Hydrogen Rich Water Improved Ventilatory, Perceptual and Lactate Responses to Exercise

Abstract

The potential anti-fatigue and performance benefits of hydrogen rich water (HRW) have resulted in increased research interest over the past 5 years. The aim of this study was to assess physiological and perceptual responses to an incremental exercise protocol after administration of 600 ml HRW within 30 min before exercise. This randomized, double blinded placebo-controlled cross over study included twelve healthy males aged 27.1±4.9 years. The exercise protocol consisted of a 10 min warm-up at 1.0 W.kg−1, followed by 8 min at 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 W.kg−1, respectively. Cardio-respiratory variables, lactate and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were assessed in the last minute of each step. A significantly lower blood lactate was found with HRW (4.0±1.6 and 8.9±2.2 mmol.l−1) compared to Placebo (5.1±1.9 and 10.6±3.0 mmol.l−1) at 3.0, and 4.0 W.kg−1, respectively. Ventilatory equivalent for oxygen and RPE exhibited significantly lower values with HRW (32.3±7.2, and 17.8±1.2 points, respectively) compared to Placebo (35.0±8.4, and 18.5±0.8 points, respectively) at 4 W.kg−1. To conclude, acute pre-exercise supplementation with HRW reduced blood lactate at higher exercise intensities, improved exercise-induced perception of effort, and ventilatory efficiency.

Molecular Hydrogen Mitigates Performance Decrement during Repeated Sprints in Professional Soccer Players

“…Each participant performed an incremental running test on a treadmill (Lode Valiant, Groningen, The Netherlands) to determine VO 2 max. The protocol and criteria for reaching VO 2 max were the same as used previously by our group [ 24 ]. Briefly, the exercise protocol consisted of a 4-min warm-up period (2 min at 8 km·h −1 with 0% inclination and a further 2 min at the same speed with a 5% inclination).…”

“…However, Sim et al [ 21 ] showed that the effect of HRW on biological antioxidant potential is age-dependent, with a significant effect of HRW only found in participants >30 years of age. Besides its antioxidative property, H 2 has recently been suggested to have anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic [ 22 ], and cell signaling properties [ 23 ], as well as reduce lactate and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) [ 24 ]. Due to its small size, H 2 can penetrate through the cell membrane into the cellular space as well as into the mitochondria, where it helps to maintain a redox-balance state and energy production [ 22 ].…”

Application of Molecular Hydrogen as a Novel Antioxidant in Sports Science

“…On the other hand, several studies have investigated the effects of H 2 on the buffer capacity of the blood, exhaled gas parameters, and exercise performance without measuring redox biomarkers. As such, there is only fragmented evidence regarding the positive effects of H 2 intake [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. Notably, many findings regarding the medical efficacy of H 2 could not be explained solely by selective removal of reactive species [3] and suppression of free radical chain reactions for lipid peroxidation [11].…”

Hydrogen: A Potential New Adjuvant Therapy for COVID-19 Patients

“…The potential anti-fatigue and performance benefits of hydrogen rich water (HRW) have received increased research interest over the past 5 years. For example, acute pre-exercise supplementation with HRW reduces blood lactate at higher exercise intensities, improves the exercise-induced perception of effort, and increases ventilatory efficiency (Botek et al 2019). At the same time, hydrogen, as a flammable and explosive small molecular substance, has been developed clinically and can be safely applied with access to medical devices.…”