H2 Therapy

These are some of the products on the market

• Water stick from Japan seems to use electrolysis to generate H₂ from H₂O
• Vital Reaction sells some tablets that evidentially relese H2 when added to water. It would be good to request the Materials Safety Data Sheet MSDS before using this product.
• H₂ inhalation machine is also sold by Vital Reaction.
• Cision Newswire makes brief mention of GI bacteria that produce H₂.
• Living Water USA sells a water stick
• Amazon sells a colorimetric reagent for measuring the concentration of H₂ in a water sample. This is fine. One should ask the seller if the reagent comes with a color code.

Just one PubMed Review

Let us briefly acknowledge the science before getting to a big precaution to keep these water sticks safe. This review comes from the Department of Neurosurgery at Loma Linda University. Most of their discussion concerns H₂ therapy for neurological conditions associated with inflammation.

Ramanathan D, Huang L, Wilson T, Boling W. Molecular hydrogen therapy for neurological diseases: a review of current evidence. Med Gas Res. 2023 Jul-Sep;13(3):94-98. PMC free article

H₂ is delivered clinically via these routes

• H₂ gas inhalation concentrations (1%, 1.3%, 2%, 4%) through a ventilator circuit/face mask, supplied by gas tank. 4.7% was cited as the concentration that is below the point in which H2 becomes flammable. Mention was made of H2 gas nebulizers at 66% being available clinically. The authors claim 30 min for peak concentration in mice model tissues.
• intravascular hydrogenized saline This can not possibly be via hydrolysis as will be discussed below The review mentions a “:non-destructive” hydrogen adding apparatus. 1 min to peak concentration in tissues 1 min until peak tissue concentrations
• increased intestinal hydrogen availability with with fermentable carbohydrates lactulose, acarbose
• Oral consumption of H₂ rich water and water with hydrogen rich tablets The authors cite 5 min
• Fermentation of non-digestible carbohydrates by intestinal anaerobes was cited as a source of H₂.

What “exactly” is going on at the electrodes? Note that there is no such thing as H⁺ in solution, only the hydronium cation H₃O⁺ We will just assume H⁺ to keep the story simple.

Hopefully the “water stick” you purchase will advise you to use distilled water that has a low conentration of chloride anions that might come from small amounts of NaCl or what not. It is advisable not to use this device on normal saline thinking you will be consuming something that is isotonic.

For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

In a study of hemodialysis patients hydrogen rich water did not change total or reduced GSH but did decrease the amount of reversibly oxidized albumin. [2]

1. HealthRising Blog
2. Hirano SI, Ichikawa Y, Sato B, Takefuji Y, Satoh F. Molecular Hydrogen as a Medical Gas for the Treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Possible Efficacy Based on a Literature Review. Front Neurol. 2022 Apr 11;13:841310 PMC free article
3. Terawaki H, Zhu WJ, Matsuyama Y, Terada T, Takahashi Y, Sakurai K, Kabayama S, Miyazaki M, Itami N, Nakazawa R, Ito S, Era S, Nakayama M. Effect of a hydrogen (H2)-enriched solution on the albumin redox of hemodialysis patients. Hemodial Int. 2014 Apr;18(2):459-66. PubMed
4. Fernández-Serrano AB, Moya-Faz FJ, Giner Alegría CA, Fernández Rodríguez JC, Soriano Guilabert JF, Del Toro Mellado M. Effects of hydrogen water and psychological treatment in a sample of women with panic disorder: a randomized and controlled clinical trial. Health Psychol Res. 2022 May 30;10(3):35468. free article