This post talks in great detail about:
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The Free Radical Theory of Aging
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What research suggests about molecular hydrogen and aging
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Sirtuins, NAD, mTOR, and their effects on aging
Let's dive right in...
Although we didn’t realize it at the time, 2007 was an extremely important year in the progression of anti-aging science and research.
In 2007, a seminal study published in Nature Medicine helped spark scientific interest in molecular hydrogen by investigating its potential antioxidant activity and interactions with highly reactive oxygen species.
Researchers have continued to investigate the potential biological effects and mechanisms of molecular hydrogen.
Molecular hydrogen has since been studied across a wide range of biological processes and health-related applications.
These findings are all tremendously exciting.
Combating disease and improving our quality of life is (and should be!) one of the fundamental goals of modern medical research.
There is, however, one biological process experienced by all living organisms that is progressive and inescapable.
I am referring of course, to aging.
It happens to the best of us. No one gets out alive, as they say.
Source: http://www.ancientpages.com/2015/04/27/search-mysterious-fountain-youth/
Society has been obsessed with combating the aging process since time immemorial. The storied fountain of youth has been mankind’s ultimate obsession.
Advances in science and a greater understanding of human physiology have allowed us to achieve a better understanding of the cellular process of aging. These advances have allowed us to develop novel interventions to, if not halt, then at least slow the process.
This raises an interesting research question: what, if anything, can molecular hydrogen research tell us about aging and longevity?
Let’s look at the current state of aging research.
The Free Radical Theory of Aging
First proposed in the 1950s, the Free Radical Theory of Aging suggested that accumulated oxidative damage contributes to the aging process.
The theory is centered (as the name would suggest) on the formation and activity of free radicals.
A free radical is a molecule that has a single unpaired electron in its outer shell.
The reason free radicals are bad news is that electrons don’t like being unpaired. In fact, they don’t like it so much that free radicals will react with other molecules to steal their electrons, creating a new free radical and a chain reaction that can cause a substantial amount of damage to cellular organelles like mitochondria, and even to DNA.
Source: https://www.organics.org/antioxidants-vs-free-radicals/
Free radicals can be formed by damage from oxidative stress, UV exposure from the sun, or car exhaust inhaled during your commute. They are also formed continuously by normal metabolic activity, as a waste product.
Source: https://foodal.com/knowledge/paleo/easy-antioxidant-tips/
The Free Radical Theory of aging holds that over time, organisms are increasingly exposed to a higher number of free radicals, and the cumulative damage that these molecules inflict results in the gradual cellular breakdown that we recognize as the aging process.
There are some empirical observations that support this theory.
Research has linked oxidative stress with age-related cellular changes, although aging is now understood to involve many interconnected biological processes beyond oxidative damage alone.
This connection has contributed to scientific interest in molecular hydrogen and aging, particularly its potential relationship with oxidative stress.
Molecular Hydrogen, Oxidative Stress, and Aging
Source: https://foodal.com/knowledge/paleo/easy-antioxidant-tips/
Studies have investigated the potential antioxidant activity of molecular hydrogen and its interactions with oxidative stress. Hydrogen is particularly interesting to researchers for several reasons.
First, it’s very small and has a neutral charge. This allows H2 molecules to freely diffuse to places few other molecules can get to so easily. This means that H2 can easily and quickly travel throughout the body, crossing otherwise impermeable membranes, like cell membranes and the blood-brain barrier.
Importantly for our aging discussion, hydrogen can even get into a cell’s mitochondria and nucleus.
Second, it’s not very strong. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but hydrogen is a relatively weak antioxidant, which is actually a good thing.
Remember that we had discussed that free radicals are a normal byproduct of metabolism.
Nearly all biological processes work from a foundational premise of homeostasis- our bodies are always trying to maintain the delicate chemical balance that supports life as we know it.
So, sometimes these reactive oxygen species serve important roles as cell signalling molecules.
Researchers have proposed that molecular hydrogen may interact with certain highly reactive species without broadly interfering with reactive oxygen species involved in normal cellular signaling.
If you sprayed your yard with an herbicide that killed everything it touched, that wouldn’t be so great. But if you had a compound that only targeted the weeds...that would be ideal.
This has led researchers to investigate hydrogen as a potential selective antioxidant, including its proposed interactions with highly reactive species such as hydroxyl radicals and peroxynitrite.
Its small size and ability to diffuse across biological membranes are among the reasons researchers continue to investigate its potential biological effects.
Researchers have also investigated whether molecular hydrogen may influence cellular signaling pathways involved in responses to oxidative stress, including NRF2.
This is relevant to aging research because oxidative stress is one of several biological processes being studied in relation to healthy aging and longevity.
