How Gut Gases Like Hydrogen Can Treat Digestive Disorders
- Authors
- Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh, Kyle J. Berean, Rebecca E. Burgell, Jane G. Muir, Peter R. Gibson
- Journal
- Nature Reviews: Gastroenterology & Hepatology
- Year
- 2019
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41575-019-0193-z
- Study Type
- clinical
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Australia
- Health Condition
- Gastrointestinal Disorders
- Body System
- Gastrointestinal
TL;DR
The gases your gut makes—like hydrogen and methane—can actually cause belly problems, but changing what you eat can change these gases and help fix stomach issues. Understanding how food affects these gut gases could be a simple way to prevent and treat digestive problems without always needing medicine.
Key Finding
Hydrogen and other intestinal gases produced by gut bacteria can influence digestive symptoms and health, and dietary changes that alter these gas profiles may offer a therapeutic approach to managing gastrointestinal disorders.
Summary
This review article examines how gases produced in the intestines—including hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen sulfide—affect gut health and digestive disorders. The authors explain that these gases are created when gut bacteria break down food, and that different amounts and types of gases can either cause or relieve digestive symptoms. They argue that by changing what we eat, we can change which gases our gut produces, and this dietary approach may help prevent and treat digestive problems.
Practical Takeaway
This is a review article that summarizes existing knowledge rather than reporting new experimental results, so it does not provide direct evidence about hydrogen water specifically. While the article suggests that modulating intestinal hydrogen through diet may have therapeutic potential, readers should note that no actual study results or human trials are presented here. More direct research on hydrogen water's effects would be needed to draw conclusions about its usefulness.
Abstract
The inner workings of the intestines, in which the body and microbiome intersect to influence gut function and systemic health, remain elusive. Carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methane and hydrogen sulfide, as well as a variety of trace gases, are generated by the chemical interactions and microbiota within the gut. Profiling of these intestinal gases and their responses to dietary changes can reveal the products and functions of the gut microbiota and their influence on human health. Indeed, different tools for measuring these intestinal gases have been developed, including newly developed gas-sensing capsule technology. Gases can, according to their type, concentration and volume, induce or relieve abdominal symptoms, and might also have physiological, pathogenic and therapeutic effects. Thus, profiling and modulating intestinal gases could be powerful tools for disease prevention and/or therapy. As the interactions between the microbiota, chemical constituents and fermentative substrates of the gut are principally influenced by dietary intake, altering the diet, which, in turn, changes gas profiles, is the main therapeutic approach for gastrointestinal disorders. An improved understanding of the complex interactions within the intestines that generate gases will enhance our ability to prevent, diagnose, treat and monitor many gastrointestinal disorders.