“Hydrogen water slows human aging.”
No study in people has tested whether hydrogen water slows aging; the one small trial we found measured only markers such as telomeres.
"Anti-aging" on a hydrogen water label is a promise nobody has tested in people. Buying it for that reason means paying extra for something that has not been shown to do anything for aging.
If a product claims to slow aging, ask whether the study measured real health or lifespan, or only a lab marker.
The only trial we found that looked at aging gave hydrogen water to 40 older adults for six months and measured lab markers and function tests, not how fast people actually age or how long they live. One pilot study of markers cannot answer whether hydrogen water slows aging.
No study in people has tested whether hydrogen water slows aging; the one small trial we found measured only markers such as telomeres. A change in a lab marker does not show that people stay healthy longer or live longer.
In a 2021 pilot trial, 40 adults aged 70 and older (average age 76) drank about 17 ounces (half a liter) a day of hydrogen water or plain water for six months. The hydrogen group's telomeres (the caps on the ends of chromosomes) held steady while the plain-water group's got shorter, a borderline result, and the hydrogen group did better on a chair-stand test. Most of the many other things measured, such as body composition, blood pressure, sleep and quality of life, did not clearly differ. A 2024 review of human hydrogen-water studies called the results preliminary and asked for larger, more rigorous trials.
- Zanini D, Todorovic N, Korovljev D, Stajer V, Ostojic J, Purac J, Kojic D, Vukasinovic E, Djordjievski S, Sopic M, Guzonjic A, Ninic A, Erceg S, Ostojic SM. The effects of 6-month hydrogen-rich water intake on molecular and phenotypic biomarkers of aging in older adults aged 70 years and over: A randomized controlled pilot trial. Experimental Gerontology. 2021;155:111574. DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2021.111574. PMID: 34601077
- Dhillon G, Buddhavarapu V, Grewal H, Sharma P, Verma RK, Munjal R, Devadoss R, Kashyap R. Hydrogen Water: Extra Healthy or a Hoax?-A Systematic Review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2024;25(2):973. DOI: 10.3390/ijms25020973. PMID: 38256045