Alkaline Hydrogen Water Shows Promise for Digestive and Metabolic Health
- Authors
- Rosa Mistica Coles Ignacio, Kyung-Bok Joo, Kyu-Jae Lee
- Journal
- Journal of Food and Drug Analysis
- Year
- 2012
- DOI
- 10.38212/2224-6614.2099
- Study Type
- clinical
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- South Korea
- Health Condition
- Chronic Diarrhea
- Body System
- Gastrointestinal
TL;DR
Scientists studied a special kind of water called alkaline reduced water and found it might help your body fight damage from harmful stuff called oxidation, which could help with stomach problems, weight, and your immune system. They think it works because this water has extra hydrogen in it that acts like a cleanup crew for your body.
Key Finding
Alkaline reduced water's potential therapeutic effects are attributed to its high dissolved hydrogen content and negative oxidation reduction potential, which may function as an antioxidant intervention.
Summary
This review examines alkaline reduced water (ARW), which is water that has been treated to contain high levels of dissolved hydrogen and a negative oxidation reduction potential (a measure of how readily it can donate electrons). The authors discuss how ARW and similar hydrogen-rich waters have been reported to have antioxidant effects (meaning they may help neutralize harmful molecules in the body) and have been associated with various health benefits including improved digestion, better immune function, and reduced oxidative stress. However, the abstract does not present new experimental results—it primarily summarizes existing research and proposes that further investigation is needed.
Practical Takeaway
While governments in Korea and Japan have acknowledged alkaline ionized water for certain digestive benefits, this particular paper is a review rather than a new clinical study with reported results. The evidence cited is largely from animal studies and small human reports. Anyone considering hydrogen water should note that rigorous, large-scale human clinical trials are still needed to establish clear safety and efficacy profiles for specific health conditions.
Abstract
Recently, alkaline ionized water (AIW) generated by water electrolysis has received increasing attention because of its shown benefits in treatment and prevention of diseases. The Korean and the Japanese governments officially acknowledged the efficacy of AIW as a novel material for the improvement of abnormal intestinal fermentation, chronic diarrhea, gastric hyperacidity and dyspepsia. It was reported that intake of AIW has various beneficial effects such as removal of reactive oxygen species, improving constipation, suppressed accumulation of body fats, early expulsion of melamine, reduction of ultraviolet radiation-induced skin damage, modulation of immune response and ameliorating diabetes. The effect of AIW is thought to be accounted to its negative oxidation reduction potential, and abundant dissolved hydrogen. The major role of AIW as an antioxidant due to its high content of hydrogen had long been established. Furthermore, drinking hydrogen water and inhaling hydrogen gas demonstrated protection against oxidative diseases. However, our recent study on alkaline reduced water (ARW) from spring water which exhibits different properties from AIW showed a salutary effect through oral administration and bathing. This finding led us to explore further the potential benefits of alkaline reduced water on health and its accompanying mechanism.