Clearing up a few common misconceptions & sharing my personal protocols and my family protocols. Let's break down the science!
Why would someone say hydrogen therapy is dangerous?
In the world of wellness - it can be hard to decipher hype from truth, and hydrogen has definitely been center stage lately.
Most people think of hydrogen as simply a part of water (which it is), but today I want to talk about why & how it can be a powerful therapeutic tool - debunk some of the information where people claim it is dangerous, and share my personal protocols for myself and my family.
Today I want to break down some of the common misconceptions about hydrogen that I have been hearing lately on social media - as well as share this brand new episode with you!
Click here or on the photo above for the new episode (or click on the individual timestamps to skip to each section):
39:22 — Hydrogen for Gut Health and Immune Support
42:39 — Hydrogen Therapy for Autoimmune Conditions
45:33 — Customer Support - How to contact Axiom with questions and get support
Now let's clear up some of the confusion going around about hydrogen ⬇️
1. Hydrogen doesn’t suppress all ROS - only the most damaging ones.
Some people argue that ROS (reactive oxygen species) are essential for signaling, and they are right. However - H₂ is selective, not blanket-suppressive.
Fact: Hydrogen only neutralizes highly cytotoxic radicals, like:
Hydroxyl radical (•OH)
Peroxynitrite (ONOO⁻)
These are non-signaling, highly damaging species, and it does not impact beneficial ROS, like:
Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)
Superoxide (O₂•⁻)
These are used for signaling and hormesis.
Citation: Ohsawa et al., Nat Med. 2007;13(6):688–94.
“Hydrogen acts as a therapeutic antioxidant by selectively reducing cytotoxic oxygen radicals.”
2. Hydrogen supports redox signaling and mitochondrial function, and does not block it.
Molecular hydrogen improves:
ATP production
Mitochondrial membrane potential
Gene expression for antioxidant defense (via Nrf2, SOD, catalase)
This is enhancement of redox balance, not suppression.
Citation: Kamimura et al., Neurosci Lett. 2011;492(2):92–96. Hydrogen improved mitochondrial function in a Parkinson’s disease model.
3. Hydrogen does not blunt hormesis - it actually may create hormetic adaptation.
Hydrogen activates:
Nrf2 pathway
AMPK
PGC-1α (mitochondrial biogenesis)
It may act like a mild redox stressor itself, which helps cells become more resilient to future oxidative insults.
Citation: Ichihara et al., Medical Gas Research. 2015 “Hydrogen gas has mild stress-inducing properties that can elicit adaptive responses.”
4. Hydrogen is safe and beneficial even for healthy individuals.
In over 1,000 peer-reviewed studies, including dozens of clinical trials, no adverse effects were reported in healthy humans- even at high doses (e.g. 4% H₂ gas, daily hydrogen water for months).
Citation: Nakao et al., Med Gas Res. 2020;10(3):133–141. “No adverse effects were reported in any of the studies, including those with healthy subjects.”
The only place where I see hydrogen as potentially being "dangerous" would be when the hydrogen generator is inferior. This could be a situation where the membrane breaks down and leeches heavy metals into the water (which is why I only recommend 2 companies currently - Axiom & Holy Hydrogen)
5. Hydrogen water contains deuterium & raises deuterium levels
Molecular Hydrogen is composed of 2 regular hydrogen atoms, and it is not deuterium (which is a different type of hydrogen composed of one proton and one neutron - making it twice as heavy as H2). Furthermore - hydrogen does not introduce excess deuterium into the system.
Hydrogen rich water is not deuterium rich water, and many studies actually show that hydrogen therapy helps reduce oxidative damage caused by deuterium stress.
Citations: Ohta, S. (2014). Molecular Hydrogen as a Preventive and Therapeutic Medical Gas: Initiation, Development and Potential of Hydrogen Medicine. Pharmacological Therapeutics, 144(1), 1–11.
Summary: Discusses production of hydrogen-rich water by electrolysis and Mg-H₂ reactions, with no change in deuterium content.
Nicolson, G. L. et al. (2016). The Clinical Effects of Hydrogen Administration: From Animal and Human Diseases to Exercise Medicine
International Journal of Clinical Medicine, 7, 32–76. Summary: Confirms hydrogen-rich water has no adverse changes to isotopic content; deuterium levels remain unchanged.
At the end of the day - when you use a good quality generator - Hydrogen isn’t dangerous - it’s intelligent. It doesn’t wipe out ROS - it selectively buffers the damaging ones, while leaving the signaling pathways untouched.
Therapeutic hydrogen supports mitochondrial energy production, enhances redox flexibility, and improves metabolic resilience—even in healthy people.
