Slow down aging by producing your own antioxidants
Factors that cause and trigger oxidative stress, how to provide your body with the right antioxidants and the prodigious action of molecular hydrogen to achieve this.
The formation of free radicals is a normal process in the body, but it begins to have a negative connotation when their levels rise, as they cause damage at the cellular level, in membranes, proteins and even DNA. The reason is that free radicals are missing an electron and they travel through the body looking for healthy cells with which to combine in order to remove the missing electron. If this process becomes chronic, it ends up damaging healthy cells and weakening the immune system.
Free radicals and oxidative stress
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Oxidative stress occurs when a number of oxidants and reactive molecules overwhelm endogenous enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defense systems (Bentley et al. 2015). Reactive molecules include reactive oxygen species ( ROS ) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS).
We all face oxidative stress, it is part of human nature. However, continued oxidative stress has very damaging effects and among the factors that cause it are lack of sleep, crash diets, pollution, stress, overtraining (in athletes), abrupt exercise in untrained people, unhealthy lifestyle and chronic diseases.
Oxidative stress is said to trigger chronic inflammation of organs and joints, mental problems such as depression, chronic fatigue, and premature aging both internally and externally. It is also relevant that the vitamin and supplement industry offers a wide range of antioxidants in all kinds of presentations.
Specific factors that trigger oxidative stress:
- Consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates
- Consumption of processed foods
- Cigarette smoking
- Alcohol consumption
- Polluting products
- Contact with electromagnetic fields and radiation from cell phones
What is molecular hydrogen or H2 and what does it do?
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Molecular hydrogen refers to hydrogen gas or 2 hydrogen atoms working together to neutralize free radicals.
It has already been proven with many experiments that the administration of H2 mitigates chronic inflammation and the deregulation of the redox state (damage due to oxidative stress) that can be reversible or irreversible depending on the duration of the stress, the effectiveness of the antioxidant defenses, the age of the organism, nutritional status and even genetic factors that would encode the antioxidant system.
Molecular hydrogen is thought to function as a gaseous signaling modulator that very effectively reduces oxidative stress and inflammation (Dixon et al. 2013).
Several animal studies have shown that H2 is effective in increasing resistance and mitigating the negative effects of acute and chronic stress such as inflammation, elevated levels of E s RO (reactive oxygen species), anxiety and depressive-like behaviors .
Provide your body with the necessary antioxidants, but in the right way
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Glutathione is one of the main internal antioxidants in the body. Its levels can decrease due to poor diet, environmental toxins, stress and also with age.
One of the ways molecular hydrogen ( H2 ) performs its metabolic action is by activating the Nrf2 pathway, which tells your body to produce its own antioxidants, such as glutathione.
What exactly is Nrf2?
It is a transcription factor that, when activated, enters the cell nucleus and binds to the antioxidant response element in DNA.
It immediately signals your body to produce beneficial cell-protecting enzymes such as glutathione, catalase superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, phase II enzymes, heme-1 oxygenase, and others.
This is the most ideal way to produce the antioxidants your body requires so that it can avoid too high levels of harmful oxidative stress. Molecular hydrogen ( H2 ) tells your body to produce additional antioxidants, but only when there is excess oxidative stress.
These two important functions of H2 (its antioxidant selectivity and activation of the Nrf2 pathway) help to effectively limit oxidative damage that can lead to accelerated cellular aging and changes in your cells and organs. ( 1 )
Who can benefit from molecular hydrogen
H2 should be beneficial for both elite athletes and non-athletes because
(1) H2 administration provides many of the same benefits elicited by exercise, acting as an “exercise mimic” and
(2) Just as H2 restores redox homeostasis , prevents pathological changes and mitigates excessive inflammation caused by disease, it similarly has these protective and therapeutic effects against harmful forms of exercise (Ostojic 2014; Nogueira et al. 2018). Therefore, anyone can benefit from molecular hydrogen .
It is not normal for high-performance athletes to push themselves to extreme levels of intense, chronic and prolonged training, or even for untrained people to run a marathon or participate in physically demanding activities such as footballers, cyclists and other weekend athletes. These erroneously or chronically intense activities directly damage muscle tissue resulting in cell death and decreased mitochondrial function and number, plus other pathological changes. The same is true for a person facing an illness or an elderly person with a weakened body.
For both athletes and amateurs, it is important to train in cycles in order to acquire the hormetic response (adaptation of the organism), as this would provide positive changes at the level of antioxidants, vascular function, brain effects, mitochondrial function, response to inflammation, oxidative stress, muscle damage and more.
The wonder of H2 is that it acts as a hormetic agent (adaptive response phenomenon of the organism) to stress
Hydrogen does not always reduce oxidation markers, it seems to only reduce excessive levels . The fact that H2 does not attack EsROs and only decreases excessive levels of them, makes it an effective and safe medical gas for clinical use that also preserves the benefits and reduces the damage caused by intense exercise, whether sporadic or chronic; the harmful effect of diseases and factors that cause premature aging.
Human studies conducted with H2 administration demonstrate where it can have beneficial effects
Clinical studies have demonstrated beneficial effects on a wide range of diseases including,
- metabolic syndrome (Nakao et al. 2010),
- Diabetes (Kajiyama et al. 2008),
- Hyperlipidemia (Song et al. 2013),
- Cognitive imbalances (Nishimaki et al. 2018),
- Rheumatoid arthritis (Ishibashi et al. 2012),
- Chronic hepatitis B (Xia et al. 2013). As in,
- Vascular function (Sakai et al. 2014),
- Sports performance (Ostojic' et al. 2011) and more (Ichihara et al. 2015).
Also, studies in Japan have shown a relationship between the consumption of hydrogenated water and various biological functions, including:
- An inflammatory response in an already healthy organism.
