Redox Water Consumption Attenuates Exercise-Induced Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Physically Active Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Stolecka-Warzecha A et al. · Nutrients. 2026;18(4):694.
What kind of evidence is this?
Human
Single-blind parallel randomized controlled trial
Exercise and recovery
H₂-rich water
Not reported in this record.
Not reported in this record.
Methods at a glance
Physically active adults
40 participants: redox water n=20 and standard water n=20; each group included 10 women and 10 men
8 weeks, followed by a maximal treadmill exercise test
Alkaline hydrogen-enriched redox water; minimum 0.045 L/kg on training days and 0.035 L/kg on non-training days
H₂-enriched drinking water — H₂ only, not Brown’s gas and not inhalation.
pH 9.2–9.4, oxidation-reduction potential −160 to −135 mV and total dissolved solids 120–155 mg/L; dissolved H₂ concentration was not reported.
Not applicable — oral water, not gas inhalation.
No O₂ was co-delivered as part of the intervention.
Standard drinking water
Outcomes and reported result
IL-6 and malondialdehyde before and immediately after exercise, plus hematology and coagulation measures
IL-6 showed a group-by-time difference, but baseline IL-6 was about fourfold higher in the intervention group. The MDA difference was largely attributable to baseline variability after adjustment.
Methods, dosing, results, baseline imbalance, funding and conflicts checked in the open-access full text.
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 single-blind trial, two biochemical outcomes measured immediately after one exercise test and important baseline imbalance. WATER LAB funded the work; authors declared no conflicts and reported sponsor non-involvement.
Physically active adults under this eight-week hydration protocol; not clinical treatment or general athletic-performance benefit.
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: 41754211 · DOI: 10.3390/nu18040694
Open-access full text is available through PMC.
Open-access PMC full text and PubMed record.
2026-08-10