Hydrogen Baths Reduce Inflammation and Boost Antioxidants in Blood
- Authors
- Yoshiharu Tanaka, Li Xiao, Nobuhiko Miwa
- Journal
- Medical Gas Research
- Year
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.4103/2045-9912.330692
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Connective Tissue Diseases
- Body System
- Immune System
TL;DR
Bathing in hydrogen-rich water appears to boost antioxidant levels and reduce inflammation in both healthy people and patients with inflammatory diseases.
Key Finding
A 10-minute hydrogen-rich water bath increased antioxidant capacity by about 11% and reduced the inflammation marker C-reactive protein by about 30% in healthy people, with larger reductions observed in patients with autoimmune diseases over longer bathing periods.
Summary
Researchers tested whether bathing in hydrogen-rich water (water infused with hydrogen gas through electrolysis) could reduce inflammation and boost antioxidant levels in the body. In healthy people, a 10-minute bath in hydrogen-rich water increased antioxidant capacity and lowered C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation) compared to a regular warm water bath. In patients with autoimmune and connective tissue diseases, daily hydrogen-rich water baths over weeks to months reduced inflammation markers and, in some cases, improved visible skin symptoms.
Practical Takeaway
This small study suggests hydrogen-rich water bathing may help reduce inflammation markers, but important limitations apply: the sample size is not reported, the study lacks a detailed control group comparison, and results in disease patients are based on very few individuals. More rigorous research with larger groups and longer follow-up is needed before drawing conclusions about therapeutic benefits for inflammatory or autoimmune conditions.
Abstract
This study compared the effects of hydrogen-water (HW) bath on the oxygen radical absorption-based antioxidant capacity and the inflammatory indicator, C-reactive protein (CRP), in serum between healthy volunteers and inflammatory/collagen disease-patients. The HW bath apparatus supplied nano-bubbles with a diameter of 110 ± 10 nm and 338-682 μg/L of dissolved hydrogen after 120 minutes electrolysis, and nano-bubbles increased to 9.91 × 107/mL along with the increase of correlative dissolved hydrogen. Ten-minute HW bath increased the oxygen radical absorption-based antioxidant capacity to 110.9 ± 9.2% at post-bathing 120 minutes, although unaltered with 10-minute normal water bath at 40°C in healthy subjects. The CRP level was repressed to 70.2 ± 12.1% at 120 minutes after HW bath, although rather increased for normal water bath. In the patients with connective tissue diseases, the CRP level was repressed to 3-24% upon 9 days to 4 months of HW bathing. In another six patients with diverse autoimmune-related diseases, upon daily HW bathing as long as 2-25 months, the pre-bathing CRP level of 5.31 mg/dL decreased to 0.24 mg/dL being within the standard-range, with relief of visible inflammatory symptoms for some cases. Thus, the HW bath with high-density nano-bubbles has beneficial effects on serum antioxidant capacity, inflammation, and the skin appearance. The study was approved by the Committee of Ethics, Japanese Center of Anti-Aging Medical Sciences (Authorization No. H-15-03-2, on January 15, 2019), which was a non-profitable organization officially authenticated by the Hiroshima Prefecture Government of Japan. (