Discover the healing effects of molecular hydrogen and how hydrogen-rich water may help to reduce the side-effects of cancer patients on chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

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supplementation and detoxification purposes only, and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or
prevent any disease. Persons with any health related problem should consult a qualified, licensed
professional heath care provider for guidance. Any information in this website is not a substitute for
medical advice.
Hydrogen-rich water and Cancer Treatment (Cancer
drugs and Chemotherapy)
This article aims to simplify the implications of the effects of hydrogen-rich water on cancer
patients based on the scientific studies cited below. For full research findings and data, please
refer to the actual studies cited.
Research Title: Molecular hydrogen alleviates nephrotoxicity induced by an anti-cancer drug
Cisplatin without compromising anti-tumor activity in mice.
Researchers: Naomi Nakashima-Kamimura • Takashi Mori • Ikuroh Ohsawa • Sadamitsu Asoh •
Shigeo Ohta
Source:
http://image.sciencenet.cn/olddata/kexue.com.cn/upload/blog/file/2009/2/200921110207718697.
pdf
Readers are recommended to read the original research papers first for background information
and reference links provided to understand more of the scientific terms used in these research
studies. The study by Naomi Nakashima-Kamimura • Takashi Mori • Ikuroh Ohsawa • Sadamitsu
Asoh • Shigeo Ohta, cited above aims to understand how hydrogen water can reduce or mitigate
the negative sides effects of Cisplatin, a widely used anti-cancer drug in the treatment of a wide
range of tumors. One question that a lay person may want to ask is, why conduct a research on
hydrogen water and cancer drug, why the link between hydrogen water and a cancer drug is
significant? To appreciate this, one needs to know about Cisplatin.
What is Cisplatin?
Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug. It is used to treat various types of cancers, including
sarcomas, breasts, some carcinomas (e.g. small cell lung cancer, and ovarian cancer),
lymphomas, and germ cell tumors. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisplatin). Like all
chemotherapy drugs, they have side effects. Cisplatin side-effects include Nephrotoxicity (kidney
damage), Neurotoxicity (nerve damage), hearing loss, nausea and vomiting and others.. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisplatin). Now, why cancer drugs like Cisplatin has negative side-
effects and to some extent the drug itself may turn life-threatening. Why a treatment to a disease
can turn into a threat? This is because, Cisplatin causes the accumulation of reactive oxygen
species (ROS). What is ROS? Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are chemically reactive
molecules containing oxygen. Examples include oxygen ions and peroxides. ROS formation is
the result of a natural byproduct of the normal metabolism of oxygen. But when ROS
levels increase dramatically, these molecules can cause damage to cell structures. This process
is known as oxidative stress. When the cell structure is damaged, the DNA will be damaged
and cells may die or mutate and become abnormal.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_oxygen_species).
In short, ROS cause damages to cell structures or oxidative stress. In simple terms, when cell
structures are damaged, cells will also be damaged eventually and the physical well being of a
living being is also threatened. This means that while a cancer drug like Cisplatin is effective in
killing bad cancer cells, it also caused harm to other cells in your body through oxidative stress.

2. Hence, the question is how do you prevent good cells in your body from being killed while the
cancer drug is doing its job to kill the cancer cells? The answer is to introduce antioxidants as
protection to reduce the oxidative stress to the other good cells in your body.
The Role of Antioxidant
An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits the oxidation of other molecules. Some of the common
antioxidants are Vitamin C, Vitamin E, uric acid etc. Antioxidants can also be found in certain
food like green tea, oranges, cranberries, blueberries and also the popular herb, Lingzhi. Now,
the problem with some of these antioxidants is that some of them are found to interfere with the
intended function of the cancer drug. For example, while Cisplatin is good for its anti-tumor effect
and prevents the growth of the cancer cells, the presence of a certain antioxidants may reduce
the anti-tumor killing function of Cisplatin and makes the cancer treatment less effective. Hence,
the trick may be to discover which antioxidant does not disrupt the function of the cancer drug
used but yet it is playing the role of an antioxidant by protecting other cells in the body.
Unfortunately, it seems up to today, there is no clear conclusion on which antioxidant may be the
best to consume.
For this reason, some doctors may caution cancer patients that while on cancer therapy such as
chemotherapy or radiotherapy, they are to refrain from taking antioxidants but only resumes
when therapy stops. One example is that of Lingzhi which has been found to be a good
antioxidant and has anti-cancer effect. However, one of the side effects of Lingzhi is that it
prevents the formation of blood clots which causes open wounds to bleed. Hence, if there is any
internal bleeding inside the body of a cancer patient, it can be hard to stop so, it can cause harm
than good though it has anti-cancer effect. Hence, some people may recommend Lingzhi when
patients are not on a particular cancer treatment. So, what may be a good antioxidant for a
cancer patient? What is the meaning of ‘good’ when referring to an antioxidant? The meaning of
good based on this study seems to suggest that: a)It does not interfere with the cancer treatment
drug functionb)It plays the role of an antioxidant to protect good cells with no other negative side-
effects to the human body. c)It is safe to consume at higher dosage d)It is easy to administer the
antioxidant to the patient at affordable costs and in a practical way.
The study by Naomi Nakashima-Kamimura • Takashi Mori • Ikuroh Ohsawa • Sadamitsu Asoh •
Shigeo Ohta, has found that hydrogen with its antioxidant properties has an advantage to
protect cells within a safe dosage and it does not disrupt the intended function of the cancer
drug, Cisplatin. In addition to the antioxidant properties, consuming excessive hydrogen does
not cause negative effects because when too much hydrogen is taken in, the excess would be
expired via the lung. While the study used various ways to administer hydrogen into the subjects
tested, such as inhalation of hydrogen gas and consuming hydrogen-rich water, it was found that
drinking hydrogen-rich water as a method of delivering the hydrogen needed for its antioxidant
effect helps to suppress oxidative stress significantly on the subjects studied.
Now, the researchers concluded that since the results showed that drinking hydrogen-rich water
reduces the effect of oxidation stress caused by the cancer drug, then it may suggest that
drinking hydrogen-rich water has the potential to improve the patient’s response to the
chemotherapy. Furthermore, the researchers concluded that if the negative side effects of the
cancer drug can be minimised, then it is expected that with hydrogen would allow higher doses of
Cisplatin to be given to patients since hydrogen can efficiently mitigating the negative side-
effects.In this study, it should be noted that hydrogen was not the cure for cancer or a form of
treatment for cancer. But, hydrogen water may play the role in increasing the chance of recovery
for a cancer patient undergoing treatment using Cisplatin as the negative side effects of the drug
is reduced. It should be noted that the subjects under study were rats and not human cancer
patients. Now, a logical idea derived from here is that if hydrogen-rich water works on Cisplatin
as a cancer drug, would it work for other cancer drugs or cancer treatments that may cause
oxidative stress?
The clue for an answer may be found in the second study below.

