Optimal restitution for den seriøse sportsudøver

Det skal gøre ondt før det gør godt

Men i denne artikel vil vi komme nærmere ind på hvordan hydrogen kan blive en gamechanger til optimal restitution.

DOMS er et begreb som man bruger inden for for idrættens verden “Delayed Onset Muscle Sorensess” som på dansk betyder forsinket muskelømhed og refererer til den smerte og stivhed, som føles i musklerne 24 til 72 timer efter intensiv fysisk aktivitet. DOMS er normalt, en normal reaktion efter træning, og er ikke nødvendigvis et tegn på skade men en del af kroppens tilvænning til nye aktivitetsniveauer.

The pain is caused by tiny tears in the muscle tissue as well as inflammation - microscopic damage to the muscle tissue and the surrounding connective tissue when performing an exercise that one is not accustomed to, or when the intensity is increased, the muscles are subjected to stress loads. This causes small tears in the muscle fibres and an inflammatory response, which is a normal and important process for the body to build stronger muscles. In response to the physical strain, strength and endurance increase to prepare the body for an increased load going forward.

Physiotherapist recommends hydrogen

Michael Knudsen from Nordsjælland Fysioterapi is an active recreational cyclist and wanted to try hydrogen inhalation himself before deciding whether it was something he wanted to offer to his clients. Hear about his own experiences here.

Kan hydrogen forbedre din træning?

Hydrogen er en super effektiv antioxidant til den professionelle sportsudøver og til supermotionisten

Flere danske forsker har haft svært ved at integrere denne nye viden, måske fordi den er så kontroversiel. iWater har været langt foran de danske universiteter, og de danske forskere har haft svært ved følge med og forstå når udlandet er har fremlagt deres forskningsresultater.

Researcher and professor Hans-Jørgen Albrechtsen from Water and Environmental Technology at DTU and Morten Elsøe, who is otherwise a Master of Science (cand.scient.) in molecular nutrition and food technology, have not followed the research regarding molecular hydrogen and its selective capabilities. Morten Elsøe states to BT that "A body without inflammation is a dead body" and "...that inflammation, among other things, keeps potential cancerous tumours away and beats back infections. A body without inflammation means that you would very quickly die from anything you get infected with." The article was written by Daniel Nøjsen Fallah, the Superliga section of BT, on December 12, 2020.

Japanske forskere havde dog allerede i 2007 konklusionen klar: Hydrogen har stor effekt på restitution og performance. Det var professor Jan Slezak fra “Faculty of Sport and Physical Education” i Novi Sad, Serbien, som med en lang række videnskabelige undersøgelser fandt dette bevist.

At antioxidanter også kan være hjælpsomme i forbindelse med opbygning af muskelmasse og udholdenhedstræning er nyt for mange i Danmark, men ikke desto mindre sandt hvis blot antioxidanerne kommer fra hydrogen vand eller hydrogenterapi.

Particularly, football player Erik Sviatchenko was called out in the press because he shared on his own Instagram profile that he had experienced a huge effect from drinking hydrogen water: “I have never played better and never been in better physical condition. I just have to say that it works”.

Faster recovery with hydrogen

For at forstå hydrogenens unikke effektivitet, er det vigtigt at se nærmere på, hvordan hydrogen interagerer med kroppens biokemi og de reaktive forbindelser, der findes i vores system.

I dag ved vi, at hydrogen kan lindre træthed efter højintensiv træning og hydrogen kan reducere den skadelige inflammation, som kan øge risikoen for skader.

Hydrogenens overraskende effekt blev i 2007 opdaget af den Japanske forsker Ohsawa og det kom bag på alle, at et så kendt atom som hydrogen, kunne have så fantastiske egenskaber uden at nogen tidligere havde tænkt det ind som en energikilde i den menneskelig krop. Særligt i en krop, som ofte skal præstere ud over det sædvanlige, som man netop gør som professionel og semiprofessionelle sportsudøver.

Hydrogen is the world's smallest antioxidant with completely unique properties that selectively enter the athlete's mitochondria and remove the toxic hydroxyl radicals (•OH), while other physiologically important muscle-building reactive oxygen/nitrogen species are left unaffected.

