Hydration is one of the foundational pillars of our health and, alongside sleep, movement and nutrition, it can make the biggest shift to our overall wellbeing when considered properly.
Why? Because every system in our body can only work when it is hydrated, right down to cellular level. Cells can only function with hydration, your bowel can only move with hydration, your brain can only think with hydration – it’s a fundamental element of ‘wellness’ that so many people are missing.
As a detox practitioner, one of the cornerstones of my foundational work is focusing on hydration. I talk about it regularly with clients and we discuss how best to improve water uptake. Now, it doesn’t just come down to water – we also need to be having a good ratio of minerals and fatty acids. But, essentially, increasing your water intake will be one very large step towards feeling your best.
However, quality really does matter more than quantity. And it’s therefore necessary that we assess our current water supply to ensure we are getting the cleanest water we can.
Firstly (and I’m strict on this), no more drinking from the tap or from plastic water bottles. Tap water is filled with fluoride, chlorine, pharmaceuticals, pathogens…the list goes on. As we try to achieve true wellness, we really can’t get there whilst still drinking tap water. The same goes for plastic bottled water: the number of micro-plastics in the bottles that you are drinking from will be affecting many systems in your body, but particularly your endocrine system, and when this starts to fail, so does everything else. It really is a domino effect.
So what can you do? Well, there are a couple of options:
- Start with basic filtration. Use your current water and filter it. This can either be via an under-the-sink filter like the Water2 or with an on-the-counter system like the Berkey. Both have their benefits and drawbacks but they are good steps in the right direction.
- You could also then consider a whole-house filter so that any water that comes into your house is filtered, including the showers and other sinks. A good recommendation here is the Aquatiere.
- The next step would be to look at either a reverse-osmosis system or a distiller. Both are great. They both strip the water of absolutely everything, leaving behind pure H20. The problem with this, however, is that it has also stripped the minerals. So if you were to invest in a RO or distiller, you will need to be remineralising every time. And not just adding trace minerals, but enough minerals to bring the water back into balance before you then add your trace minerals in too, if you would normally do this. This is a vital step – if you get it right then you will have fantastic water, if it’s out of balance then your mineral levels in your own body will start to drop leading to further problems, so please be mindful of this.
- Structured water is another water option that many people explore, which is when water has a more ordered molecular arrangement, much like we’d find in nature via a spring or from flowing over rocks.
- Molecular Hydrogen Water – this is the gold standard of water. This is water that has had 2 extra free hydrogen ions added in via electrolysis, which turns simple water into a water that is the most potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory substance on the planet. Let’s go into more detail about this:
So Molecular Hydrogen water, whether you’ve heard of it before or if this is your first time reading about it, is water that has been ionised. Sometimes known as electrolysed-reduced water, because the water goes through a process of electrolysis to be re-structured.
How does it work?
Water from your tap will pass through an ioniser where the metal plates inside the machine take the water through an electrolysis process (ensure your machine is medical-grade so that the plates don’t leach metals back into your water). This is where the hydrogen and oxygen ions are separated and then they are brought back together as H20 but with 2 extra free hydrogen ions. The result? You will see the water coming out of the machine looking bubbly – it isn’t sparkling water at all, in fact it just tastes like normal, clean water, but the bubbles that you are seeing are the hydrogen ions that have now become part of the water.
So why would we want to drink water with extra hydrogen? What is it actually doing? Well, researchers in Okinawa, Japan, studied the blue-zones around the world and found that the water in these areas has a higher hydrogen content. This molecular hydrogen was then providing health benefits to all of its consumers, and allowing them to thrive into the ripe old age of 100+. The researchers wanted to mimic this water as closely as they could and found that, via electrolysis, this was possible.
No additives or chemicals being added to make hydrogen within a glass of water, no fancy tablets that you have to combine with tap water, no hours lost waiting for the water to restructure, just clean, ionised water that has been structurally altered flowing straight from your tap.
So what are the health benefits?
Well, this one is harder to answer because there are thousands of benefits. So let’s stick to what we know that has been proven from evidence-based studies:
- It’s a powerful anti-oxidant, reaching levels of -550 mV when measured with an ORP (Oxidation-reduction potential) meter. If you think about a cup of matcha or green tea, or even a handful of blueberries, we all know that they have anti-oxidant properties. That’s because, when they are measured they give a negative reading of mV, meaning they are the opposite of oxidants. They are going into your body and reducing the overall level of oxidative stress that your cells experience by joining with the free radicals. Free radicals are now proven to be one of the main factors causing cellular dysfunction and ageing, leading to disease. One of the main culprits is hydroxyl radical, but fortunately when molecular hydrogen crosses the cell membrane and binds with hydroxy radical, it simply makes 2 atoms of water, which we can then urinate out. Now consider a can of coke, if we measured the oxidation levels with this, we would get a reading in the +600s because it is causing oxidation in the body. This means it is causing damage to the cell itself leading to oxidative stress. Furthermore, if we take simple tap or filtered water and measure the oxidation potential, we still get a positive reading. It often hovers around 50-100 mV but just think about that…the water that you are drinking is actually CAUSING oxidation with your body. Quite the opposite to what we want when we are considering true health and longevity.
