When wellness passes through technology
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In the few lines of presentation of Hydrogen Park, we have already recounted how this important branch of technological research into the use of hydrogen gas is oriented towards the production of particular hydrogen generators applied in various devices suitable for introducing hydrogen into the human body in various ways.
What follows is not intended, or rather would like but cannot, to recount the characteristics of such devices, because we would spoil the surprise effect of when these technological jewels will be available on shop shelves, or in some gym, medical Center, pharmacy, beauty salon, etc.
Instead, we will amuse ourselves by telling, purely for the sake of popularization (and I would add provocative for those who will then want to know more by rummaging through the various scientific publications), about the properties of hydrogen gas appropriately introduced into the human body.
We do this now, already knowing that from now on it will, in our opinion, become a habit of life to use this gas daily for its beneficial effects on our health.
Soon, we will be inundated with a huge mass of articles that, being often generated (due to laziness or market laws) by artificial ‘intelligence’ programs (i.e. generated by stochastic algorithms), will say a lot of things without being able to discern the true from the false, and perhaps forgetting to emphasize important implications for our health. To avoid such misunderstandings, it is therefore useful to point out crucial aspects of the properties and use of this gas by answering a few questions:
What does hydrogen gas do in the human body?
To comprehensively recount the beneficial effects of hydrogen gas on the human/animal body is a very ambitious undertaking that involves discussing tens of thousands of medical/scientific researches carried out by biologists, biochemists, and teams of doctors and specialists who have dedicated themselves to this subject over the past 15-20 years. Here we content ourselves with collecting the details of the results achieved so far with all their limitations.
The first thing to do, i.e. to ‘put our hands in front’, is to emphasize that medical research still has a long way to go in order to fully understand the biochemical mechanisms responsible for many clinical observations concerning the behavior of hydrogen gas in the human cell.
As can be seen from many medical publications in reputable journals, there is evidence of many healing and beneficial processes to the physiological mechanisms of the human cell, but without a clear and unambiguous (i.e. step by step… reaction by reaction) biochemical process involved.
In short, we know little about ‘how it happens’ but we know a lot about ‘what happens’; but before we venture into this account of certain biochemical effects, we must ask ourselves some questions and give ourselves some answers:
What does a hydrogen gas molecule look like?
Hydrogen (from the Greek ὕδωρ ‘hydor’, water; the root γεν/γον means to generate, hence generator of water) is the first chemical element in the periodic table of elements; it has the symbol H and the atomic number 1.

In its elemental state, hydrogen exists in the form of a diatomic molecule (H2), which at atmospheric pressure and room temperature (298 degrees Kelvin, approximately 25 degrees Celsius) is a colorless, odorless, highly flammable gas.
Although it is the most abundant element in the universe, on Earth it is scarcely present in its free, molecular state (1ppm; part per million); it is 1% of the Earth’s gases, and must therefore be produced for its various uses.
The most common terrestrial source of this element is water, which is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (H2O). Other sources include most organic matter (which includes all known forms of life), fossil fuels and natural gas. Methane (CH4), which is a by-product of organic decomposition, is becoming an increasingly important source of hydrogen; a particular emerging role is played by aluminium, which can be described as a ‘hydrogen accumulator’.
What is oxidative stress?
When, as a result of intense physical activity, or following an inflammation, an ischemic or pathological event, or even just during a biological regenerative process due to cellular ageing, an excess of oxygen reaches the interior of the human cell, the latter produces a series of chemical reactions that lead to the formation of various by-products (superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, etc.) commonly called FREE RADICALS.
Free radicals are chemically unstable*, which is why they easily react with the structural components of cells (such as nucleic acids, proteins, membrane lipids, etc.**) and damage them.
*Chemical instability is due to the presence of an unpaired electron that tends to bind to a second electron subtracted from the structural components of the cell, which are then OXIDATED AND ALTERED
**mutations and alterations in gene expression occur in nucleic acids; in proteins, structural alterations occur with impairment and loss of blood, transport, receptor functions, etc.; in the phospholipids that form the cell membrane, they range from loss of the capacity for compartmentalisation and selective transport to the actual destruction of the membrane.