Den gode og den dårlige inflammation

• Reactive nitrogen species (RNS)
  These compounds contain nitrogen and include species such as nitric oxide (NO), peroxynitrite (ONOO⁻) and other nitrogen-based radicals. RNS play a role in signalling within the cardiovascular system, the immune system, and neurobiology. Like ROS, RNS can also cause damage to cells and tissues, but they often function as signalling molecules and participate in the regulation of various biological processes.
• Reactive oxygen species (ROS)
  These compounds contain oxygen and include species such as superoxide radicals (O₂⁻) hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), and hydroxyl radicals (•OH). They play an essential role in the body's defense against infections. ROS are formed as a byproduct of metabolic processes, especially in the mitochondria during respiration, and are involved in cell differentiation, signalling, and immune response, but can also cause oxidative damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA, leading once again to cell damage and fatigue fractures.

ATP står for adenosintriphosphat, og det er en vigtig molekyle i kroppen, der fungerer som den primære energikilde for celler. ATP bruges i mange biokemiske processer, herunder muskelkontraktion, syntese af biomolekyler og transport af stoffer over cellemembraner. Når ATP nedbrydes, frigives energien, som cellerne bruger til at udføre nødvendige funktioner. Kort sagt, ATP er afgørende for at opretholde liv og støtte kroppens aktiviteter.

• Metabolism: During the breakdown of ATP, it is converted into ADP (adenosine diphosphate) and AMP (adenosine monophosphate). These forms can be further broken down into various metabolites.
• Excretion: The waste products can be excreted through various organs.
• The kidneys: They filter the blood and remove waste products, which are excreted with the urine.
• The liver: Here, the metabolites can be further processed and converted into substances that are easier to excrete.

Some of the released metabolites can be used for the synthesis of new molecules or energy sources and are thus recycled within the body. It is important for the body to have efficient methods for removing waste products to ensure optimal function and prevent the accumulation of harmful compounds.

Research over the past 18 years shows that the intake of hydrogen can alleviate exercise-induced oxidative stress and inflammation. Hydrogen can penetrate cell membranes and diffuse rapidly into mitochondria, where it can selectively reduce inflammation.

A review of molecular Hydrogen as a novel nutrition

Træthed efter høj træningsintensitet medfører høje mængder af reaktive oxygenarter (ROS) i mitokondrier, og kan føre til dysregulering i menneskelig inflammatoriske og reuroendokrinologiske systemer.

Selvom mennesker har enzymer der opfanger nogle ROS’er, har vi ikke nok enzymer, der specifikt kan opfange hydrogexylradikaler, som er kendt for at angribe næsen alle komponenter i celler og forårsage aldring og sygdomme.

Mitochondria

The inside of the mitochondria is the site where various ROS are generated during respiration along with the harmful hydroxyl radicals. To ensure the greatest recovery effect, it is important to establish a technique that can detect these hydroxyl radicals from deep within the mitochondrial matrix.

Vitamin C is probably our most well-known antioxidant, but it can only penetrate the cytoplasm and not all the way into the cell's mitochondria

Det helt korrekte kemiske udtryk er Molekylært Hydrogen, som forkortes H2. Molekylær hydrogen er det mindste diatomiske molekyle, som på grund af sin meget lille størrelse, kan trænge igennem cellemembraner og ind i kroppens mitokondrier. Derinde i kroppes kraftværk kan hydrogen reagere med hydroxylradikaler og omdanne de inflammationsfremmende hydroxylradikaler til vandmolekyler ved en proces som kaldes hydrogenatomabstraktionsreaktion af hydroxylradkaler. Hydrogenmolekylets binding er en relativt stærk binding og derfor reagerer molekylært hydrogen ikke med andre stoffer i cellen – heraf navnet selektiv antioxidant.

Inflammation turns into water

Antallet af menneskelige celler siges af være ca. 37 billioner, og hver celle indeholder 300-400 mitokondrier, der er kilden til hydroxylradikaler. For at eliminere hydrogexylradikaler, som dannes i alle mitokondrier, er det nødvendigt at inhalere en stor mængde molekylært hydrogen og for at kunne levere molekylært hydrogen til alle de mange mange billioner af mitokondrier som aktivt påvirkes under hård træning.