How Hydrogen Water Travels Through the Body After Drinking
- Authors
- Genki Ichihara, Yoshinori Katsumata, Hidenori Moriyama, Hiroki Kitakata, Akeo Hirai, Mizuki Momoi, Seien Ko, Yoshiki Shinya, Kenichiro Kinouchi, Eiji Kobayashi, Motoaki Sano
- Journal
- Heliyon
- Year
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08359
- Study Type
- Pig
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Neuropsychiatric Disorders
- Body System
- Digestive
TL;DR
Drinking water with a high concentration of hydrogen gas can quickly raise hydrogen levels in the blood supplying the liver.
Key Finding
Drinking a hydrogen-rich solution produced measurable hydrogen concentrations in portal blood (the blood vessel carrying nutrients to the liver) that peaked at 0.05 mg/L and remained detectable for at least 60 minutes.
Summary
Researchers gave pigs a glucose solution containing dissolved hydrogen and measured how much hydrogen entered their bloodstream and how long it stayed there. After drinking the hydrogen-rich solution, hydrogen levels in the blood vessels leading to the liver peaked at 0.05 mg/L and remained detectable for at least an hour, while a control solution without hydrogen produced almost no measurable hydrogen in the blood. The hydrogen appeared to be either broken down by the liver or eliminated through the lungs, since it wasn't detected in the main artery.
Practical Takeaway
This pig study provides the first measurement of how hydrogen from drinking hydrogen-rich water actually enters the bloodstream and how long it persists, which supports the biological plausibility of previous studies claiming health benefits. However, this is an animal study with only 4 pigs, so findings cannot be directly applied to humans without further research. The study establishes a foundation for understanding hydrogen's behavior in the body but does not itself demonstrate any health effects.
Abstract (excerpt)
Drinking hydrogen (H2)-rich water is a common way to consume H2. Although many studies have shown efficacy of drinking H2-rich water in neuropsychiatric and endocrine metabolic disorders, their authenticity has been questioned because none examined the associated pharmacokinetics of H2. Therefore…