Have you been hearing things about molecular hydrogen or maybe hydrogen-infused water?

There's a lot of buzz about these products lately.

And there is some science to talk about here.

But I think we need to sort the hope from the hype.

Hello, I'm Monica Reinagle, and this is the Nutrition Diva podcast, a show where we take a closer look at nutrition news, research, and trends, so that you can make more informed decisions about what you eat.

And today's show, like so many others, was prompted by an email from a listener.

Alina wrote, a friend recently asked me if I'd heard about molecular hydrogen or hydrogen water tablets. Are there any evidence-based health benefits to this product, or is it all just

hype and marketing? Well, actually, it's a little of each. There is some legitimate

research to talk about here, as well as some hype and marketing. But before we get into those

details, the last of our special series on Stronger Bones at Every Age should also be in your

podcast feed right now. The additional shows that came out

on Mondays this month were part of our observation of osteoporosis awareness month. If nothing else,

you might want to check out the episode that corresponds to your stage of life. Well, and maybe also

your kids, your grandkids, your parents, well, you know what, you might as well

just listen to them all. And if you are a registered dietitian, you can even earn continuing

education credits from listening to the series. Just check out any of those bonus episodes for the

details. And with that, let's take a closer look at molecular hydrogen. What exactly is it? And what is that

supposed to do for you? So let's go back to basics. Hydrogen is the simplest and also the most

abundant element in the universe. But when marketers talk about molecular hydrogen, they're

referring specifically to H2. That's two

hydrogen atoms bonded together to form a colorless odorless gas. And that's actually how hydrogen

naturally exists when it's not part of another larger molecule. So in a way, calling it molecular

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