It is suspected that molecular hydrogen is capable of reducing inflammation. There is also the possibility that it slows the process of lactate accumulation in our blood. It is through this accumulation that the muscles of a person experience fatigue. To understand whether hydrogen-rich water is beneficial for athletes or not, 10 male professional soccer players drink 51 ounces of water filled with a perfect concentration of molecular hydrogen.
After exercising, their blood lactate level was significantly lower than someone who hadn’t taken hydrogen water, and they also experienced less muscle fatigue than they usually would. Another study was conducted for two weeks. This time, it was on eight male cyclists. These men regularly consumed 68 ounces of water, which was rich in molecular hydrogen. They seemed to have more energy while doing sprinting exercises than athletes who stuck to regular bottled water.
How Is Molecular Hydrogen Delivered To A Person’s Body?
Along with the benefits of molecular hydrogen, researchers have made it a point to look for avenues through which hydrogen can be administered. One of the simplest methods for therapeutic purposes is direct inhalation through a nasal cannula or a ventilator circuit. One can use a facemask too. Typically, the facemask is used to administer H2 for patients. In animal models, however, a ventilator is used to administer molecular hydrogen. The H2 is electrolyzed from water in this case. When H2 is inhaled, it shows an immediate impact. As such, it is sometimes administered in case of acute oxidative stress.
An experiment on rats proved that if H2 is inhaled along with nitrous oxide, N2, and O2 independent dosage, H2 is dissolved in the arterial blood at an increased concentration. There was no noted adversarial effect through H2 inhalation. No effect was noted on blood pressure or other blood-related parameters. When tested on patients with acute cerebral infarction, inhalation of molecular hydrogen was still found to be a safe and effective method.
Drinking Hydrogen-Rich Water
There is no doubt that one can see the effect of molecular hydrogen quite rapidly through H2 inhalation. However, it has been noted it isn’t exactly practical to inhale hydrogen daily. There are still some safety concerns associated with H2. Thus, the dosage and concentration amount have to be controlled. This is where hydrogen-rich water comes in, which is safe and easy to administer. There is also the fact that a person can carry hydrogen-rich water everywhere, for it is merely water with a high concentration of hydrogen.
Additionally, once hydrogen-rich water has been consumed orally, the accumulated hydrogen in the liver can be studied to see if consuming molecular hydrogen in small amounts in an equally short time can be the key to improving various diseases. This measurement is taken through a hydrogen electrode that appears very needle-like.
It has also been noted that by drinking hydrogen-rich water, a person can gleam some help in diseases such as periodontal tissue aging, Parkinson’s disease, palatal wounds, and even depression.
Hydrogen-Rich Saline
We have previously discussed how the administration of molecular hydrogen through hydrogen-rich water is safe and effective. However, it can be quite hard to control the exact concentration. The hydrogen evaporates while it is in the water as more time passes by, which could happen that a person’s body already experiences the loss of hydrogen before it has even reached the gastrointestinal tract. This makes hydrogen-rich saline another viable option. It is possible to make the dosage more accurate through this method. The experiments that have been done to date suggest that hydrogen saline administration can be done through intravenous or peritoneal injection.
Other administration methods: Baths and Eye drops
One of the best things about molecular hydrogen is that it is capable of penetrating the skin. It then flows through our blood, thus distributing itself throughout the body. Something like a warm bath of hydrogen water can be highly therapeutic. The skin damage one retains from being in the sun too long can be minimized by a hydrogen-infused bath.
Hydrogen has also been used to treat the eyes by infusing saline with molecular hydrogen. When tested on a rat, it was noted that hydrogen was found to reduce injuries retained by the retina by directly applying the eye drops. https://www.youtube.com/embed/o5WWfEvc15E
What Exactly is Hydrogen Water?
In the simplest terms, hydrogen water is pure water with some amount of hydrogen molecules in it. Hydrogen gas doesn’t have any particular odor, nor does it have a color. It is a non-toxic gas, and it only becomes visible when it bonds with other elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, etc. Many things, including water and table sugar, are formed this way.
Two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom bond together to form water molecules. However, there is this suggestion that if hydrogen is added to water, extra benefits can be found from it that one can’t get through plain water.
The theory behind this is that a human body cannot get the entire benefit of a hydrogen molecule from plain water as it is already bonded with oxygen. The thought process has led to companies specifically producing hydrogen water, as the hydrogen molecules are freer and hence, more manageable for the human body to access in the form of hydrogen water. Along with hydrogen water, we have hydrogen tablets in the market these days. They can be mixed in plain or carbonated water, and a person can find them in food stores or through online shops.
Hydrogen water machines have become a possibility where a person can produce the drink at home. From a marketing standpoint, hydrogen water has been made popular to boost the performance of athletes and decrease inflammation and is even said to slow down the aging process.
Is Hydrogen Water Safe?
The FDA has granted water infused with additional hydrogen a Generally Recognized as Safe or GRAS status. This means for most people unless they have specific conditions, hydrogen water should be safe. When tests were conducted on the intake of molecular hydrogen, there weren’t many side effects. Even animals that consumed hydrogen water did not seem to show any adverse reaction to it. The truth is, any effect from hydrogen gas lasts in the body for an hour at most. If someone wants to try hydrogen water, experts recommend that the water they consume comes in a container that doesn’t allow water or gas to leak. The water should also be drunk as quickly as one can to get the benefits from it.
Conclusion
The studies have all shown promising results that a variety of diseases can be treated through molecular hydrogen administration. While some questions still haven’t been answered regarding all the benefits of molecular hydrogen, there are definite chances of coming to the forefront as effective tools to cure ailments. A better understanding is all we need, and continuous research is being done to achieve that.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5731988/
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