Every once in awhile a new water product or water machine will come out with a lot of hype. Right now, that product is hydrogen water. There are multi-level marketing companies that tout hydrogen water as the elixir of life or the fountain of youth. These companies claim that it can cure cancer, diabetes, reduce inflammation, and cure or improve a whole host of other ailments. But before you buy into this hype you should exercise caution: hydrogen water is unproven and potentially harmful.
Hydrogen water is purified water that has been infused with hydrogen. Think of carbonated water. Hydrogen water uses the same process as making carbonated water that is used for soda. Pure water is infused with hydrogen gas.
Water is already made of hydrogen and oxygen bonded together. So, why add more hydrogen to the water when the water is already made of hydrogen?
The answer these companies give is that the hydrogen bonded with oxygen in the water molecule is not as available to our bodies as hydrogen gas. They claim that the hydrogen gas is able to act as a powerful antioxidant that reduces oxidative stress. Because of this antioxidant effect, they claim it has many health benefits.
The research is very scarce on hydrogen water. First, you have to eliminate so-called white paper research. Most multi-level marketing companies will create their own research to back their products. Since they are paying for this research, you can’t believe the results.
Any research that is published in a journal is peer reviewed. That means that other scientists have reviewed the research methodology and can sign off that the conclusions are sound. White paper research is not peer reviewed and therefore you should ignore it.
The only other research that has come out on hydrogen water has very mixed results. In one very limited sample, diabetic patients showed a decrease in oxidative stress and an improvement in their diabetic markers. But another study done with healthy adults showed no effect at all from drinking twenty ounces of hydrogen water every single day.
Besides the research, you should also be concerned about how much hydrogen is being infused into the water you are drinking. There are no standards set for how much hydrogen is beneficial versus not beneficial versus potentially harmful. Without established safety standards, how can any company feel comfortable marketing this product to you?
Ionized water, produced by water ionizers, has over 35 years of peer reviewed research backing it. Ionized water has been proven to reduce oxidative stress and help multiple elements including diabetes, digestion issues, blood pressure, inflammation and more. You can find this peer-reviewed research on websites like pubmed.gov . Just search for electrolyzed water and you will see hundreds of results.
Ionized water is much different than hydrogen water. Hydrogen water is created by diffusing hydrogen gas into the water. Ionized water is created by replicating the sun’s natural water electrolysis effect. When water is electrolyzed, the H2O molecule is changed to OH-. The negative represents the charge in the water, the extra ion, and this extra ion is a proven powerful antioxidant.
There’s simply no reason to invest in a hydrogen water machine or drink hydrogen water when ionized water is already proven to offer amazing health benefits. Water ionizers are backed by over 35 years of research while hydrogen water doesn’t even have established safety standards.
