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Never heard of molecular hydrogen supplements?
No worries, you aren’t alone!
These products are new on the supplement market and are just starting to gain popularity. In essence, they turn regular water into hydrogenated water.
What’s so special about hydrogenated water, you ask?
Well, hydrogenated water is thought to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging properties.
As such, it offers a wide range of health benefits:
- Boosts energy and cell repair – Hydrogen can easily enter your mitochondria, the energy factories of your cells. There, it improves mitochondria’s activity, leading to greater energy levels.
- Fights inflammation and oxidative stress – This is the big one: hydrogen supplements reduce oxidative stress and inflammation. This is due to the fact that hydrogen neutralizes some of the most dangerous free radicals, including those from the hydroxyl group. During this process, these harmful molecules turn into water and become harmless.
- Detoxify the body – Drinking hydrogenated water will boost cell signaling in areas which affect antioxidant activity and detoxification. In turn, this will help you fight off pathogens, toxins, and yes, free radicals.
In this article, we take a look at what molecular hydrogen supplements are, how they work, and which health benefits you can expect from taking them.
What Are Molecular Hydrogen Supplements?
As we’ve briefly said, molecular hydrogen supplements turn plain water into hydrogen water.
Hydrogen is a non-toxic and odorless gas that binds to other molecules such as carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen. Together, these form many substances such as water, table sugar, etc. (1)
Now, in order to fully appreciate the benefits of molecular hydrogen supplements, let’s look at some basic chemistry. Bear with me here.
See, a plain water molecule is made of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms.
Our body can’t easily absorb hydrogen in water because it’s bound to oxygen.
But by infusing plain water with hydrogen atoms from supplements, it becomes hydrogenated.
Meaning, it has extra ‘free’ hydrogen molecules that are thought to be more available to the body. These extra molecules link to a number of health benefits, as we’ll show you in a second.
Side note: you may wonder, where can you get hydrogen water?
The first option is to buy hydrogen water in bottles, but these can get quite pricey.
For example, one popular hydrogen water product charges $90 for 30 240ml (8oz) cans.
The second option is taking molecular hydrogen supplements. They tend to be more cost-friendly while offering the same benefits. As you’ll see below.
The Next Big Thing
Hydrogen supplements are new on the market. Only a few producers sell it.
However, the popularity of this product has picked up recently; more and more experts are beginning to discover its benefits.
Hydrogenated water is believed to:
- Lower inflammation
- Reduce oxidative stress in the body
- Slow down the aging process
- Improve athletic performance
Okay, this sounds impressive. But just how valid are these claims?
And more importantly, do we have clinical evidence showing that these benefits are real?
I’m happy to tell you that yes, we do!
Below we show you all of it – you’re in for a surprise:
Molecular Hydrogen Supplement Benefits: The Research
While hydrogen supplements are still fresh on the market. New evidence is already proving their health benefits. See for yourself:
Boosts Athletic Performance
Hydrogen supplements may help you have longer and more intense gym sessions. Or whatever type of exercise you’re into.
Research suggests that hydrogen water helps reduce lactate build-up in the blood. High levels of lactate directly link to muscle fatigue.
By reducing lactate levels, hydrogen water helps lower inflammation and enhance energy.
- In the first study, researchers recruited 10 male soccer athletes. They gave them either plain water or hydrogen water before heavy exercise. (2)
The study found that those who drank hydrogenated water experienced less fatigue as a result of reduced blood lactate levels.
By contrast, those drinking plain water had higher blood lactate levels after heavy exercise.
The researchers concluded: “Although acute exercise resulted in an increase in blood lactate levels in the subjects given PW, oral intake of HW prevented an elevation of blood lactate during heavy exercise.” – NCBI (2)
- Another study tested the effects of hydrogen water on 8 male cyclists.
The study found that cyclists who drank 2 liters of hydrogenated water improved their power output during short bursts of intense activity. (3)
On the other hand, cyclists who drank plain water saw no benefits to their performance.
Reduces Oxidative Stress
Free radicals are the main cause of oxidative stress in our body.
Free radicals are unstable molecules that wreak havoc on your cells and cause a whole host of diseases.
