The H2 industry in North America is in it’s infancy. The fact that you are reading this means you are an early adapter and puts you at the leading edge of investigators into the health and nutrition industry.
Fortunately, early adapters in America don’t have to go through the frustration of waiting for reliable products to be developed or for prices to drop from the exorbitant levels typically associated with introductory products. The H2 industry is booming in Asia which means that the manufacturers have already developed many excellent products. Today, Asian manufacturers are anxious to open up the American market.
There are currently a wide variety of categories of H2 products available in Japan. It will likely take some time for all of the various product categories to be introduced to the USA and for product competition to develop. Currently, the following product categories are already available online, or will be available in the very new future:
Inhalation machines: these machines pump gaseous hydrogen that the user breathes through a mask. The commercial machines used in hospitals and medical clinics generate a therapeutic level of H2. The concentration ranges from a therapeutic 2-4% concentration, which is below the flammability level, to nearly a 70% concentration, which is very therapeutic, but also very flammable. Inhalation devices sell for $3,000 to over $25,000.
Hydrogen water ionizers: these units are going to be priced in the $2,500 to $6,000 range in America. The units usually get hooked up to the water line below a kitchen counter or to the kitchen tap or even hydrogen-producing hot/cold water stand up coolers. The outward appearance of the counter top units is similar to a smaller version of the old alkaline water ionizers, but the inner workings of the chamber inside represents a quantum technological advance over alkaline water ionizers as they produce 3 to 10 times the amount of H2 under normal working conditions. The hydrogen machines are able to produce the elevated levels of H2 while maintaining the water at a neutral pH level. Neutral pH levels are important as it is only the H2 that matters. We will cover this subject in a future article.
Single serving water products: a number of single serving bottles or pouch style products that can be opened and consumed immediately will be available in America in the near future. Currently, we know of a few hydrogen-rich water pouches and bottles available online that sells for around $4 per serving when purchased in bulk quantities. To date, the feedback from various people testing the H2 levels of the water in the pouches has not favorable (specifically the ones with a plastic cap on them). We expect the performance of single serving products to improve as they get the wrinkles ironed out because many high quality products are available in Japan.
Dissolvable magnesium tablets: single serving tablets that are placed in water bottles with screw on lids that dissolve in 5 to 20 minutes. While not as convenient as opening a bottle of H2 water, the performance of these products has been very consistent and reliable at about 1.5 to 2.0 parts per million of H2 (although the concentration can increase higher than 4 ppm if it is prepared correctly). The tablets cost about $1 each (or less when bought as part of a program) which is about ¼ the cost of bottled hydrogen water.
Consumable magnesium pills: single serving pills which are swallowed. These product offer another convenient form of consuming hydrogen and they sell in the same price range as the dissolvable tablet. However, they deliver much less H2 than the hydrogen-producing tablets (approximately ⅛), and they dissolve very slowly, which makes them likely not as effective.
Magnesium Filters: a number of products are available at a wide range of prices (from less than $20 per filter that fits into a Brita pitcher up to $795 for a high end reverse osmosis machine that remineralizes water and produces H2 ). Magnesium based filters provide excellent value as they produce decent concentrations of H2 (about 0.3 parts per million) if the filters are regularly maintained/cleaned or 1.0 parts per million immediately after cleaning. As with the alkaline water ionizers, the need for regular cleaning will be viewed as cumbersome to many consumers. However, the long life and low cost of the filters will be viewed by others as well worth the effort.
