Hydrogen-Rich Water Decreases Muscle Damage and Improves Power Endurance in Elite Athletes: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Physical activity significantly increases the production of reactive oxygen species in the body. Molecular hydrogen has been shown to have safe and effective antioxidant properties on athletes. However, research on elite athletes is scarce.

Methods: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was conducted with 22 female elite athletes participating in handball and skeleton sports. The first group received hydrogen-rich water (HRW)-generating tablets, whereas the second group consumed a visually and organoleptically similar placebo. Various assessments were performed during HRW intake, such as anthropometric and biochemical measurements, stress, and recovery parameters, as well as biomechanical testing.

Results: HRW consumption resulted inan increase in muscle mass and a reduction in fat mass (p < 0.05). However, HRW did not significantly affect stress or recovery rates, as determined by the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire-Sport questionnaire. However, the HRW group exhibited a significant increase in torque, particularly after an intensive exercise test (p < 0.05). Moreover, HRW intake led to a reduction in total creatine kinase, vitamin C, and beta-carotene contents (p < 0.05), whereas the vitamin E and interleukin-10 levels increased compared with baseline levels (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The HRW-generating tablets were found to be safe and well-tolerated by the participants. These tablets also exerted ergogenic effects by reducing body fat percentage, increasing muscle mass percentage, improving maximal torque, decreasing muscle damage, and positively modulating the exercise-induced inflammatory and antioxidant responses to exercise. Although the mechanism of action of HRW remains unclear, these effects observed indicate its potential for diverse applications in high-performance sports.

Keywords: Antioxidants; Athletes; Drinking water; Hydrogen; Inflammation; Oxidative stress.

Fig. 1

Timeline testing of the biological samples at three different periods, baseline, immediately after 28 days of hydrogen-rich water (HRW) supplementation, and 1-week post-intervention.

Fig. 2

Comparison of stress and recovery parameters in the hydrogen-rich water (HRW) and placebo groups before and after 28 days of supplementation. Box plots represent the median, interquartile range, and overall data spread for the following RESTQ-Sport parameters: (A) Sport-specific stress, (B) Sport-specific recovery, (C) General stress, and (D) General recovery. Statistical comparisons were conducted within each group over time and between groups at each time point. No statistically significant differences (ns, p > 0.05) were observed in any parameter across conditions.

Fig. 3

The results of pairwise comparison of laboratory parameters in hydrogen-rich water (HRW) or placebo groups at different observation periods (p < 0.05). Each cell shows p-values for pairwise comparisons at different time periods. Cells where the p-value was less than 0.05 are highlighted in green, cells where the p-value is significantly more than 0.05 are highlighted in red, and p-value of about 0.05 is indicated in transitional color. CK: creatine kinase, IL: interleukin.

Fig. 4

Dynamics of maximum and mean torque values before and after the warmup before and after either (A, B) hydrogen-rich water or (C, D) placebo. ns: no statistically significant differences.