Hydrogen-Rich Water Decreases Muscle Damage and Improves Power Endurance in Elite Athletes: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Ogannisyan M et al. · J Lifestyle Med. 2025;15(1):8–17.
What kind of evidence is this?
Human
Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled parallel trial
Exercise and recovery
H₂-rich water
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Methods at a glance
Elite female handball and skeleton athletes
22 participants: 10 assigned to H₂ water and 12 to placebo
28 days, with an additional assessment 1 week after supplementation
One H₂-generating tablet dissolved in 500 mL water and consumed within about 3 minutes, twice daily for 28 days
H₂ dissolved in water — H₂ only, not Brown’s gas.
The paper reports an estimated total dose of about 8 mg H₂/day.
Not applicable — oral water, not gas inhalation.
No O₂ was co-delivered as part of the intervention.
Visually and organoleptically similar placebo tablets dissolved in the same water volume
Outcomes and reported result
Body composition, stress and recovery questionnaire, blood markers, inflammation, antioxidants and maximal/mean torque
The H₂-water group showed within-group reductions in body-fat percentage and creatine kinase and increases in muscle measures and maximal torque. Stress and recovery questionnaire scores did not significantly change. The report does not consistently establish that these changes were greater than placebo.
Methods, figures, disclosures and outcome reporting checked in the open-access full text; independent appraisal remains incomplete.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit. Null findings, outcome type, study design and precision all matter.
Cautions and applicability
Small feasibility study with unequal groups, many outcomes and substantial reliance on within-group comparisons. Menstrual-cycle data were not collected. Two authors reported commercial molecular-hydrogen involvement; the active tablets were made by Natural Wellness Now.
Elite female handball and skeleton athletes under the study conditions.
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Certainty is assessed by important outcome across a complete eligible evidence set, not by attaching a final grade to one source.
Sources and record status
PMID: 40376695 · DOI: 10.15280/jlm.2025.15.1.8
Open-access full text is available through PMC.
Open-access PMC full text and PubMed bibliographic record.
2026-08-10