Telomeres, the protective structures at the ends of chromosomes, are one of many areas studied in aging and longevity research.
Telomeres are like the plastic caps on the ends of your shoelaces. They protect the ends of DNA strands and shorten as we age.
Progressive telomere shortening can eventually affect a cell’s ability to continue dividing normally.
Telomere length and telomerase activity are influenced by multiple biological factors. Oxidative stress has been studied as one factor that may contribute to telomere shortening and other age-related cellular changes.
These findings have contributed to scientific interest in molecular hydrogen and aging, although more research is needed to understand their significance for healthy aging in humans.
But there’s more to the story...
Source: http://bipolarnews.org/?tag=telomeres
Molecular Hydrogen and the Biology of Aging
Our understanding of aging has evolved considerably since the Free Radical Theory of Aging was first proposed.
Oxidative stress remains an important area of research, but aging is now understood as a complex process involving many interconnected biological mechanisms.
This has also led researchers to explore how molecular hydrogen may interact with other biological processes associated with aging.
Current aging research examines a wide range of interconnected biological processes, including pathways involving sirtuins, NAD, and mTOR.
Source: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-43157-4_12
Sirtuins are a group of intracellular proteins.
There are 7 of them that we’ve been able to identify, and they are so integral to the aging process that they’ve been dubbed the “longevity proteins.”
They play different roles in the nucleus, cytoplasm, and mitochondria. Sirtuins are involved in a range of biological processes, including gene regulation, metabolism, and mitochondrial function, which has made them an important area of aging research.
These sirtuins require a cofactor called NAD to work. NAD is short for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. NAD is a fascinating molecule that basically plays two main roles in our bodies.
The first is the process by which we transform food into energy, and the second is as a regulator of the function of other molecules (like sirtuins). NAD is present in every cell in our body and is critical to life.
Source: https://alivebynature.com/basis-niagen-by-elysium-health-2/
Unfortunately, as we age, NAD levels decrease, which has made figuring out how to boost NAD levels a key area of longevity research. One of the main ways in which NAD is depleted is through its role as a cofactor with PARP (poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase), which is an enzyme responsible for repairing DNA after oxidative damage.
Also- remember NRF2?
As discussed earlier, researchers have investigated whether molecular hydrogen may influence NRF2 signaling, a pathway involved in cellular responses to oxidative stress.
These findings have led researchers to investigate possible relationships between molecular hydrogen, cellular stress responses, NAD, and related aging pathways.
One in vitro study using human endothelial cells reported changes in sirtuin activity and NAD levels following molecular hydrogen exposure. Because this was a laboratory study rather than a human clinical trial, its implications for aging in people remain uncertain.
Source: https://drjockers.com/nrf2-benefits/
Finally, there’s that pesky mTOR pathway.
mTOR stands for mechanistic target of rapamycin. mTOR has been widely studied in anti-aging circles for some time now. This kinase seems to be the master modulator for a variety of cellular processes involving growth, development, and metabolism.
It’s generally turned on by environmental and hormonal signals promoting cell growth.
Experimental models have investigated how inhibition of the mTOR pathway may influence lifespan and aging-related processes.
This has made mTOR an important target in aging research. Compounds such as rapamycin have been widely studied for their effects on this pathway, although mTOR plays complex and important roles throughout the body.
These findings suggest a possible relationship between molecular hydrogen, NRF2 signaling, and pathways involved in aging, although their significance in humans remains under investigation.
Research into molecular hydrogen and aging continues to explore its relationship with oxidative stress, cellular signaling, NAD, sirtuins, and pathways such as NRF2.
These findings are scientifically interesting, but more human research is needed to determine what role, if any, molecular hydrogen may play in healthy aging and longevity.
Molecular Hydrogen and Longevity
Molecular hydrogen longevity research is still developing. Studies of oxidative stress, cellular signaling, NAD, sirtuins, and NRF2 provide possible areas of scientific interest, but they do not establish that molecular hydrogen slows human aging or extends lifespan.
More human research is needed to understand whether these findings translate into meaningful healthy-aging benefits.
Hydrogen Water and Aging
Hydrogen water is water containing dissolved molecular hydrogen (H₂) and is one of the methods used to deliver molecular hydrogen in research.
Interest in hydrogen water and aging comes largely from research into H₂, oxidative stress, cellular signaling, and other biological processes associated with aging. However, studying these mechanisms is not the same as demonstrating that hydrogen water slows aging or extends lifespan.
More human research is needed to understand whether molecular hydrogen has meaningful effects on healthy aging and longevity.
Curious about molecular hydrogen? Learn more about Vital Reaction molecular hydrogen products and how they work.
What are your thoughts on the current state of anti-aging science?
What do you think of the role of molecular hydrogen in the aging process?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
