Two years ago, Health Rising posted about Fred Friedberg’s small hydrogen water clinical trial for ME/CFS. Hydrogen water appears to potentially present a relatively cheap, easy, and safe way to possibly help with a number of issues in ME/CFS: reduce inflammation, enhance metabolic functioning, reduce lactate levels after exercise, improve mitochondrial functioning and even reduce pain. A recent review paper suggested it may also be able to help improve micro-circulation – a topic of obvious interest in ME/CFS and long COVID.
Since then a number of things have happened. The coronavirus pandemic triggered more interest in the use of hydrogen gas as a therapy, a review paper, “Molecular Hydrogen as a Medical Gas for the Treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Possible Efficacy Based on a Literature Review“, coming out of Japan specifically proposed that hydrogen gas be trialed in ME/CFS, and Fred Friedberg has launched a new hydrogen water ME/CFS clinical trial.
Hydrogen water has gotten more interest in ME/CFS and COVID-19 lately.
The ME/CFS hydrogen gas review pointed out that hydrogen gas has been shown to reduce fatigue during exercise in several animal studies, that blood glucose, lactate, and oxidative stress were reduced, that glutathione was increased and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels were reduced.
Perhaps the most interesting studies from an ME/CFS perspective were done in healthy subjects many hours after exertion. One study found improvements in antioxidant capacity after exercise. Given the consistent reductions in antioxidant levels and increased oxidative stress found in ME/CFS, and the hit to the antioxidant system produced by exercise, any improvement in antioxidant status in ME/CFS could be helpful.
Bindu Paul and Marian Lemle have proposed that impaired antioxidant functioning may play a key role in ME/CFS. They believe a new generation of more effective antioxidants could be quite helpful. Interestingly, they’re focused on a different form of hydrogen – hydrogen sulfide.
Another possibility is an increase in mitochondrial functioning. Hydrogen-rich water (5.9 ppm) intake for two weeks in healthy subjects significantly increased their peak energy levels (peak oxygen intake). Since it’s the ability to produce energy aerobically that appears to have been hit hardest in ME/CFS, anything that could improve that even in small amounts could be helpful. One hydrogen water study, though, found it improved aerobic energy production only in trained athletes.
Another possibility is improved autonomic nervous system functioning. A double-blinded, placebo-controlled Japanese study presented to the Japanese Fatigue Society found that hydrogen-rich water (600 mL/d) for 4 weeks reduced sympathetic nervous activity and anxiety, and improved mood. Watanabe, the senior author of that study, has been studying fatigue as well as ME/CFS for many years.
The Mitochondria in ME/CFS – Could Hydrogen Gas or Hydrogen-Rich Water Help?
One paper asserted that hydrogen’s unique ability to get into the mitochondria made it the perfect free radical scavenger for ME/CFS.
The 20 citations involving the mitochondria in ME/CFS that the authors of the hydrogen ME/CFS paper refer to attest to the breadth of possible mitochondrial abnormalities that have been found. Still, since we don’t know exactly what’s going on with them, it’s not clear which treatments might help.
The authors, though, believe that hydrogen gas/water might be the ticket to fight the “decreased proton leakage, ATP production, and mitochondrial membrane potential and increased mitochondrial mass” as well as the increased inflammatory cytokines found in ME/CFS. They believe that hydrogen’s unique ability to scavenge the hydroxyl radical (OH) produced by the mitochondria during energy production could make it an essential factor. They assert that hydrogen (h2) is the only scavenger able to make it into the mitochondria and bind up this free radical.
The Gist
- Two years ago Fred Friedberg began a small trial of hydrogen-rich water in ME/CFS. Now he’s back with a larger trial – this time combined with heart rhythm biofeedback.
- With its possible ability to reduce inflammation, enhance metabolic functioning, reduce lactate levels after exercise, improve antioxidant levels, mitochondrial functioning, the microcirculation, and reduce sympathetic nervous system activity, and even possibly pain, hydrogen-rich water provides a potentially safe and relatively cheap aid for people with ME/CFS and similar disorders.
