Hydrogen Water May Reduce Exercise Stress in Racehorses

TL;DR

Giving horses hydrogen-rich water before intense exercise might help reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress compared to regular water.

Key Finding

Intensive exercise in horses triggered simultaneous increases in both oxidative stress and antioxidative defense markers, with hydrogen-rich water showing a trend toward reducing oxidative stress compared to placebo.

Summary

Researchers gave five Thoroughbred horses either hydrogen-rich water or regular water, then had them run on a treadmill until exhaustion. They measured markers of oxidative stress (damage from intense activity) and the body's natural antioxidant defenses (protective systems) in blood samples taken before, during, and after exercise. Both stress markers and protective markers increased significantly after exercise in all horses, but horses given hydrogen-rich water showed a slight tendency toward lower stress markers compared to those given regular water.

Practical Takeaway

This small study in horses suggests hydrogen-rich water may help reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress, but the effect was modest and only a trend rather than a definitive finding. Because this is an animal study with only five subjects and no human trials, it's too early to draw conclusions about whether hydrogen water would have similar effects in people or athletes.

Abstract (excerpt)

The present study aimed to clarify changes of oxidative stress and antioxidative functions in treadmill-exercised Thoroughbred horses (n=5, 3 to 7 years old), using recently developed techniques for measurement of serum d-ROMs for oxidative stress, and BAP for antioxidative markers. Also…

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