designed to produce pure molecular hydrogen, as well as help your water maintain premium neutral pH levels. They do this with the help of electrolysis and the Proton Exchange Membrane inside. There are two plates separated by this membrane; the bottom plate does not come into contact with the water, and pressure inside the membrane pushes oxygen O2 downward while allowing the light H2 gas to flow upwards. The bottles produce a negative ORP level down to negative -500 mV. Actually I’m not sure what that last part means, but I think it’s supposed to be a good thing. HA!
Ion offers several different devices, including the original 1600 model, which can produce up to 1600/1.6 ppb, while the Pro 3000 can produce up to 3000 ppb with its 10 minute cycle. Also, the Pro 3000 uses a new advanced membrane, it has a longer 1800 mAh battery, as well as the cannula attachment in the lid for inhalation therapy. The Pro model has a great built-in down vent that expels the oxygen and ozone, and if chlorine or other oxides are present in your water, it is designed to filter those, too, leaving your water with 99.9% hydrogen up to 3.0 PPM, along with the H2O present.
FYI, since hydrogen is the lightest molecule on earth, it will evaporate quickly. There’s many factors that influence evaporation rate, including water temperature, ambient air temperature, and if you are using ice or not. Ion’s tests show hydrogen in the original and pitcher models lasts anywhere between 10-15 minutes when opened. In the Pro 3000, since it has a more advanced membrane than the pitcher and original bottle, it will last upwards of 30 minutes in the water once the lid is opened. The beautiful part of a hydrogen generator is that you can always reinfuse more hydrogen if it’s been exposed to air too long, compared to single use pouch and canned hydrogen water competitors
FYI, there are also strict water ionizing machines on the market; these are larger units that require connection to your water outlet. While strict ionizer machines will slightly increase the molecular hydrogen, the goal of those machines is to increase or decrease the pH levels creating acidic or alkaline water, so it’s a whole different “ball game.” 🙂
If you would like to order one of the ION Bottles devices, use this link and the code BETTERHEALTH4U for 10% off. Adding hydrogen water to your daily routine could be an easy way to “up” your health quotient, AND could make a great health-promoting gift for friends and family!
p. s. Part II of the benefits of extra hydrogen is now available at this link, so be sure you read about how H2 can improve skin, antioxidant activity, immune function and more.
Here’s to being healthy & free in 2023!
p.s. Be sure to follow Self-help Health to receive helpful tips on a regular basis. And check out my website’s To Your Health page for even more useful information and resources for creating better health and well-being.
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