Hydrogen Water Shows Mixed Results for Athletic Performance
Hydrogen-Rich Water Supplementation and Up-Hill Running Performance: Effect of Athlete Performance Level
Research hubs: Athletic Performance · Cardiovascular System
- Evidence type
- Randomized controlled trial · Human study
- Authors
- Michal Botek, Jakub Krejčí, Andrew J. McKune, Barbora Sládečková
- Journal
- International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
- Year
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.1123/ijspp.2019-0507
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Neutral
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Czech Republic
- Health Condition
- Exercise Fatigue
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water before running uphill didn't clearly improve performance for all runners, but it might help slower runners go faster.
Key Finding
Hydrogen-rich water showed unclear overall effects on uphill running performance, but slower runners improved by approximately 20-40 seconds while faster runners showed no clear benefit.
Summary
Researchers tested whether hydrogen-rich water (water infused with hydrogen gas) could improve uphill running performance in 16 male runners of varying abilities. Participants drank either hydrogen-rich water or a placebo drink before two 4.2-kilometer uphill races. Overall, hydrogen-rich water did not clearly improve race time, heart rate, or how hard the runners felt they were working. However, the slower runners in the group showed some improvement with hydrogen-rich water, while faster runners showed no clear benefit.
Practical Takeaway
This small study suggests hydrogen-rich water may have different effects depending on a runner's fitness level, with possible benefits for less-trained athletes. However, the overall results were unclear, and the study was limited to 16 men doing one specific type of running, so more research is needed before drawing firm conclusions about whether it works for most people.
Abstract (excerpt)
Purpose: Hydrogen-rich water (HRW) has been shown to have an antifatigue effect. This study assessed up-hill running performance, as well as physiological and perceptual responses after supplementation with 1680 mL HRW between 24 h and 40 min before running, in athletes of heterogeneous running…