Health Hotline Magazine | July 2024

WHAT EVEN IS AN ANTI OXI DANT? Excessive oxidative stress is an underlying cause of nearly all degenerative diseases. It happens when there is an imbalance between the production and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells and tissues, and the body’s inability to clear them out. ROS, also called free radicals, are generated via regular biological processes, like cellular energy production in the mitochondria, but can also be generated from exposure to things like UV light, pollution, stress, and inflammation. Excessive amounts of ROS damage lipids, cells, and tissues throughout the body (this is oxidative stress) and can eventually lead to cell death. This is where antioxidants come in. Antioxidants, both those made internally and those that we get from food or supplements, neutralize these ROS, preventing damage to cells and tissue. Our bodies have an endogenous antioxidant system in place that combats a lot of the free radicals produced within our bodies, but when that system becomes overloaded with too many ROS, that’s where external antioxidants, like hydrogen, can pick up the slack.

With its numerous potential benefits on human health, it’s no surprise hydrogen is also being investigated as an anti-aging agent. One recent randomized controlled pilot study, including 40 men and women aged 70 and older, explored the effects of drinking hydrogen-rich water for six months. After six months, the researchers found that the group drinking the hydrogen-rich water had a significant increase (about 4%) in telomere length. Telomeres are the caps on the ends of our chromosomes that help stabilize and protect DNA; they shorten throughout our lifetime, and shortened telomeres are one of the hallmarks of aging. They also found that the hydrogen-rich water improved methylation (a biochemical process that impacts the regulation of biological processes throughout the body), lower body strength, general pain, brain metabolism, and sleep quality. Hydrogen is unique in the world of antioxidants While most antioxidants work indiscriminately, and may react with reactive oxygen species (ROS) that have normal physiological functions, hydrogen selectively targets and neutralizes specific ROS, including hydroxyl radicals (OH) and peroxynitrite (ONOO), two “very strong oxidants,” making it unique among antioxidants. Because it is so small, it can also penetrate cell membranes to reach the very nucleus of a cell, which most antioxidants cannot do, and it also easily penetrates the blood-brain barrier, where it can provide antioxidant protection to brain cells. Administration of hydrogen has been shown to reduce a number of markers of oxidative stress in numerous disease models. In addition to its potent antioxidant effects, hydrogen also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent, and has been found to reduce pain and inflammation in a number of inflammatory diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to irritable bowel disease. So maybe you’re ready to give hydrogen a try, but… how do you take a gas? The most convenient way to ingest hydrogen is via hydrogen-rich water, which you can safely and easily make with hydrogen tablets that dissolve in water. Hydrogen tablets have elemental magnesium added, which splits the hydrogen molecule off of the water molecule. For most purposes, research has found hydrogen-rich water to be as good, and sometimes even more effective, as inhalation of the gas. It shows no cytotoxicity (toxicity to cells) even at high concentrations. While it may not exactly be the fountain of youth, hydrogen is proving to be one of the most important—and safe—antioxidants available to us, truly affecting whole-body health. No matter what health issue you may be looking to improve, prevent, or support, hydrogen is it. After reading all of the research, this writer is ready to try it! Are you?

For references, please visit: naturalgrocers.com/issue-84

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