3. Title of the Study: Effects of drinking hydrogen-rich water on the quality of life of patients treated
with radiotherapy for liver tumors.
Researchers: Ki-Mun Kang, Young-Nam Kang, Ihil-Bong Choi, Yeunhwa Gu, Tomohiro
Kawamura, Yoshiya Toyoda and Atsunori Nakao.
Abstract/ Background
Cancer patients receiving radiotherapy often experience fatigue and impaired quality of life
(QOL).
Many side effects of radiotherapy are believed to be associated with increased oxidative stress
and inflammation due to the generation of reactive oxygen species during radiotherapy.
Hydrogen can be administered as a therapeutic medical gas, has antioxidant properties, and
reduces inflammation in tissues. This study examined whether hydrogen treatment, in the form of
hydrogen-supplemented water, improved QOL in patients receiving radiotherapy.
Methods
A randomized, placebo-controlled study was performed to evaluate the effects of drinking
hydrogen-rich water on 49 patients receiving radiotherapy for malignant liver tumors. Hydrogen-
rich water was produced by placing a metallic magnesium stick into drinking water (final
hydrogen concentration; 0.55~0.65 mM). The Korean version of the European Organization for
Research and Treatment of Cancer's QLQ-C30 instrument was used to evaluate global health
status and QOL. The concentration of derivatives of reactive oxidative metabolites and biological
antioxidant power in the peripheral blood were assessed.
Results
The consumption of hydrogen-rich water for 6 weeks reduced reactive oxygen metabolites in the
blood and maintained blood oxidation potential. QOL scores during radiotherapy were
significantly improved in patients treated with hydrogen-rich water compared to patients receiving
placebo water. There was no difference in tumor response to radiotherapy between the two
groups.
Conclusions
Daily consumption of hydrogen-rich water is a potentially novel, therapeutic strategy for
improving QOL after radiation exposure. Consumption of hydrogen-rich water reduces the
biological reaction to radiation-induced oxidative stress without compromising anti-tumor
effects.(Source: http://www.medicalgasresearch.com/content/1/1/11)
Hydrogen-rich Water and Radiotherapy Treatment for Cancer
Now, the second study is interesting because the previous study was done on rats while this
study is done on 49 human cancer patients. Instead of using a cancer drug, this study is done
on patients receiving radiotherapy treatment for cancer. The researchers of this second study
concluded that consumption of hydrogen-rich water reduces the biological reaction to
radiation-induced oxidative stress without compromising anti-tumor effects.
How Much Hydrogen-rich water to drink? The other question that most people may want to
know is, if hydrogen-rich water is beneficial, then how much of the water should be consumed?
Perhaps, one can take a cue from the second study on the 49 cancer patients cited earlier
(Effects of drinking hydrogen-rich water on the quality of life of patients treated with radiotherapy
for liver tumors).
In this study:“Subjects were provided with four 500 mL bottles of drinking water per day and
instructed to place two magnesium sticks in each bottle of water at the end of each day in
preparation for consumption the following day. Participants were asked to drink 200-300 mL from
one bottle each morning, and 100-200 mL every a few hours from the remaining three bottles.
The subjects were expected to consume 100-300 mL of hydrogen-rich water more than 10 times

4. per day for a total minimum consumption of 1500 mL (1.5 L) and a maximum consumption of
2000 mL (2.0 L). “
From this study, it may suggest that an effective dosage of hydrogen-rich water may be up to
2000ml per day. The frequency of drinking is about 300ml in the morning and 100-300ml every
few hours.
With new hydrogen-rich water maker such as the Lourdes Hydrogen Water Generator drinking 2
litres a day is now possible and more efficient as hydrogen-rich water can now be produced in
just 30 minutes. The research mentioned above uses magnesium sticks place in a bottle of water
which requires preparation overnight to ensure the water generates enough hydrogen in the
water. With gadgets such as the Lourdes Hydrogen Water Generator, it means more patients
can access to hydrogen-rich water for its healing properties.
www.hydrogenwater-stick.com