Effects of hydrogen-rich water bath on visceral fat and skin blotch, with boiling-resistant hydrogen bubbles

Abstract

Hydrogen-dissolved water has been shown to improve diverse oxidation stress-related diseases, which drove us to examine effects of hydrogen-rich water on oxidation stress-related skin troubles and lipid-metabolism markers. The purpose of this study is whether the dissolved hydrogen in hydrogen-rich water was kept even after boiling, and whether hydrogen-bath utilization improves cosmetic effects such as skin-blotch repression and the visceral-fat-based slimming effects. The subjects were two men and two women, aged 48, 43, 42, and 41 years (n = 4). They took warm (41°C) water bath of dissolved hydrogen 300-310 μg/L (< 10 μg/L for normal water) for 10-minute once daily for 1-6 months, followed by examination of skin blotch, visceral fat, and cholesterol and glucose metabolisms. The dissolved hydrogen concentration was measured after 15-minute boiling and the subsequent cooling naturally. The wide-ranging, dense, and irregularly shaped skin blotches became markedly smaller and thinner, assumedly through reductive bleaching of melanin and lipofuscin and promotion of dermal cell renewal by the hydrogen-rich warm water. Ultrasonic resonance-based analysis on the abdominal cross-section revealed that the visceral fat area decreased from 47 to 36 cm^[2], and the abdominal circumference decreased from 91 to 82 cm, in the two female subjects bathing in hydrogen-water. After 6-month hydrogen-water bathing, the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level was decreased by 16.2% and the fasting blood glucose level increased by 13.6% in the blood of a female subject. Before boiling, the dissolved hydrogen and an oxidation-reduced potential were 300 μg/L and -115 mV, respectively. Dissolved hydrogen was retained at 300-175 μg/L and 200 μg/L, even 1-6 hours and 24 hours, respectively, after boiling. Therefore, a hydrogen-rich water-bath apparatus can electrolytically generate abundant boiling-resistant hydrogen bubbles, improving visceral fat and blotches on the skin. The study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Japanese Center for Anti-Aging Medical Sciences and that was officially authenticated by the Hiroshima Prefecture Government of Japan (approval number 15C1) in 2016.

Keywords: bath apparatus; cosmetic effects; hydrogen-rich water; metabolic markers; reactive oxygen species; skin blotches; slimming effects; visceral fat area.

Figure 1

The blotch-decreasing effect of facial cleansing with hydrogen-rich water. Note: The male, 43 years old, with an informed consent. Immersion in hydrogen-rich water at 40°C for 15 minutes was performed three times a week. Additionally, immersion in hydrogen-rich water at room temperature for 10 minutes was performed once a week. (A) Before hydrogen-rich water treatment. (B) Seven months after hydrogen-rich water treatment, wide range spots that have not been healed in his 25-year life became smaller and thinner after the test.

Figure 2

The blotch-decreasing effect on the skin by hydrogen-rich water bath. Note: The female, 41 years old, with her informed consent. Immersion in warm hydrogen-rich water bath (41°C) for 10 minutes was performed once a day for 1 month. (A) Before hydrogen-rich water treatment. (B) One month after hydrogen-rich water treatment, the spots decreased and the densely brownish color became lighter.

Figure 3

The blotch-decreasing effect and improvements on the skin by hydrogen-rich water bath. Note: The male, 48 years old, with his informed consent. Immersion in warm hydrogen-rich water bath (41°C) for 10 minutes was performed once a day for 1 month. The yellow boxes enclose the spots to be tested.

Figure 4

The suppressive effect of hydrogen-rich water bath on the visceral fat. Note: Immersion in hydrogen warm water bath (41°C) for 10 minutes was performed once a day for 1 month. The subject does not change her meal contents and the exercise except that she used a hydrogen-rich water bath. (A) The female, 41 years old, with her informed consent. (A1–3) Before, 1 month, and 3 months after hydrogen-rich water treatment, respectively. The red circles indicate two transverse wrinkles and four radial wrinkles around the navel. (B) The female, 42 years old, with her informed consent. (B1, 2) Before and a month after hydrogen-rich water treatment, respectively. The yellow triangles indicate waist curves.

Figure 5

The time course of the water characteristic parameters in hydrogen-rich water boiled or left without temperature intervention. Note: Six liters of tap water was supplied in the facial washbowl for the high concentration hydrogen-rich water bath and electrolyzed for 30 minutes, and four kinds of water characteristic parameters were measured over time. (A–D) Dissolved hydrogen (DH), oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration, pH in hydrogen-rich water, respectively.

Figure 6

Mechanism assumed for cellulite formation and its hydrogen (H₂)-attributed suppression. Note: Cellulite is presumed to be formed by (1) abnormally excessive accumulation of lipid droplets in adipocytes, (2) adipocyte cell death resulting from loading of oxidative stress to lipid droplets, (3) excessive oxidation of extracellular fat preceded by release of intracellular fat into the extracellular space, and (4) protrusion of the skin surface due to deterioration or solidification of fat. Cellulite formation is considered to be suppressed by the inhibitory effect of hydrogen on the formation of lipid droplets, oxidative stress, and excessive oxidation. ROS: Reactive oxygen species.