How Hydrogen Acts as Natural Stress to Boost Health and Healing
- Authors
- Alex T. Tarnava
- Journal
- International Journal of Advanced Research
- Year
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.21474/IJAR01/11998
- Study Type
- clinical
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Canada
- Health Condition
- General
- Body System
- Cellular
TL;DR
Molecular hydrogen might help our bodies stay healthy not by directly fighting bad molecules, but by giving our cells a gentle stress that triggers our built-in defense systems—something our bodies have been equipped to handle since way back in evolution.
Key Finding
Molecular hydrogen may work not as a direct antioxidant, but as an adaptive stressor that activates the body's evolved defense mechanisms, similar to how hormetic stressors like exercise trigger protective cellular responses.
Summary
This article reviews how molecular hydrogen (H2) might work in the body, proposing a new explanation for its effects. Rather than acting simply as an antioxidant (a substance that neutralizes harmful molecules), the authors suggest H2 works by triggering the body's natural stress-response systems—similar to how exercise or fasting activates protective mechanisms that evolved over millions of years. The article argues that humans have been exposed to varying amounts of hydrogen throughout evolution, so our cells may have adapted to respond beneficially to it.
Practical Takeaway
This is a theoretical review article, not a new experimental study, so it does not provide direct evidence about hydrogen water's effects in humans. The proposal that H2 acts as an adaptive stressor is interesting but remains speculative and requires further research to test. Anyone considering hydrogen supplementation should await more rigorous human studies before expecting specific health benefits.
Abstract
Molecular hydrogen (H2) has demonstrated therapeutic properties across numerous models. To date, the mechanism underlying the beneficial responses to H2 exposure remains elusive. The initial hypothesis that molecular hydrogen acts as a direct, selective antioxidant in vivo does not reconcile models where H2 has shown to increase oxidative stress, nor does it explain numerous other physiological changes that have been observed throughout the literature. Some researchers have proposed that H2 acts as a hormetic stress. This hypothesis does not reconcile H2 being non-toxic in nature, even at high doses. Hormetic stressors have contributed to evolutionary adaptations, with the absence of these stressors causing cellular dysfunction. H2 has played an intimate role in the evolution of our planet’s atmosphere, the evolution of mitochondria and of life on the planet. Endogenously produced H2 volumes vary dramatically between individuals and are expected to have varied through human evolution. Our cells have evolved to tolerate erratic and intermittent exposure to H2. Intermittent exogenous H2 exposure yields results similar to various hormetic stressors. Continued research elucidating how H2 acts as an adaptive stressor, both through endogenous levels and exogenous supplementation, are highly warranted.