Hydrogen Water Helps Control Blood Sugar in Diabetic Rats
- Authors
- Mengna Zheng, Han Yu, Yong Xue, Tong Yang, Qiufen Tu, Kaiqing Xiong, Daihua Deng, Lei Lu, Nan Huang
- Journal
- Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
- Year
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.1007/s11010-021-04145-x
- Study Type
- Rat
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Body System
- Endocrine
TL;DR
Drinking hydrogen-rich water may help improve blood sugar levels, cholesterol, and reduce damage to the liver, kidney, and spleen in rats with type 2 diabetes.
Key Finding
In diabetic rats, drinking hydrogen-rich water reduced blood glucose and cholesterol levels while decreasing oxidative stress and inflammatory markers compared to regular water.
Summary
Researchers gave rats with type 2 diabetes either regular water or hydrogen-rich water (water with dissolved hydrogen gas) for 3 weeks. The rats drinking hydrogen-rich water showed improvements in blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels, and markers of cellular damage and inflammation. The hydrogen-rich water also appeared to protect the liver, kidneys, and spleen from damage caused by high blood sugar.
Practical Takeaway
This rat study suggests hydrogen-rich water may help with some aspects of type 2 diabetes management, but human studies are needed before drawing conclusions about its usefulness for people. The 3-week duration is relatively short, and results in animals don't always translate to humans.
Abstract
The hydrogen-rich water (HW) has been reported to possess a beneficial role in patients with diabetes. However, a systemic evaluation with an appropriate animal model is necessary to reveal its mechanisms and efficacy. Herein, the protective effects of drinking HW on lipid and glucose metabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammation in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats were investigated. The well-modeled T2DM rats (induced by high-fat diet combined with low-dose streptozotocin (STZ) injection) were divided into two groups (n ≥ 15 of each): fed a high-fat diet and drinking distilled water or HW at a constant concentration above 1.0 ppm; normal rats were used as control group (n ≥ 10): fed a regular diet and drinking distilled water. Several biomarkers of lipid and glucose metabolism, oxidative stress ,and inflammation were evaluated after drinking distilled water or HW for 3 weeks. The effect of HW on liver, kidney, and spleen of T2DM rats was also analyzed by HE and Oil Red O staining. The results showed that drinking HW suppressed the increase in glucose, total cholesterol, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Moreover, HW also ameliorates hyperglycemia-induced liver, kidney, and spleen dysfunction. Overall, this study indicates that patients with T2DM may be able to improve their condition by supplementing HW as daily drinking water.