- Few human trials have been done, though, and its effectiveness is unclear. A recent review targeting ME/CFS hypothesized, though, that hydrogen-rich water might be able to improve mitochondrial functioning by sopping up free radicals that may be interfering with mitochondrial functioning in ME/CFS.
- The vast majority of interest and research into hydrogen-rich water has come out of Japan and China. With four out of five clinical trials in the U.S. coming out of Stony Brook – the University that Fred Friedberg PhD hails from – Stony Brook is clearly the epicenter of hydrogen water research in the U.S.
- Friedberg’s 39-person hydrogen-rich water/heart rhythm biofeedback 8-week trial consists of 3 arms: a hydrogen-rich water arm that requires taking tablets, a heart rhythm biofeedback arm that uses an app on a smartphone, and a combined hydrogen-rich water and heart rhythm biofeedback arm.
- The trial is open to people with chronic fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome, and similar disorders, who are from 18-65, and have a BMI <30. The study is done online. Contact Fred Friedberg at fred.friedberg@stonybrookmedicine.edu or (631) 638-1931 if you’re interested in participating.
Slowly Growing Interest in the West
It’s remarkable how much more interest in the use of hydrogen water as a therapeutic option exists in Japan and China than in the U.S. A 2021 review by Chinese researchers listed the many possible neuroprotective effects hydrogen water may have. Stony Brook researchers apparently agreed with that idea as a 2018 Neurology/Neurosurgery Grand Rounds presentation focused on it in “Hydrogen Water: Is There Evidence for Therapeutic Potential in Neurology?. Stony Brook – where Dr. Friedberg hails from – is something of an anomaly, though. With four out of the 5 hydrogen-rich water clinical trials in the U.S. taking place at Stony Brook University, it’s clearly the center of hydrogen-rich water research in the U.S.
Fred Friedberg’s New Hydrogen Water ME/CFS Trial
I don’t think anyone thinks hydrogen water is going to be the answer to ME/CFS, but it could help. Perhaps hydrogen water, plus some mitochondrial enhancers, might work well together (?). It may very well be that “the answer” to ME/CFS and FM and long COVID will consist of a variety of treatments that work together to boost a patient back to health.
Dr. Freidberg’s new hydrogen water trial is a bit bigger and more comprehensive than his 2020 one. The 10-week, 39-person trial which began at the end of May and is slated to end up next year, will have three treatment arms: a hydrogen water arm, a heart rhythm biofeedback arm, and hydrogen water – plus heart rhythm biofeedback – arm.
The hydrogen water arm simply consists of taking hydrogen pills mixed in water 3x a day for eight weeks.
The heart rhythm biofeedback arm is administered via an app downloaded to your smartphone. A wireless sensor attached to the ear monitors your heart rate, which is displayed on the phone screen app. Biofeedback is used to achieve optimal levels of heart rate variability – an important index of overall health.
Studies indicate that HRV is usually low in ME/CFS – suggesting that the sympathetic nervous system or fight/flight system has been turned on. Low HRV could be impacting sleep, energy production, immune regulation, the ability to relax and recover, etc. in ME/CFS. The heart rhythm biofeedback portion of the study also lasts for eight weeks.
Various self-report questionnaires (short-form SF-36; Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale; Brief Resilience Scale) will assess effectiveness. If the trial is successful, Dr. Friedberg plans to apply for a larger NIH-funded trial.
Eligibility – 18-65 and a diagnosis of chronic fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), or something similar. BMI must be less than <30.