But molecular hydrogen supplements can help. They have antioxidant activity, neutralizing free radicals and protecting your body from oxidative stress. (4)
In a 2-month study, a group of people going through cancer therapy received 1,500-2,000ml of hydrogen water. Another group received a placebo. (5)
After two months, the results showed that those who drank hydrogenated water had lower levels of hyperoxide – a sign of oxidative stress – and had superior antioxidant activity compared to the control group.
That said, another study in healthy people showed that drinking 600ml of hydrogenated water daily had no effect on their oxidative stress levels. (6)
The reason for this is still not clear; it could be that they drank too little hydrogenated water, compared to the people from the first study. Or it could be that hydrogenated water didn’t work in their case.
Whatever the case is, we need more studies to confirm the antioxidant benefits of hydrogen water.
Helps Fight Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is a big problem in today’s society. It’s a condition which often leads to elevated blood sugar levels, increased ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol, and high triglyceride levels.
Some experts believe that chronic inflammation is one of the culprits of metabolic syndrome. (7)
Studies show us that hydrogen water not only reduces inflammation. It also alleviates the symptoms of metabolic syndrome that come with it.
A 10-week study recruited 20 people with metabolic syndrome. They gave them 1 liter of hydrogenated water a day. (8)
After ten weeks, the study measured a number of health parameters in these people:
- LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol
- HDL ‘good’ cholesterol
- Antioxidant activity in the body
- Inflammatory markers (including TNF-α)
In the end, the results showed that people who drank hydrogen-enriched water had lower levels of inflammation, greater antioxidant activity, lower LDL cholesterol, and higher HDL cholesterol. (8)
3 Ways You Can Supplement Molecular Hydrogen
You can gain the benefits of molecular hydrogen supplements in three ways:
- The first and most cost-effective option is to buy molecular hydrogen tablets. These are able to create the highest concentration of hydrogen in parts per million.
Typical ingredients in molecular hydrogen supplements are organic acids and magnesium. After fusing with water, these ingredients instigate a process where many hydrogen nano-bubbles are created.
This method yields between .8 and 10 parts per million (PPM) of hydrogen in 12 oz of water. You can experience the results in as little as 60 seconds to 6 minutes. Most hydrogen supplements cost between 30-60 dollars and can last you for months.
- The second and simplest method is to buy ready-to-drink molecular hydrogen water. This is the most popular way to get your hydrogen water daily. But it also costs a bit more.
The part-per-million concentration here is between 1-2PPM. One can of hydrogen water costs around $5, which can get pricey if you drink a couple of these a day.
- The third and most expensive option is to buy your own molecular hydrogen machine. This is only for high-end customers as the cost is usually $5,000 or more.
Conclusion
Plain water has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Typically, the hydrogen atoms aren’t available for our body to use since they are bound to oxygen.
However, molecular hydrogen supplements add extra hydrogen molecules to water.
In essence, these extra molecules are free for your body to use.
Studies show that this offers a number of benefits:
- Reduces oxidative stress and inflammation
- Boosts athletic performance
- Improves symptoms of metabolic syndrome
However, these supplements are still new on the market. This means there’s still not enough evidence to say for sure how effective they are.
So until we have more evidence, some of these benefits should be taken with a grain of salt.
That said, we believe that trying hydrogen water for yourself is the best way to see how effective it is.
There are three ways you can get hydrogen water:
- Take molecular hydrogen supplements
- Buy hydrogenized water in ready-to-drink bottles
- Buy your own molecular hydrogen generator (very expensive)
Out of these options, the most cost-friendly one is taking hydrogen supplements. You simply put them in plain water to create hydrogenized water. And drink to your heart’s content!
References
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Molecular hydrogen: a preventive and therapeutic medical gas for various diseases. (source)
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Pilot study: Effects of drinking hydrogen-rich water on muscle fatigue caused by acute exercise in elite athletes. (source)
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Effects of hydrogen-rich water on prolonged intermittent exercise. (source)
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Molecular hydrogen regulates gene expression by modifying the free radical chain reaction-dependent generation of oxidized phospholipid mediators. (source)
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Effects of drinking hydrogen-rich water on the quality of life of patients treated with radiotherapy for liver tumors. (source)
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Hydrogen-rich water for improvements of mood, anxiety, and autonomic nerve function in daily life. (source)
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Chronic Inflammation in Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome. (source)
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Hydrogen-rich water decreases serum LDL-cholesterol levels and improves HDL function in patients with potential metabolic syndrome. (source)