When oxidative stress damage irreversibly impairs the most vital cell functions, the mechanisms of apoptosis or ‘programmed suicide’ are generally activated. That is, the cell undergoes regressive phenomena until necrosis (death).
If this event does not occur, if the damage is of such a magnitude as to allow the cell to function even if not optimally, the signs of cellular senescence begin to appear, with which many chronic degenerative disorders, including tumors, are associated.
Normally, under optimal physiological conditions, the production of free radicals is buffered by well-known control mechanisms (producing endogenous antioxidants such as glutathione, catalase and superoxide-dismutase enzymes), aimed precisely at the well-being of cellular balance. However, when the amount of free radicals is in excess due to insufficient buffer systems or overproduction, so-called OXIDATIVE STRESS occurs. (also called REDOX SQUILIBRATION).
NOTE: Oxygen-derived free radicals (ROS) are not the only free radicals formed in the human body; others are derived from nitrogen (RNS). In addition, there are other non-radical but nevertheless pro-oxidant substances (e.g. hydrogen peroxide) or ionising radiation that also contribute to the oxidative stress state.
Below is a concise list of causes of oxidative stress:
– exposure to environmental pollutants
– intake of certain pharmacological substances
– exposure to ionising and UV radiation
– cigarette smoking
– alcohol abuse
– excessive sugar consumption
– excess of animal proteins and saturated fats
– obesity
– excessive physical activity
– genetic predisposition
– infectious/pathological processes
Let’s face it!!! … who among us (provided we do not live as hermits in a cave far from civilization) feels excluded from the list just read?
Symptoms of oxidative stress tend to be general and include asthenia, fatigue and concentration disorders, but also muscle cramps, headaches and excessive sweating. Oxidative stress correlates with the condition known as LOW GRADE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, which in the long term characterizes and fuels various diseases.
Oxidative stress damage affects different tissues and organs. The list of damage ranges from trivial hair loss or premature ageing to damage to various organs. Below is a summary list:
– premature skin ageing and brittle hair
– cardiovascular diseases
– neurodegeneration
– tumor pathologies
– kidney and liver problems
– muscle and bone damage
– thyroid dysfunction
– psychological malaise (stress, anxiety, etc.)
How to prevent oxidative stress
Let us begin by saying that, in addition to the whole list of correct dietary behaviors and lifestyle habits to eliminate many of the factors listed above (good diet, moderate but constant physical activity, protection from the sun’s rays, etc.), which imply both the reduction of factors producing free radicals and the introduction of exogenous antioxidants with the diet (just to name a few: quercetin, green tea, resveratrol, coenzyme q10, Vit. A/C/E, polyphenols, zinc, selenium, etc.) modern medicine has, in the course of various trials, clinically tested many antioxidant products. However, these have high levels of toxicity that limit their use to a narrow range of therapeutic dosages; dosages that are in any case scarcely effective either in eliminating excess free radicals or in preventing their formation.

The identification of effective antioxidants with few or no side effects is therefore important for the treatment of multiple pathologies.
WELL. HERE WE COME TO THE POINT:
What role does hydrogen play in all this?
In the past, hydrogen gas was thought to be physiologically inert in mammalian cells and was not thought to react with active substrates in biological systems. Today, we know that the reality is quite different.
Although, as already mentioned, the exact molecular mechanisms of the effects of H2 at low doses have grey areas (i.e. there is no complete mapping of the molecular targets involved in the transduction of chemical signals; targets that are now the subject of continuous study and investigation), we can verify as a factual biological effect that this small molecule easily penetrates the cell membrane by entering the cytoplasm, the nucleus and the ribosomes, where it mediates oxidative stress in various ways, resulting in antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic action.
And what are these "different ways"?
The oxidizing action (so-called ‘scavenger’ action) occurs very selectively (i.e. unlike other antioxidants*) by eliminating -OH and ONOO- and thus preventing damage in DNA or in the synthesis of various proteins.
*Fortunately, H2 does not appear to react with other ROS that perform normal physiological functions in vivo. Hence its non-toxicity that distinguishes it from other antioxidants.
The anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic action occurs by reducing the expression of certain inflammatory cytokines (‘down-regulation’), increasing the expression of anti-apoptotic factors and inhibiting pro-apoptotic factors).
In all these processes, many biochemical signal pathways are activated, among other things often mediated by molecules that are themselves implicated in other pathways (‘crosstalk’ phenomenon); hence the complexity of medical research aimed at identifying all the biochemical reactions involved in the action of H2.
SUMMARY: Today we know enough to state what the certain BIOCHEMICAL effects of hydrogen gas in the human cell are, namely:
– hydrogen gas does not harm the human cell, as it is non-cytotoxic even at high concentrations
– H2 effectively penetrates the cell membrane to reach the mitochondria and cell nuclei
– H2, unlike many other antioxidants, easily penetrates the blood-brain barrier by gaseous diffusion
– H2 has selective antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic effects; it modulates many metabolic pathways involved in cellular repair/regeneration processes and genetic expression (thus having positive effects in a wide range of physiological processes and preventive-therapeutic effects in pathological ones)
– participates in many tissue/cell repair and regeneration processes
– counteracts various processes linked to ageing or cell damage
– helps in the delivery of certain molecules (drugs or vitamins/nutrients/etc.) enabling optimisation of therapy for the treatment of many pathologies.
General conclusion
The administration of H2 is a promising therapeutic option for the treatment of various metabolic dysfunctions, and before that for the prevention of the same (through a daily and ‘easy’ use of this natural element).
Many questions remain open as to the exact pharmacokinetics of H2 underlying many observed metabolic processes, but it remains evident that the result of these metabolic pathways facilitates the normal course of human physiology, with a protective effect against the onset of diseases and slowing down the cellular ageing process.
On the use of this gas for purely therapeutic purposes, let us leave it to the medical-scientific sector to integrate and educate itself on the research and clinical application of this element, perhaps facilitated by the simple usability of the machinery we have in place.
The future of hydrogen gas for the human body is already a present for us, just waiting to be exploited for the well-being of the entire community.
Perhaps the only ones who will not be enthusiastic about this medical and technological development will be the pharmaceutical industries, but I think we need not worry about that.
Personal conclusions
We invite you to deepen your knowledge by reading some of the thousands of medical publications available on the net on the biochemical effects of hydrogen gas in the human cell; for obvious reasons of time and space, this very long list of effects cannot be listed here….
For those of us who have followed the invitation, even if we only wanted to consider the physiological effects (leaving aside those on current pathologies, as they are still experimental), who among us would not want an instrument for the easy intake of hydrogen gas in the home?
By answering this question, one can imagine the value of the devices (dedicated to the human/animal body) that we have in the pipeline, their social, cultural and… why not… cost-saving impact (as a preventive effect against the onset of metabolic dysfunctions potentially capable of evolving into pathological processes).