The study is done entirely online. There is no need to visit the facility at Stony Brook in New York. If you’re interested in participating contact Fred Friedberg, PhD at fred.friedberg@stonybrookmedicine.edu or (631) 638-1931
Thanks for this update on H2. I’ve been using hydrogen water for about 3 months (both liquid drops and pill form). During this time the main thing I’ve noticed is its positive effect on my mast cell activation (MCAS). I no longer need H1 or H2 inhibitors as long as I continue to drink hydrogen water a few times a day. It’s amazing! I’ve had MCAS since birth and I’m now 70. H2 might be helping my POTS symptoms too but, that’s harder to measure. However, Ivermectin reduced my POTS symptoms about 50% last year. I still need to take Metoprolol for tachycardia. I took hydrogen water during a bout of omicron at the beginning of June and my course of illness was brief..only three days. I plan to continue to drink hydrogen water and monitor its other benefits.
Very interesting, thank you for leaving this comment. I’m thinking of buying one of the machines that ionizes the water making it both alkaline and also hydrogen rich so I would be getting the benefits of both. If you look into “The pH Miracle” (I bought the book) apparently using alkaline water and an alkaline diet lifestyle it will heal any and all disease. I haven’t read the book yet but definitely something on my to do list. By the way I’m willing to bet the reason your covid was not bad and only lasted 3 days is because of the Ivermectin that you are taking which has been proven to work for covid.
Yes, I was on both Ivermectin (IVM) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and zinc as well as hydrogen water. IVM and HCQ are both zinc ionophores so they reduced replication of the virus. It didn’t have a chance.
Ivermectin has been shown to not have any effect in treating Covid-19. In fact some patients that received it got worse than those who did not take it.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2115869
That’s not true in my case and many of my family members.
fact check – ivermectin doesnt help with covid https://www.cochrane.org/CD015017/INFECTN_ivermectin-preventing-and-treating-covid-19
Interesting article. I have been drinking ionized water now since almost 2 years now and I have never felt so energized and hydrated. My skin is softer and I am feeling just so much better. It also helps me to reduce the inflammation I have and it helps me to reduce my lower-backpain. My husband has been diagnosed with diabetes 2,5 years ago and he was medicated by his doctor. Since he has been drinking hydrogen water, after 3 months of drinking hydrogen water his sugar blood values went almost back to normal and he could take away half of his meds. Our goal is off course for him to live without meds. He is almost without medication and I know we will gonna get there.
Besides that I have a friend who has chronic fatigue who could retake all her activities after being for several years in bed due to starting to drink Hydrogen Water. Also our child of 4 drinks alkalized water and on top of that we save huge money due to our waterionizee produces 8 types of water. We bath in it, we clean our entire house with it and got rid of all chemical products in the house. So we dont spend any more money on expensive cleaning products. We also clean our vegetables with the water in order to get rid of all the pesticides they have been treated with last but not least we also clean our chicken and meat with it. It’s 99.9% bacterie free and it eliminates it for 99,9%. Our waterionizer learned us how to live much more greener and it really has changed our lives. We also stopped drinking soft drinks and barely drink alcohol as the water tastes so good and has so much benefits on our health and environment.
What ionization machine do you use?
Thanks
Ivermectin has helped eliminate C19 from many thousands, if not millions of people across the world.
MMS is also successfully used worldwide for all kinds of other conditions, let alone mold disintegration through CD tablets off gassing in water. Bluntly, expensive pharma funded PR works overtime to report safe and affordable solutions as poisons.
Studies which might be backdoor funded by the pharma companies are not the ultimate source of truth. Many are bought and paid for. They are not willing for the knowledge and use of affordable and (when properly applied) nontoxic healing agents to cut into stockholder obscene profits. Total control of the medical narrative equals larger profits from the already economically drained patient population.
Medicine and science are constantly changing. Multiple Sclerosis was until recently known as “Hysterical Paralysis”; there are too many examples of this kind of error to list. Drug companies constantly scramble to cover up their damages and out of court settlements going back decades.
The great majority of useful comments here reflect positive healing experiences with natural, safe and in most cases affordable solutions. The public awareness about the effectiveness of natural solutions is expanding rapidly, and so is its awareness of pharma abuses of all kinds. We need pharma and good medicines like LDN, but not the loss of open mainstream media dialogue about its excesses and abuses.
