Hydrogen water tablets show promise as energy booster without the jitters of caffeine

02 Feb 2024 --- Hydrogen water supplement tablets have been shown to reduce inflammation and increase energy, among other potential benefits. The patented technology behind the tablets promises the highest concentration of hydrogen in water, shown to achieve neuromodulating effects in the brain circuits linked to alertness.

“Since hydrogen is not a stimulant, it provides a much different energy boost than stimulants such as caffeine,” Alex Tarnava, the inventor of the patented hydrogen water tablets, tells Nutrition Insight. “It can be best described as a return to normalcy, or the absence of feeling tired, rather than becoming hyper after a stimulant intake.”

“In the Attention Network Test (ANT), hydrogen significantly increases orienting, which caffeine and other stimulants do not address. Hydrogen gives calm energy and clarity, more closely resembling not being tired than being loaded up with stimulants,” he adds.

The tablets split a stream of hydrogen bubbles when dissolved in water, creating a high concentration of hydrogen and achieving dosages that usually require pressure at over 120 psi for eight or more hours.

Hydrogen vs. caffeine
A study published in the journal Neurophysiology compares the effects of single-dose hydrogen-rich water and caffeine on estimates by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for alertness and on ANT. The randomized controlled cross-over pilot trial in 23 young, healthy men and women who were sleep-deprived for 24 hours.

“In the studies using hydrogen-rich water in humans after acute sleep deprivation, it was shown that hydrogen more robustly improved brain metabolism than caffeine, as measured by choline to creatine ratios,” states Tarnava.

“Hydrogen was shown to be equivalent to caffeine in improving the ANT, notably with caffeine primarily affecting alerting while hydrogen tablets improved orienting. A follow-up study demonstrated that this may be due to hydrogen leading to a more robust improvement in brain metabolism than caffeine, as determined by choline to creatinine ratios in different regions of the brain.”

Hydrogen-rich water was also shown to increase VAS alertness by 1.7 points on average. Both caffeine and hydrogen-rich water had a positive effect on markers of alertness in the sleep-deprived subjects.

Discussing the practical application of hydrogen water tablets for individuals looking for a coffee substitute that  improves cognitive performance, Tarnava says that “hydrogen has been shown to acutely improve brain metabolism after a single dose. Anecdotally, the effects last a few hours.”

“Personally, when feeling run down from a bad sleep, I load extra hydrogen first thing in the morning and then again midafternoon. It’s best to take on an empty stomach, either at least 15 minutes before eating, or two hours after eating. Drop one tablet in 500 mL of water, wait for the tablet to rise to the surface, and then drink as fast as possible,” he explains.

“It’s important to not sip hydrogen water all day, as hydrogen only works by pulsing high doses. Like exercise, as an adaptive stress, it works by creating an acute and tolerable stress, which you recover and grow stronger from after. Rather than targeting your muscles, hydrogen targets your mitochondria. So, you can think of it as an exercise for your mitochondria.” 

Tarnava argues that the positive effects associated with hydrogen-rich water, including metabolic health, cognitive health, athletic performance and aging, point to a potentially wide appeal of the supplementation. 

“Since hydrogen is an adaptive stress we anticipate, and most rarely produce in sufficient quantities endogenously anymore due to lifestyle changes over the last centuries, almost anyone can benefit from molecular hydrogen.”

“High-dose hydrogen therapy is best utilized after acute stressors such as sleep deprivation, an intense workout or for chronic use in those with imperfect lifestyles, or those advancing in age,” the inventor highlights.

By Milana Nikolova