Hydrogen Water Reduces Food Cravings and Improves Sleep in Obese Adults
- Authors
- Nikola Todorovic, Sonja Baltic, David Nedeljkovic, Jovan Kuzmanovic, Darinka Korovljev, Dejan Javorac, Katarina Bijelic, Nebojsa Kladar, Alex Tarnava, Sergej M Ostojic
- Journal
- Medicina
- Year
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.3390/medicina61071299
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Serbia
- Health Condition
- Obesity
- Body System
- Endocrine
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water daily helped reduce food cravings, improve sleep, and lower cholesterol in people with obesity.
Key Finding
Eight weeks of drinking hydrogen-rich water (15 mg of hydrogen daily) reduced food cravings, improved sleep quality, lowered total and LDL cholesterol, and increased GLP-1 hormone levels in people with obesity.
Summary
In this 8-week study, 36 people with obesity drank either hydrogen-rich water or regular water daily. Those who drank the hydrogen-rich water reported fewer food cravings, slept better, and had lower cholesterol levels compared to the control group. The hydrogen-rich water also increased levels of a hormone called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1), which helps regulate appetite.
Practical Takeaway
This small, controlled study suggests hydrogen-rich water may help with appetite control and some metabolic markers in people with obesity, though the effects were modest and the study included only 36 participants. More research with larger groups and longer follow-up periods would be needed to confirm whether these benefits persist over time or translate to meaningful weight loss.
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Preliminary studies indicate that dihydrogen (H2) may affect molecular pathways involved in appetite regulation; however, its role in influencing patient-reported appetite outcomes in individuals with obesity remains uncertain. This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial aimed to evaluate the effects of H2 supplementation on appetite, body composition, sleep quality, obesity-specific quality of life, and related biomarkers in obese men and women. Materials and Methods: The study included 36 participants (24 females; age 42.1 ± 13.2 years; BMI 30.8 ± 4.2 kg/m2) randomized to receive either 1.0 L of hydrogen-rich water (15 mg of H2) or 1.0 L of control water (0 mg of H2) daily for eight weeks. Results: The results demonstrated that hydrogen-rich water significantly mitigated cravings (p = 0.05), improved subjective sleep quality (p = 0.05), reduced total cholesterol (p = 0.02) and LDL cholesterol (p = 0.04), and increased plasma glucagon-like peptide-1 levels (p = 0.05) compared to the control. No severe adverse effects were reported throughout the trial. Conclusions: These findings suggest that hydrogen-rich water may serve as a safe and effective dietary strategy to address appetite regulation and related metabolic indices in individuals with obesity. The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06722326).