Albert Szent-Györgyi, the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, said that hydrogen, rather than oxygen, was the fuel of life.
Everyone knows we need oxygen to live, but oxygen’s counterpart (hydrogen) is the real fuel. Oxygen burns hydrogen releasing the energy (in the form of ATP) that runs our bodies. Water supplies both the fuel (hydrogen) and the fire (oxygen); it is hydrogen that is often the limiting factor. The word hydrogen comes from the Greek, meaning “water-former.” Water is formed when hydrogen is burned by oxygen. It is created every day in our bodies as we burn hydrogen to create ATP. Hydrogen and oxygen participate in a continuous cycle that generates both water and energy.
- Hydrogen is the fundamental antioxidant. As the smallest element, it reaches every organ and every cell.
- Hydrogen is a source of fuel—with no toxic byproducts.
- Hydrogen-rich water neutralizes toxins AND washes them away.
- Hydrogen cleanses the energetic body too.
Szent-Györgyi was the first to show that the human body stores hydrogen in many of its organs. He referred to this as hydrogen pooling and he identified the organs that pool the greatest amounts of hydrogen.
In 2001, a group of researchers reported that animals maintained in a hydrogen-rich environment were significantly protected from chronic liver injury. Read Abstract Later research demonstrated that inhaled hydrogen gas (~4%) had antioxidant properties that could protect the brain against stroke. Read Abstract U.S. Military documents indicate that hydrogen is an effective means of protection and repair against radiation injury. HydrogenforRadiation USMilitarydoc– page 285. A 2012 literature review had this to say:
“In the clinic, oral administration of H2-saturated water is reported to improve lipid and glucose metabolism in subjects with diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance; promising results have also been obtained in reducing inflammation in haemodialysis patients and treating metabolic syndrome. These studies suggest H2 has selective antioxidant properties, and can exert antiapoptotic, anti-inflammatory and antiallergy effects.”
Hundreds of studies have now established the significance of a hydrogen enriched environment. Benefits include antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, stimulation of energy metabolism, improved glucose metabolism, protection against brain trauma & cognitive disorders, and remediation of many age-related symptoms. A 2013 article summarizes the medical potential of hydrogen. Stress, poor diet, age and pollution, deplete the pools of hydrogen in our bodies. In our modern society, most people are hydrogen depleted.
When we think of hydration, we think of water. But when the body calls for water, it is hydrogen it wants. In the chapter on hydrogen and oxygen in Dancing with Water the relationship between hydrogen and oxygen is examined, revealing that the absence of hydrogen is the underlying cause of dehydration which has been linked to many maladies. All the symptoms of disease and aging are, in one way or another, accompanied by slow dehydration. Increasing the amount of hydrogen we get every day and replenishing the hydrogen pools in our organs, can relieve many symptoms—and improve our level of energy.
Food, air, and water are all sources of hydrogen. Some sources have greater amounts of hydrogen than others; the hydrogen in some sources is more available than others. There are a number of ways to maximize the hydrogen in food, air, and water:
- Food is a primary source of hydrogen. However, the hydrogen is tied up in complex molecules. Food must be metabolized (broken down) to release the hydrogen.
- The air we breathe also contains hydrogen which is immediately absorbed into cells and tissues the moment it enters the respiratory tract. The amount found in the atmosphere is small — less than 1%. One way to enhance the air with hydrogen is to use an air ionizer or to place a warm salt lamp in your living environment. Both produce negative ions—and small amounts of hydrogen. Ionized air is plentiful in the presence of moving water—especially waterfalls, and at the ocean where saltwater continually releases ions into the air.
- Another way to increase the amount of hydrogen you get on a regular basis is to enrich your water. There are dozens of studies showing that this method can have a dramatic effect on health. Hydrogen dances with minerals in water to generate a complex crystalline matrix that holds both. When you structure the water before you add hydrogen, hydrogen is more apt to be retained in the water. Hydrogen-rich water can be created in three general ways.
How to make hydrogen-rich water
1. One way to make hydrogen-rich water is to place something in the water that releases hydrogen. Magnesium is well known to interact with water and release hydrogen. This is the principle behind special tablets for placement in water.
2. Another way to enrich water with hydrogen is to draw hydrogen into the water. Hydrogen is attracted to higher vibrations, so anything that raises the vibration of your water will attract hydrogen. The use of laminar crystal, Tensor Rings, shungite, tourmaline, quartz crystals, egg-shaped vessels etc. all help to draw hydrogen into water. These methods take more time and they add smaller amounts of hydrogen.
3. Numerous new technologies will infuse hydrogen gas into water–either by bubbling the gas into water or by ionization. Either of these methods can add therapeutic amounts of hydrogen however ionization splits water molecules and often causes the resulting water to be too alkaline. Read the article on alkaline water . A new water called Watt-Ahh infuses Di-Tetra gas (made of 2 water molecules and 4 extra electrons) into water. The authors of Dancing with Water have found this water to be rich in available hydrogen and oxygen. Both gases are delivered in balance and with the extra energy from the gas. Of all the hydrogen enrichment options, this is their personal favorite because it is gentle and does not push the body.
Note: Using hydrogen-rich water will begin a detoxification process. Listen to your body and don’t take it too fast.
Heavy Hydrogen & Deuterium Depleted Water
Heavy hydrogen (called deuterium) has an extra neutron in the nucleus of the atom that affects some metabolic processes. New science reveals that making deuterium-depleted water can have many benefits.