Thanks to Cort always for keeping this dialogue healthy.
Stop lying Jan Hansen, you’re just as bad as the facebook ‘fact checkers’ trying to push propoganda and ACTUAL misinformation.. and also pretending real truth is ‘misinformation’ instead.
Great news and thanks for sharing. Just finished w/BA5 with some lingering symptoms so I will get some hydrogen water.
@Maureen Hartnett
are you comfortable to relate dosage and duration of Ivermectin?
@sunie, this link should answer all of your questions.
https://covid19criticalcare.com/covid-19-protocols/
I used Ivermectin 3 times for COVID, but I never used it in the dosages recommended by FLCCC, but I know my body well, and the higher dosages did not sit well for me.
For me, taking 12mg daily with Alpha, 24-36mg with Delta, and with Omicron, I used 12mg of IVM for the first few days but switched to HCQ.
Dr. Mobeen on Youtube or Odysee has wonderful videos explaining the mechanism of action. I have numerous comorbidities, and I am very thankful for these medications. I also took extra zinc balanced with copper, whole food vitamin C, and vitamin D. Knowledge is power. 🙂
All my Long covid symptoms disappeared in 3 days using chlorphenamine maleate 4mg in the evening.
HI Maureen,
Would you please provide more details about what brand you use and where you get the liquid drops and pills and some tips on dosage. I’m too old for the study but eager to try it on my own!
Thank you,
Susan
The tablets I use are made by Dr. Mercola but there are others available on Amazon. https://www.pureformulas.com/h2-molecular-hydrogen-30-tablets-by-dr-mercola.html?accountid=53000524&CAWELAID=530005240008835714&CATARGETID=530005240008780595&cadevice=c&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8uOWBhDXARIsAOxKJ2HElYs73qVCKPOlOVqn6M6I0_y4nuCrgIbb2dcMq3SisP3o5nBA4l8aAvpoEALw_wcB You can buy something like this to make H2 water: https://qlifetoday.com/qcupmax/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8uOWBhDXARIsAOxKJ2Fc-IVjh2pBPf0PkTs1ziDBcRz5qOcg4iwo4BjIonPld-TmAq8B7S8aAuK1EALw_wcB Making it with distilled water and drops is a little involved: https://jimhumble.org/how-to-make-mms You can also buy it flavored, pre-made to drink immediately from grocery stores: https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.960549390.html?cmpid=ps_swy_eas_ecom_bng_20210620_71700000084574211_58700007185895851_92700064495688443&gclid=2cf3a172843b19039379c3ab52a7a9b0&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=2cf3a172843b19039379c3ab52a7a9b0
Maureen, your link for making it with drops goes to how to make MMS, not hydrogen water?
MMS is dangerous. “One of the most popular therapies within alternative cancer medicine is a product known as Miracle Mineral Supplement or Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS). MMS is sodium chlorite in water, but most products instruct users to mix MMS with citric acid- containing juices, such as orange or lemon juice. The citric acid induces a reaction which converts the sodium chlorite to chlorine dioxide, a potent bleaching agent. The product claims that, by drinking this solution of chlorine dioxide, diseases such as cancer can be removed from the body. Due to the popularity of this therapy, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a press release in August 2019 warning consumers about the dangers of MMS, including extreme nausea, vomiting, as well as life-threatening liver failure and low blood pressure. ” Debunked 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5kxi5Dz_MY
How is hydrogen water different from alkaline water? Some ENT’s are recommending alkaline water for problems with reflux. Easiest way to get it seems to be through specialized water filter pitchers.
https://levelupway.com/documents/ebook-hydrogen1.pdf
They are the same thing.
