Hydrogen Water Shows Promise as Powerful Antioxidant for Disease Prevention

Authors
Journal
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Year
DOI
10.2174/138161211797052664
Study Type
clinical
Peer Reviewed
Yes
Country
Japan
Health Condition
Lifestyle-related diseases
Body System
Cellular

TL;DR

Scientists found that a tiny molecule called hydrogen gas might help prevent and treat lots of diseases by fighting the harmful stuff in your body that makes you sick and old, and it's safe because it doesn't mess up how your body normally works. This is exciting because regular antioxidants haven't worked very well, but hydrogen gas can be breathed in, drunk in special water, or taken other ways with barely any bad side effects.

Key Finding

Molecular hydrogen has been studied in over 38 different diseases and physiological conditions with reported positive effects, and it may selectively reduce harmful oxidative stress while preserving beneficial cellular signaling processes.

Summary

This review examines molecular hydrogen (H₂)—a gas that can be inhaled, dissolved in water, or produced in the body—as a potential treatment for diseases caused by oxidative stress (cellular damage from unstable molecules). The authors argue that hydrogen has advantages over other antioxidants because it can reach cells quickly, doesn't interfere with normal cellular processes, and appears to have few side effects. They report that over 38 diseases and conditions have shown positive responses to hydrogen in published studies, though they note the exact mechanisms of how hydrogen works remain unclear.

Practical Takeaway

While this review suggests hydrogen water and other hydrogen delivery methods warrant further investigation, most evidence comes from laboratory and animal studies rather than large human trials. Anyone considering hydrogen water should know that clinical evidence in humans remains limited, and this review does not provide definitive proof of health benefits. More rigorous human studies are needed before hydrogen can be recommended as a medical treatment.

Abstract

Persistent oxidative stress is one of the major causes of most lifestyle-related diseases, cancer and the aging process. Acute oxidative stress directly causes serious damage to tissues. Despite the clinical importance of oxidative damage, antioxidants have been of limited therapeutic success. We have proposed that molecular hydrogen (H(2)) has potential as a 'novel' antioxidant in preventive and therapeutic applications [Ohsawa et al., Nat Med. 2007: 13; 688-94]. H(2) has a number of advantages as a potential antioxidant: H(2) rapidly diffuses into tissues and cells, and it is mild enough neither to disturb metabolic redox reactions nor to affect reactive oxygen species (ROS) that function in cell signaling, thereby, there should be little adverse effects of consuming H(2). There are several methods to ingest or consume H(2), including inhaling hydrogen gas, drinking H(2)-dissolved water (hydrogen water), taking a hydrogen bath, injecting H(2)- dissolved saline (hydrogen saline), dropping hydrogen saline onto the eye, and increasing the production of intestinal H(2) by bacteria. Since the publication of the first H(2) paper in Nature Medicine in 2007, the biological effects of H(2) have been confirmed by the publication of more than 38 diseases, physiological states and clinical tests in leading biological/medical journals, and several groups have started clinical examinations. Moreover, H(2) shows not only effects against oxidative stress, but also various anti-inflammatory and antiallergic effects. H(2) regulates various gene expressions and protein-phosphorylations, though the molecular mechanisms underlying the marked effects of very small amounts of H(2) remain elusive.