Why Drink Water with Hydrogen Gas?

My most recent addition to my well-being protocol is a hydrogen gas generator which gives me water with hydrogen gas. It’s part of my approach to better gut, mitochondrial, and overall health.

Why Hydrogen Gas?

Studies show that it isn’t alkalinity that helps heal the gut and other health issues. A healthy gut flora contains only a small percentage of aerobic bacteria. This balance can tip from anaerobic to aerobic and disrupt gut function due to a variety of reasons.

Anaerobic bacteria called hydrogenotrops produces hydrogen gas in their conversion of the food we eat. As our body’s own natural hydrogen gas generator, this type of bacteria helps to maintain our antioxidant mechanism that reduces oxidation. The body’s processes naturally produce oxidation and it also has ways of reducing it to keep balance. When oxidation rises, oxidative stress occurs and inflammation becomes a problem, leading to dis-ease.

The other thing that happens with a shift in the microbiome is the change of gut lining polarity. A terrain of aerobic bacteria reverses it from a negative to a positive polarity. A negative ORP value or redox indicates the presence of potential reducers.

Hydrogen is also shown to be a selective antioxidant that reacts with only cell-damaging radicals, including the hydroxyl radical which disrupts mitochondrial function. Hydrogen is a signal modulator so its presence is needed for the regulation of processes involving over 200 molecules. There are now over 1000 studies showing the benefits of hydrogen, including in cancer treatment. Aside from reducing oxidative stress, it also enhances gut, cognitive, mitochondrial, and cell functions. This means better digestion, less fatigue, more balanced moods, more energy, and overall well-being.

Symptoms of Gut Health Challenge

Our gut is impacted and disrupted in a variety of ways. This includes an inappropriate diet so food remains undigested, pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals, food processing, pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics, birth control pills, and vaccines, refined sugars, and mold.

Symptoms of an imbalanced gut flora are varied and go beyond the usual digestive ailments such as bloating, diarrhea, and constipation. We can also experience sugar cravings (which is what aerobic bacteria feed on), erratic mood swings (due to the gut-brain connection), recurrent yeast infections, and poor sleep.

Getting Hydrogen Gas

There are many hydrogen gas generators on the market. I chose the Echo™ Go (which has since been updated) for its simplicity, portability, and price point. It’s a good way for me to check out drinking hydrogen gas. Paul Barattiero spent years on research and development to help his wife and he wanted to bring this important health-enhancing technology with affordable prices.

The Echo Go takes spring or filtered water and has two options, a 3- and 10-minute cycle that produces 1.2 or 1.8 ppm of Hydrogen gas. There is no change to the taste or pH and has a -600mV ORP. The 3-minute cycle makes cleaning easy!

The Echo Go is pretty small, holding only 10 oz or about 295 ml. It works well for our needs at the moment . I’m also investigating the Echo H2® Pitcher, which holds 1.7 litre. If you have higher demands or require filtered water, you may want to look into and invest in one of their other machines.

(If you’ve been enjoying health benefits from a machine that produces alkaline water, be sure to periodically clean the cathodes to prevent mineral build-up. This prevents the production of hydrogen gas that is the benefit. Someone I know through the grapevine recently tested their Kangen machine and it measured at close to 1.3 ppm.)

Here’s my Work-in-progress practice for gut health:

• more protein (3:1 protein:fat ratio)
• conscious carbs (choosing carbs that are “worth it”)
• more hydration (I love my Rock Rose tea. I got it from Linden Botanical. You can also get it from BioPure. Looking for an easy-to-clean stainless steel strainer? Check out the one from Manual. I’m still looking for an electrolyte mix that I like the taste of. My husband is liking the LMNT (which has stevia leaf extract which I don’t like). Ultima also seems to be a popular brand. I found a couple of electrolyte recipes that I’ll be trying and will report back.
• water with hydrogen gas 1 – 3 times a day with my Echo Go™. (referral link)
• Gut Health Oil. This is an herbal prebiotic tincture oil with organic ingredients – coconut oil, pumpkin seed oil, whole cloves, and calendula that can help eliminate parasites, detox, and heal wounds and gut infections. The ingredients have antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti- inflammatory, and anti-bacterial properties. I was very impressed by all the positive reviews. I’m still building up my dosage as some people noted that the full adult dosage of 20 drops resulted in uncomfortable detox symptoms. The instructions recommend starting with one to two drops. I’m trying this oil first and will add Liver Love Herbal Tincture with the next bottle, when I’ll do a more dedicated cleanse. If you’re working on gut health, check out Earthley’s free Gut Health Support Guide.
• Jin Shin Jyutsu Organ Function Adjustment Flows. I do a lot of the Spleen, Stomach, Gall Bladder, Kidney, and Bladder flows. Sometimes the full sequence and other times, holding my fingers or quick holds.
• getting more sunlight without glasses or contact lenses and seeing more sunrises and sunsets
• dry brushing along with a natural lymphatic cream
• recently added celery juice power from Eclectic Herb

Awareness of gut health continues to grow and we are getting a lot of information. There are so many products that can paralyze choice. My recommendation is to start simple. Take care of the foundational things such as being hydrated, getting enough sleep, going outside, eating food your body responds to, and taking time to relax. If these present as a challenge, go deeper and discover what the blocks may be. Add one or two things at a time so you can gauge their effects.

I also use Human Design to support my experimentation. I’m a closed taste so I’m designed to be extremely discerning in what I take in. I’ve been conditioned to try all kinds of foods as a child which was not correct for me. Part of my journey is to decondition that and rebuild my natural taste. We each have our own way to take in food and information. Knowing this can help unravel some mysteries and bring insights.

Additional info on Hydrogen Water (updated April 29 2024, sharing from Echo website)

• 2010 study shows oxidative stress markers reduced
• 2017 study found that hydrogen water may help reduce insulin levels and triglycerides
• 2020 study found drinking water with hydrogen over time in participants having reduced heart rate, blood glucose levels, and blood cholesterol.