Very interesting!! I use H2 Elite by Quicksilver Scientific. It’s a tablet that you drop into a glass of water. When it stops fizzing…(dissolved)…. you drink in immediately.. I believe it has prevented me from getting worse. I had to start slowly with 1/4glass and slowly work up to a full glass. It initially caused a increase in my inflammatory symptoms which I interpreted as the result of getting things “working” again causing the release and mobilization of toxins and metabolic byproducts etc. I’m about to start taking it twice a day as recommended by my functional doctor. I did see a few NIH articles /studies that report positive effects that were more pronounced in sicker people than the healthy ones. I think ?…It’s safe !
I started slowly too.
ive been using beetroot juices for the NO boost for similar reasons
beetroot juice (BRJ) has been shown to reduce blood pressure (Webb et al. 2008; Bailey et al. 2009, 2010; Vanhatalo et al. 2010; Lansley et al. 2011),
oxygen consumption during exercise (Bailey et al. 2009, 2010; Vanhatalo et al. 2010; Wylie et al. 2013 a),
and improve exercise performance (Lansley et al. 2011 a, b ; Bond et al. 2012; Cermak et al. 2012; Wylie et al. 2013 b; Peeling et al. 2015),
vascular control (Ferguson et al. 2013),
and muscle contractile function in humans (Fulford et al. 2013; Haider & Folland, 2014).
Indirect assessments of muscle metabolism via 31P‐magnetic resonance spectroscopy suggest that BRJ consumption reduces ATP turnover during muscle contraction, which probably contributes to the observed attenuation in oxygen consumption during exercise (Bailey et al. 2010)
but also WebMD has some great youtube vids on the whole mitochondrial system (re covids effects etc and how vit D3 and NO are used in that area and others
One of the things id read twas that most olympic records in last 20 -30 yrs have all been by teams bulking out on beetrrot juice before events/training
i got my brother on to it (hes a club /long time runner for last 30 yrs or so)within 3 months of him going on the beetroot juice his times had all dropped by at least 10 percent
sorry bout the big cut paste 😛
WebCram youtubes not webmd
also on the NO
Dark chocolate ie 70 percent and higher cocoa mass types is also a good source
and the back of the tongue suppodely has bacteria designed for just that …creating NO in the body 🙂
Which type of beetroot juice do you take (ordinary supermarket beetroot juice, or special sports beetroot juice)?
How much do you take and how often?
And, most interesting: what is the effect of your intake of beetroot juice on your health?
im usually taking the V8 version Purple power(brother too)
its been hard to get thou with Covid thou so ive swapped to a local blend which is beetroot Pomegranete raspberry on an apple base
to cut the sugar/carbs ive started halfing it with the V8 vegetable one
ive swapped to a smoothie for brekkie (im trying low carb cos my lots of fruit a day as were supposed to have was raising my cholestrol ..3 months without all the fruit and sugar and most of the carbs and its already lowering now
So its 1/3 cup beetjuice 1/3 vege juice 1/3 Kefir in my smoothy
Im doing my 10k steps a day (3x 3kish walks) with some jogging in first one ,if that helps any
Something to consider: the potassium and sodium of the V8s may have something to do with your improvements…
So Thomas, what is the effect of the beetroot juice on your health?
I’ve tried hydrogen for my chronic fatigue syndrome / Long-Covid and it does make a difference but I had to stop. Someone gave me a Kangen water machine a couple years ago and I found that it helped. My neck, which is normally stiff and tight, felt much looser and it would crack more freely after drinking the water. My whole body felt lighter and less stiff and a little less fatigued (not a huge difference but some as far as fatigue, maybe 15%). My mind also felt clearer. After doing some research I found out that it was most likely the hydrogen in the water and not the alkalinity of the Kangen water that was making a difference. So I bought a hydrogen generator (AquaCure) and felt improvements using it. But after a little over a month, even when I would drink the hydrogen water first thing in the morning it made my insomnia much worse, sometimes being awake till 2 or 3:00 in the morning instead of just 11 or 12:00. Finally I had to quit using it because even a small amount would give me serious insomnia and might get 5 hours of sleep including naps. This was after getting long covid and I have a feeling that that’s part of the reason that I have an increased issue with insomnia which the hydrogen now makes worse. I think that it could definitely help some people and I hope that one day I’m able to use it again. I have a feeling that the source of my fatigue has to do with my difficulty resting and not from a lack of “energy”. My Garmin smartwatch tracks my heart rate variability and usually my Heart Rate Variability is usually quite low and that corresponds with my fatigue and poor sleep. I have a feeling that the hydrogen is stirring something up that is causing the insomnia and it might not be the hydrogen itself.