- Improved cellular health.
- Optimal and faster muscle recovery in elite athletes.
- Improvement in sleep quality and mood.
- Greater feeling of well-being and flexibility.
- Improves the appearance of the skin.
- Increased energy and mental clarity.
- Increased metabolism.
- Maintaining cholesterol and glucose levels that are already within a normal range normal.
In one study, for example, 18 athletes who consumed one liter of hydrogen-rich water per day showed decreases in maximal indices of perceived exertion and a reduction in lactate production at critical running speeds (13 km/h) during maximal effort without increases in serum antioxidant capacity (Ostojic' et at. 2011; Ostojic' 2014).
Another study involving 9 people who bathed in hydrogen-rich water for 20 minutes indicated a decrease in delayed muscle soreness after a downhill run without significantly reducing oxidative markers (Kawamura et al. 2016).
It should be noted that these studies were done with trained athletes, whose bodies and cells have adapted to cope with exercise-induced EsRO production. Several studies done in untrained people show that H2 supplementation increases antioxidant enzymes while decreasing markers of oxidation.
In another study with 26 healthy subjects (13 women, 13 men) ingestion of hydrogen-rich water for 4 weeks improved mood, reduced anxiety, and decreased sympathetic nerve activation, but did not significantly reduce oxidative stress. However, levels were within the normal health range for all participants (Mizuno et al. 2017).
H2 may be useful in improving the recovery rate of soft tissue injuries. In a study of 36 professional athletes, hydrogen treatment was effective in the recovery of soft tissue sports injuries by increasing the rate of return to normal range of motion of the injured limb (Ostojic' et al. 2014).
Is H2 consumption safe?
An important advantage of hydrogen is that it is nontoxic when administered at safe, high levels. Hydrogen has been used since the 1940s to prevent decompression sickness in deep diving (Case & Haldane 1941; Dougherty 1976).
In addition, hydrogen gas is found naturally in our blood and breath due to the normal fermentation of indigestible carbohydrates from gut bacteria. (Strocchi & Levitt 1992)
The hydrogen gas produced by this bacteria has also been shown to be therapeutic (Kajiya et al. 2009) although the amount is often more than that obtained by drinking hydrogen-rich water, the ingestion of hydrogen-rich water is in any case effective and in certain cases, even more therapeutic (Ito et al. 2012).
You've been exposed to hydrogen all your life. Depending on your diet and gut health, beneficial fiber-fermenting bacteria in your gut can produce about 2.5 gallons of molecular hydrogen per day.
Why would you then want to drink water with H2 if your body may already be producing enough?
A Japanese study suggests the answer lies in the way it is produced in your body...
When it is produced continuously in the body, as it normally does, the body becomes accustomed to constant exposure.
Because hydrogen gas is a "signal modulator," researchers have found that it works best when taken intermittently, or "pulsed."
When you drink a large glass of high-concentration molecular hydrogen water in one sitting, it can provide optimal benefits.
Most hydrogen water sold is low concentration, especially hydrogen generator machines. This is not nearly as beneficial because the H2 needs to be pulsed. It is much better to drink a glass of high concentration H2 water once or twice a day than to drink low concentration H2 water all day.
When you drink water with high concentrations of molecular hydrogen gas, it enters the stomach and quickly reaches the blood, reaching a peak within minutes.
The hydrogen-rich blood then circulates through your heart and lungs. Although it leaves your system within an hour, its residual effects can last for hours, days, or even weeks.
Furthermore, it will take a few hours to achieve its antioxidant function, since it acts through the Nrf2 pathway and these genes take some time to be expressed and produce antioxidants.
Do not confuse alkaline water with hydrogenated water
pH is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, not molecular hydrogen.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, “ Unlike alkaline water, H2 has nothing to do with pH:
Alkaline water is water that has been separated into alkaline and acidic fractions through electrolysis. Although proponents claim that alkaline water can make your tissues more alkaline to prevent or reverse disease, these claims are not supported by science.
Researchers have found that these claims cannot be true because you cannot alter the pH of your blood and body simply by consuming alkaline water.
Rather, your body regulates your blood pH within a very narrow range because all of your enzymes are designed to work at a pH of 7.4. You couldn't survive if your blood pH varied too much from that number.
Researchers have discovered that the main agent responsible for the well-known health benefits of alkaline water is due to the presence of molecular hydrogen ( H2 ) produced in the water during hydrolysis. It has nothing to do with the pH of the water.”
Conclusion
Perhaps hydrogen may be slightly toxic as suggested by its hormetic activity. However, the toxic effects are toxic enough to induce hormesis and mild enough to be overcome and converted into beneficial effects. This hypothesis would explain why constant exposure to molecular hydrogen does not provide negative biological effects (Ito et al. 2012).
Get to know PiDrogen
Since most of the studies and experiments on molecular hydrogen have been conducted in Japan, it is not surprising that Nikken, a leader in health and environmentally friendly technology, allows us to access molecular hydrogen to improve our quality of life.
The PiDrogen system transforms water into a source of highly concentrated dissolved hydrogen gas. Consuming water from the PiDrogen device will help relieve oxidative stress to restore balance to the body.
It is an excellent complement when fasting, intermittent fasting and when practicing sports. Remember that when fasting or exercising we are subjecting the body to a certain degree of stress. Hydrogenated water will stimulate our body to produce the necessary antioxidants and neutralize the free radicals that are causing oxidative stress . Likewise, for people who suffer from the conditions we have mentioned above or who are prey to oxidative factors from a poor diet, unhealthy lifestyle or the effects of environmental pollution.
Get it here: https://johannakoelle.mitiendanikken.com/productos/pimag/pimag-pidrogen-13521