Aging is an ongoing process. Population aging has become a problem that all of humanity must face. According to current data, the proportion of the population aged 60 and above has increased from 9.2% in 1990 to 11.7% in 2013, and is projected to reach 21.1% by 2050, exceeding 2 billion. By the mid-2030s, the number of people aged 80 and above will exceed the number of infants. This poses a huge challenge to both the economy and society. Furthermore, addressing the physical and mental health of the elderly is an even more pressing issue. Healthy aging is our shared goal.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-of-older-adults
Given such massive data, the need for elderly rehabilitation is self-evident. Hydrogen has been shown to effectively protect human tissues and organs in the intervention of various acute and chronic diseases, exhibiting antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and inflammatory and nerve damage-reducing effects. Due to its wide range of synthesis pathways, low application cost, ease of use, and good safety profile, hydrogen has broad application prospects in the rehabilitation and treatment of chronic diseases. This article reviews the value and research progress of hydrogen inhalation, hydrogen-rich water, and hydrogen-rich solutions in rehabilitation and convalescence, based on the characteristics of hydrogen and its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and neuroprotective effects in clinical practice.
Research on the Application of Hydrogen in Rehabilitation and Convalescence
1. Application of Hydrogen Inhalation Hydrogen inhalation is a rapid means for hydrogen molecules to enter the human circulatory system. Simultaneously, due to the low density and high diffusivity of hydrogen, hydrogen inhalation does not affect vital signs such as blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature, and can quickly disperse to the patient’s systemic lesions.（新氢机产品超链接）
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7186690/
In recent years, numerous studies both domestically and internationally have demonstrated the potential interventional effects of hydrogen inhalation on various diseases. Hydrogen inhalation has a good interventional effect on type 2 diabetes and has the potential to prevent type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Hydrogen intervention can significantly reduce cholesterol levels and also promote a decrease in body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio. Hydrogen has potential preventive and interventional effects on metabolic syndrome. Hydrogen inhalation therapy has an interventional effect on acute cerebral infarction and acute myocardial infarction. It also protects against multi-organ ischemia-reperfusion injury due to the selective antioxidant and cell-tissue protective effects of hydrogen. Hydrogen also has good application value in the recovery of organ stress responses caused by large doses of chemotherapy drugs, reducing the toxicity of chemotherapy drugs, enhancing the protective effect of radiotherapy, and playing an important protective role for tissues and organs. Double-blind controlled clinical trials suggest that hydrogen has a potential interventional effect on Alzheimer’s disease, especially for those carrying the APOE4 genotype.
Hydrogen inhalation therapy is simple to prepare and convenient to use, and has great application value in routine rehabilitation. Developing hydrogen inhalation into a daily habit has enormous potential health benefits. Due to the special selective antioxidant characteristics of hydrogen molecules, it has a good effect on downregulating inflammation, resisting oxidative stress responses, and inhibiting cell apoptosis. Low-concentration hydrogen inhalation can be used daily as an intervention method using masks, catheters, or ventilators. Therefore, hydrogen inhalation therapy is simple, easy to implement, and reliably effective in the rehabilitation of various diseases.
2. Applications of Hydrogen-Rich Water: Besides hydrogen inhalation, another way to ingest hydrogen is through drinking hydrogen-rich water. After maintaining a long-term habit of drinking hydrogen-rich water, diabetic patients, excluding other interfering factors, showed significant improvements in insulin resistance and glucose tolerance. Their total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels also decreased significantly, and blood lipid and blood sugar levels became more stable. Long-term consumption of hydrogen-rich water can also effectively reduce pain levels in rheumatoid arthritis patients, enhance their immunity, and thus significantly improve arthritis symptoms.（氢水杯产品超链接）
Compared to other health interventions, drinking hydrogen-rich water is safe and easy to implement. In practice, ordinary drinking water can be replaced with hydrogen-rich water, allowing recovering patients to maintain a daily intake of approximately 1.5-2 liters without the psychological burden that may arise from other treatments.
3.Hydrogen Water Bathing: In the fields of dermatology and beauty, hydrogen water bathing has significant value. Using hydrogen water for bathing allows the skin to receive the fastest and maximum hydrogen concentration or dose. This includes local application of hydrogen water and various local rinsing methods. Hydrogen water baths have been proven to reduce wrinkles and minimize skin damage caused by ultraviolet radiation. Studies have also found that hydrogen water baths can improve symptoms of intractable skin diseases such as psoriasis, and have a good effect on skin diseases and joint problems. They can also significantly increase the body’s internal temperature, improve pelvic blood circulation in women, eliminate inflammation, and enhance immunity. The widespread availability of hydrogen and advances in biomolecular medicine have laid the theoretical foundation for its application research. In practical applications, new explorations and attempts are constantly being made to explore the uses and applications of hydrogen, and most studies have achieved satisfactory results. Currently, multiple pathological models and clinical application studies have shown that hydrogen has a relatively clear safety profile and good effectiveness in the treatment and rehabilitation of various diseases. Therefore, the application of hydrogen in rehabilitation and convalescence has broad prospects and value, and deserves further exploration and experimentation.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6607864/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10816294/
