Hydrogen Water Reduces Muscle Fatigue in Elite Athletes
- Authors
- Kosuke Aoki, Atsunori Nakao, Takako Adachi, Yasushi Matsui, Shumpei Miyakawa
- Journal
- Medical Gas Research
- Year
- 2012
- DOI
- 10.1186/2045-9912-2-12
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Japan
- Health Condition
- Exercise-Induced Muscle Fatigue
- Body System
- Muscular
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water before exercising might reduce muscle fatigue and prevent the rise in blood lactate that usually occurs with intense workouts.
Key Finding
Drinking hydrogen-rich water before intense exercise reduced blood lactate accumulation and helped maintain muscle strength during maximal effort knee exercises, compared to placebo water.
Summary
This small study tested whether drinking hydrogen-rich water before intense exercise could reduce muscle fatigue in 10 elite soccer players. Compared to regular water, hydrogen-rich water appeared to lower blood lactate (a marker of muscle stress) during heavy cycling and helped maintain muscle strength during repeated knee exercises, though markers of cellular damage in the blood were similar between groups.
Practical Takeaway
This pilot study in elite athletes suggests hydrogen-rich water may help with exercise performance and fatigue, but the sample size was very small (10 people) and only one dose protocol was tested. Larger, longer studies are needed to confirm whether these effects hold up and to understand how hydrogen might work. Results in elite athletes may not apply to recreational exercisers.
Abstract (excerpt)
Background: Muscle contraction during short intervals of intense exercise causes oxidative stress, which can play a role in the development of overtraining symptoms, including increased fatigue, resulting in muscle microinjury or inflammation. Recently it has been said that hydrogen can function…