Hydrogen and hyperglycemia
The ninth edition of the Global Diabetes Survey released by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) reveals a worrying trend of increasing cases of diabetes worldwide.
Diabetes is one of the most common metabolic diseases, and oxidative stress is widely regarded as an important pathophysiological factor in diabetic complications.
Mitochondrial electron leakage induced by hyperglycemia is a key source of endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can lead to vascular endothelial cell damage and activation of multiple glucose metabolic pathways. It has been observed that glucose overload can induce cell damage through oxidative stress, and the resulting oxidative stress is associated with the pathogenesis of various diabetic complications. While appropriate levels of ROS can promote insulin secretion, excessive ROS may trigger a strong oxidative stress response, downregulate insulin gene expression, and directly damage beta cells, ultimately leading to the development of diabetes and its associated complications.
As a new type of antioxidant small molecule active substance, hydrogen molecule has made some achievements in the study of its role in the prevention and treatment of chronic metabolic diseases. Here's a look at some of the basic and clinical trial findings on hydrogen and diabetes.
(1) Diabetes mellitus and its disease damage
Clinically, hyperglycemia is defined when the measured normal fasting blood glucose exceeds 6.1mmol/L and 2h postprandial blood glucose exceeds 7.8mmoL. If the fasting blood glucose is greater than 7.0mmol/L, or the 2h postprandial blood glucose or glucose tolerance test is greater than 11.1mmolL, diabetes should be considered.
Diabetes, also known as the "disease of affluence", is one of the most common metabolic diseases with a high incidence in the population. Up to now, its pathogenesis is not clear, but according to etiological evidence can be divided into type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, special diabetes and gestational diabetes, of which type 2 diabetes accounts for more than 90% of diabetes patients.
Type 2 diabetes occurs more often after the age of 35 to 40 and is often accompanied by overweight, obesity and a diet high in sugar and fat. With the continuous improvement of living standards, diabetes is no longer limited to the elderly or adults, and the number of children with type 2 diabetes is increasing.
A new 30-year follow-up study published in the British Journal of Cancer (BJC) found that insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia can progress to diabetes and also increase the risk of cancer. The typical symptoms of diabetes are polydipsia, polyuria, polyfood, etc. Patients often feel thirsty, the body is obviously thin, and patients often itching skin, limbs numbness and (or) sore, menstrual disorders, constipation, blurred vision and other symptoms, seriously affect the quality of life.
(2) The effect of molecular hydrogen on the prevention and treatment of hyperglycemia and its disease damage
Basic experimental studies of hydrogen molecules have found that drinking and injecting hydrogen-rich water can interfere with a variety of tissue injuries caused by diabetes, such as cirrhosis, kidney damage and retinopathy.
（3）The effect of molecular hydrogen intervention on tissue damage caused by late hyperglycemia
Diabetes marked by high blood sugar is accompanied by many complications. For example, difficult healing of skin wounds is a very common chronic complication of diabetes, among which diabetic foot is a typical representative. Patients' feet appear ulceration, that is, diabetic rotten feet, and many patients are disabled by amputation.
Preliminary clinical studies have proved that drinking hydrogen-rich water at the early stage of the disease can effectively correct the abnormal glucose tolerance in some patients.
(1) Population trial for early mild symptoms of hyperglycemia: Sizuo Kajiyama et al reported a population trial study in Nutrition Research in 2008. They selected 30 patients with type 2 diabetes treated with diet and exercise alone and 6 patients with impaired glucose tolerance for a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial. 36 patients were divided into two groups, in which the experimental group drank 900ml of hydrogen-rich water every day, and the control group drank the same amount of pure water. The experiment lasted for 8 weeks, and after 12 weeks, the experimental group switched to pure water, and the control group drank hydrogen-rich water.
The changes of blood lipid spectrum, blood sugar, insulin, hemoglobin a1C and other indicators were observed before and after drinking. The results showed that drinking hydrogen-rich water had no significant effect on fasting blood glucose, insulin, glycated hemoglobin and other indicators, but it could significantly down-regulate the plasma low-density lipoprotein particles and 8-isoprostaglandin in urine, and the glucose tolerance of 4 out of 6 patients with abnormal glucose tolerance returned to normal. It is concluded that hydrogen can improve lipid metabolism and glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and abnormal glucose tolerance. At the same time, the researchers speculate that giving people with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance enough hydrogen-rich water may prevent or slow the progression of the disease.
(2) Population trial of diabetic insulin resistance: In 2021, Susumu Ogawa of Tohoku University in Japan conducted a multicenter prospective double-blind randomized controlled trial using electrolytic hydrogen-rich water for type 2 diabetes patients with relatively normal insulin secretion ability. The study recruited 49 diabetic patients, divided into two groups, the experimental group drank 1500~ 2000ml electrolytic hydrogen-rich water every day, the control group drank the same amount of pure water, the experiment lasted for 3 months. Insulin resistance, insulin content, glucose tolerance and oxidative stress were evaluated before and after the experiment.
The results showed that hydrogen-rich water could significantly down-regulate serum lactic acid level and significantly increase urine uric acid content. The indexes related to glucose metabolism (such as the area under the glucose tolerance curve, fasting insulin, fasting blood glucose, etc.) did not change significantly. Although the experiment did not determine the hypoglycemic effect of hydrogen-rich water, further stratified analysis of diabetic patients according to blood glucose control showed that the blood glucose level decreased and insulin sensitivity improved in patients with high blood glucose and obvious insulin resistance, and no side effects were observed in electrolysis of hydrogen-rich water.
