Hydrogen Water and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

What is Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease?

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), or sometimes called “Simple Fatty Liver” is growing at an unprecedented rate in the US and Canada. Some current estimates have projected that upwards of 30% of North Americans are afflicted. In certain populations, this number is far more startling, with upwards of 80% of diabetics and as high as 90% of obese individuals showing Fatty Liver.

Concern over nonalcoholic fatty liver disease has been varied, with some opining that it does little damage to the liverⁱ and rarely progresses to the far more serious non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis, or need for transplantation of a new liver. Other arguments rebut that NASH is present in 20%ⁱⁱ of those with NAFLD, which is projecting to be the leading cause of new liver transplantation, overtaking Hep Cⁱⁱⁱ (although not at this time true). It also potentially increases the risk of more immediate issues such as heart disease,^{iv, v, vi, vii} with one paper declaring it “the fight that will declare clinical practice for hepatologists for a generation”(firewalled article)^viii. There is also a more recently suggested link to increased cancer risk^{ix, x, xi}, although this link is much stronger in the less frequent cases of cirrhosis.^xii

Treatment for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is also a topic of debate, with some “natural or alt practitioners” pushing a more “natural” approach using Vitamin E over “drugs”, despite Vitamin E showing mixed results for Fatty Liver,^xiii and meta-analysis of Vitamin E supplementation showing higher “all mortality” ratios.^xiv Regarding the latter, our messaging regarding the downsides and potential dangers of exogenous antioxidant supplementation (which hydrogen water is not) is particularly pertinent. I will note for those inclined to trust the “natural” approach over medication prescribed by proper MDs, the first-line defense for NAFLD is improved diet and exercise leading to weight loss, and there is no actual drug approved to be prescribed for NAFLD.^xvMeaning those pushing the “natural treatments” over the “Big Pharma profit system” are completely full of shit (as is often the case).

Study on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease with Hydrogen Water

When the team in Europe approached me about doing a study on the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with our hydrogen tablets, and I conferred with my consultants and partners, our first thought was “Why NAFLD”. Is this a “fishing exercise?” There was only a spattering of studies on fatty liver, in mice, and nothing in humans. There was a single publication in mice on NAFLD^xvi, one on NASH^xvii and another on ethanol-induced fatty liver,^xviii, and another somewhat relevant publication.^xix We were also aware that Tyler W. LeBaron had just completed a rodent study on a high-fat diet-induced NAFLD. Their study showed promising results for hydrogen water, whereas electrolyzed alkaline water or low-concentration hydrogen water was not effective.^xx This gave us some confidence since our tablets can provide high concentration molecular hydrogen.

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Metabolic Syndrome

As we continued discussing, we started branching more into a hypothesis. nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and Metabolic Syndrome are closely related and associated^{xxi, xxii}, even potentially bidirectional in causation and consequence^{xxiii, xxiv}, with some cautious arguments even suggesting NAFLD may be part of metabolic syndrome.^{xxv, xxvi, xxvii} With this consideration our confidence grew, as Hydrogen Water has been studied more in-depth in metabolic syndrome (than NAFLD), and issues related to metabolic syndromes such as body composition, cholesterol, and diabetic models, in both rodents and humans showing early promise.^{xxviii, xxix, xxx, xxxi, xxxii, xxxiii, xxxiv, xxxv} Despite its infancy in research, there is even a review article published on the subject.^xxxvi Hydrogen water, we hypothesized, may be able to enact a rescuing effect as it has been implicated to do in other dys-homeostatic conditions.

Pertinent to our team, just weeks before we had committed product and some small donations to a team conducting a 60-participant 6-month trial on Metabolic Syndrome. With these considerations and the conclusion that there could be a “there, there” to quote my partner Dr. Holland, and the potential for knowledge to be gained through both trials that may be related, we decided to move forward with product provided and donations for the research. While not replicative, the two studies together could be corroborative and help steer other researchers into proper replication and expansion of understanding.

I confess it was a trial where I waffled between very cautious optimism and doubt. While I want to understand hydrogen water, and our hydrogen tablets, better, I also am admittedly biased in wanting to show that they work and mitigate risks in demonstrating the opposite. I’ve spent over $1m in building the foundations of this industry from regulations to r&d and donations to trials, it is impossible to not be somewhat risk-averse. This inherent, and unavoidable, bias is why our team “self regulates” in not mandating any sort of publication agreements. While we may suggest additional markers to be tested and provide funding to do so, the researchers are under no obligation to agree with us or incorporate the tests.

Positive Results For Hydrogen Water and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

I am writing this post because earlier this week our trial on NAFLD was officially published. The results were positive, showing a statistically, and a perhaps clinically significant reduction in liver fat. I want to caution that this was the first-in-human trial on this issue, in a small number of participants. It is promising, and there is a sound hypothesis emerging for the benefits at a steady rate, but we still have a long way to go in understanding and replication. On that note, since we have known the results for the last couple of months we have already been reaching out to other teams for larger-scale replication studies to be done. We have no interest in resting on the laurels of a small study, we want to know further how this works, why it works, and how well it works.

Statistically, 1 in 3 people reading this will have NAFLD. In no way are we insinuating that hydrogen water, or specifically our hydrogen tablets, will cure you. To say as much would be flat-out dishonest. We encourage you to continue following your MDs protocol, eat appropriate Calories with nutrient-dense foods, and increase your rate of exercise.

For everyone, we stand behind our belief that hydrogen water has potential benefits for the vast majority of the population. While it is not a replacement for any medications prescribed, and you should never take what we write as a replacement for your doctor’s advice, we are happy to spread knowledge on the empirical evidence, and confident you will enjoy our hydrogen tablets. As always, for first-time customers, we offer no-question 30-day money back guarantee.