Hallo Landis, Regarding the insomnia: You might want to try taking more magnesium. Some processes might increase the need for magnesium. For example, after starting on NAC, I found that I had to start taking more than twice the amount of magnesium I took before starting on NAC. I read that Vitamin-D supplements also “use up” more available magnesium and you have to increase magnesium intake to prevent “side-effects” wich are in fact not side-effects of Vitamin-D itself, but of magnesium deficiency in the presence of more Vitamin-D intake.
Great article! I’ll give it a shot.
This is a little off-topic…You mentioned HRV tends to be lower in ME/CFS patients. Is there a resource that shows what the average HRV is for people your same age and gender? Mine is typically around 25-35, but can dip into the teens on a particularly bad day. Just curious how that measures up to “normal” women my age.
Thanks for sharing. HRV is super interesting.
I’m very sick and mine is always 90-200 even without pots meds.
I don’t know. They usually compare HRV levels between people with ME/CFS and hopefully carefully matched healthy controls. HRV levels can vary widely – even within age groups – but some sites assess HRV per age and gender. It drops dramatically over time. The problem is that they’re generally using athletes – and they have higher HRV’s
https://www.whoop.com/thelocker/normal-hrv-range-age-gender/
Another site says:
Every person’s HRV is different so don’t compare with others and instead, measure up your HRV to your own average numbers. It is very much normal to notice every day and seasonal differences in your HRV.
My twin brother who is healthy actually has a significantly lower HRV than I do or did until a couple months ago when it suddenly tanked for reasons I’m not clear on.
That is helpful. Thank you!
This is a good HRV resource
https://elitehrv.com/
Related new ME research >
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8710546/
@kinohi
wow! your link is full full full of cfs/me comparisons, was able to read but a few, but thank you for such striking information.
This is a very interesting analysis. I had no idea that the damage from heat stroke could be compared so closely with ME/CFS. The idea that it results in a vicious cycle that is difficult to stop seems to be comparable. Now, how do we break this cycle?
Fraud in Alzheimer’s research:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/22/2111914/-Two-decades-of-Alzheimer-s-research-may-be-based-on-deliberate-fraud-that-has-cost-millions-of-lives
@Ann
i think that the work done by Dr. Alan B. MacDonald is due to receive proper recognition for his work on a cause of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Alan used genetic primers that fluoresce when positive. Pretty specific.
https://alzheimerborreliosis.net/
I do wonder how consuming hydrogen rich water would impact people with SIBO (which seems to be a lot of us)??
For example: Dr. Mark Pimentel does not generally like people supplementing with apple cider vinegar, because it’s essentially hydrogen, and hydrogen fuels the SIBO.
There’s 3 types of SIBO/IMO:
– Hydrogen
– Hydrogen Sulfide
– Methane (methane bugs eat hydrogen)
I would be very interested if there are any chemists who can weigh in on the ability of water to be enriched with hydrogen, and how stable this enrichment is–and what all instruments could measure it.
Cort, thanks for this post (and all of your myriad, insightful and enlightening posts). I’ve looked into some studies on hydrogen rich water, the most promising of which, for me, is this one: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5806445/
I would sign up for Friedberg’s study, but I’m too old for the age cutoff.
Thank you, Maureen, Carolyn and Landis for sharing your experience with hydrogen water. I’d really like to know how many of our community have tried hydrogen rich water, and what effect it may have had. Any chance of a survey, Cort? Or is there somewhere else on Health Rising that I should look for this?