- Hydrogen has now been proven to switch on the anti-oxidant pathways within your cells, encouraging your body to make more anti-oxidants itself. The Nrf2 pathway, which plays a central role in fighting against oxidative stress and inflammation, has been shown to switch on when drinking regular molecular hydrogen water. This means that the molecular hydrogen causes an increase in the body producing its own anti-oxidants, such as glutathione and catalase, which in turn lowers inflammation and increases metabolic resilience.
- Hydrogen, being the smallest molecule on our planet, is light. That means it can travel quickly and freely around our body. Therefore, when we drink molecular hydrogen water, we can, as a result, experience higher levels of hydration and quicker absorption of the water into the cells. This is perfect for people who are chronically dehydrated, sauna users or if you exercise regularly. Your cells are able to cope better with this over-exertion and hydration loss when you replenish with molecular hydrogen water.
- Lastly (although this isn’t the limit of its benefits), molecular hydrogen water has now been proven to support in over 270+ disease models. Due to its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant nature, it can support diseases such as auto-immune disorders, skin issues, respiratory concerns and gut-health issues, as well as with cancer diagnoses, Parkinson’s and Dementia.
All of this research can be found online here, where you can type any disease model and the AI function will pull all the research found between the particular disease and molecular hydrogen. Also, I utilise The Molecular Hydrogen Institute regularly – this non-for-profit organisation set up by Dr Tyler LeBaron highlights all research into molecular hydrogen and is a fantastic resource from which to learn more.
If this has piqued your interest and you’re now realising that Molecular Hydrogen Water is the next step in your water journey, then you will no doubt be considering which machine to get, and can you just simply get an Echo Water bottle. The simple answer, no. The long answer…
Well, let’s just say that, like with anything in life, you really do get what you pay for. There are now many ionisers out there on the market, which in some ways is brilliant as it’s raising the awareness of the benefits of molecular hydrogen water, but in other ways they are not providing the full picture. Molecular Hydrogen research shows that in order to get the full benefits, then we need to be drinking water which has between 1.2-1.6 ppm of hydrogen within the water. If we’re going to be investing in an ioniser, we want one that will actually provide hydrogen in this range so that we experience the full anti-oxidant nature of the water. Without a strong enough ioniser, then this range isn’t always possible.
The second point to mention when searching for an ioniser is that you want the metal plates within the ioniser, that create the electrolysis, to be medical-grade. If they are mesh plates, rather than solid, or made from a metal that isn’t inert, then over time the metal will start to leach into the water. As we know, heavy metals in our bodies are something we want to avoid. Therefore, a machine with solid plates that are made from titanium and dipped in platinum is your best bet.
Lastly, your machine needs to be able to self-clean. If you can imagine that the metal plates within the machine need to be clean and clear to allow the electrolysis to take place, you can also imagine what happens to the process when layers of sediment start to build up on the plates. Yes, you guessed it, they simply can’t work or fulfill their role at ionising the water. When this happens, your machine or hydrogen water bottle becomes redundant as no hydrogen is now being produced. Every ioniser should have this ability to self-clean so that you know you’re getting the most amount of hydrogen possible
After all the research that I have conducted, I was fortunate enough to find the machine that I now have in my own home and has been changing the trajectory of mine and my family’s health since we bought it. My middle son has now been able to come off all asthma medication and we have gone through two winters now with no hospital visits or antibiotics (which used to be a regular thing for us). I have had a radical change in my gut health and hormonal cycle, which reduced from 16 days of bleeding down to 4 days of bleeding as a result of the water. Lastly, my eldest, who is neurodiverse, has been more regulated, more calm and more in control of his own emotions which has been brilliant to see.
The machine we have is called the LevelUK 8 by Enagic. An incredible Japanese company that has been around for over 50 years, producing ionisers that last for 30 years plus. They have the vast majority of the market share, for good reason, and they are the only medical-grade device out there. If you’re looking to uplevel your water then please don’t hesitate to reach out to me on Instagram @sarahwalkerwellness or indeed via my seed page: https://seedwellness.co.uk/sarahwalker/
Here’s to good health and hydration!
For more information about Molecular Hydrogen Water or how to find a local supplier, contact Sarah Walker, Molecular Hydrogen Water Advisor in Bucks & Internationally- www.seedwellness.co.uk/sarahwalker
