Molecular Hydrogen and Why It's Hot Right Now, HyVida, The Benefits and Side Effects of Consuming Hydrogen, Why Antioxidants Are Not Enough with Rick Smith

In today's episode I chat about molecular hydrogen which has been a big topic in the health and wellness space and it happens that my guest for this episode co-founded HyVida brands, which is a hydrogen-infused beverage company. If you didn't know, HyVida is recognized by beverage industry leaders as a strong candidate to massively disrupt beverage categories such as sparkling waters, carbonated soft drinks, functional waters, and energy drinks. Now my guest today has over 20 years of experience growing high-technology companies from startup to thriving enterprises. With various executive positions in advanced optics, photonic sensors and semiconductors, Rick has strategically sold sophisticated technology into medical imaging, homeland security, defense and aerospace markets throughout North America, Europe and Asia.  Rick holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and MBA from Michigan State University, and he does all this, while being a family man. I'm excited to have Rick Smith on the show.

 

During our discussion, you'll discover:

-Molecular hydrogen has been a hot topic in the biohacking and health community. What is so special about molecular hydrogen and what do people want it for? [1:37]

• Demand for health and wellness beverage products are on the rise, in the double digits
• People are looking for something healthy, with antioxidants, and other things that help improve their lifestyle. You can have something healthy that also tastes good. These two things are not mutually exclusive
• You can add molecular hydrogen to any carbonated beverage and it does not make any discernible difference in taste so you are adding a ton of antioxidants without affecting the taste
• Hydrogen neutralizes and scavenges free radicals and can up-regulate and down-regulate your cellular tissue.
• Then it reacts with the hydroxyl free radical, one of the most damaging free radicals, and results in H2O with zero byproduct
• H2, molecular hydrogen, is the lightest molecule in the entire universe

-What are the benefits and health advantages of hydrogen in humans? [6:40]

• The studies began in the early 2000s in Japan, over 1,000 published articles and a good portion are in human studies
• The three main benefits include prolonged endurance, reduced lactic acid buildup leading to reduced recovery time post-workout, and improved cognitive function
• The majority of your hydrogen is in your brain
• Rick has a molecular hydrogen drink in the afternoon instead of a coffee and it clears his head, you feel so much better
• In general, people feel it flushes out the negative energy and they feel refreshed. It's not an energy drink. It's a natural product, not a “borrow from tomorrow” product so you don't crash right after

-Other than HyVida, what are some other methods and options for using molecular hydrogen? [10:25]

• This is an emerging and rising science and category
• There are 4 or 5 brands delivering it via a ready-to-drink beverage. There are dietary supplements and they dissolve in water like an Alka Seltzer, creating bubbles and you consume it. There are companies that have machines and you can pour yourself a glass of hydrogen-infused water. There are some folks working on hydrogen gas mixed with air and you breathe it.

-HyVida is the first hydrogen-infused sparkling water. What is the advantage to having it be a sparkling water? [12:45]

• When you add the hydrogen molecules to still water, they are so small you can't discern it on your palate. There were already a few molecular hydrogen still waters on the market and so I thought by adding it to sparkling water it would be a disruptor in the space.
• How do you build a brand? It has to taste great and it has to be fun, and sparkling water is fun.
• It has zero calories, zero sweeteners and sugars, no caffeine. Their Pure product is non-flavored and they have 2 flavored varieties using certified organic extracts as flavors, so it's like if you just squeezed a few drops of lemon and lime with nothing else added.
• So HyVida provides functional enjoyment. You get the enjoyment without the guilt, which is why they trademarked it as Sparking Water 2.0. It's not a fast follower or a “Me Too” product.

-Is it possible to consume too much hydrogen? [17:18 ]

• There have been a number of animal studies where they have seen zero side effects. There's hundreds of published studies and in every single one, there doesn't seem to be any known side effects.
• [18:00 inaudible] Even if you ingest it in liquid form, when you exhale, to a certain extent, you give it off and put it out without it giving any potential side effect.

-One of the reasons people are turning to molecular hydrogen is the ability to gather free radicals and to decrease cancer-forming molecules. Many people think antioxidants from food can kill off free radicals just like that. Why aren't antioxidants enough and why is hydrogen possibly a better option? [18:40]

• [19:00 answer inaudible]
• The free radicals are in your body as a symptom of your lifestyle, so antioxidants alone are not going to do it.
• Also with antioxidants like Vitamin C there's still some unstable byproducts that are created after they neutralize the free radical so they are still going to remain and wreak havoc, looking for a free electron and borrowing it from your healthy tissues.
• Hydrogen is a cell-signaling modulator so it's a kind of preventative medicine, it's telling your cells to stop producing free radicals. So from that perspective, it is slightly superior to the plant-based antioxidants, based on the research that I could gather.

-How important was it for you guys to leave out the unnecessary fillers and nasty ingredients? [21:28]

• I've had so many people tell me I should add caffeine to it. Here's how I looked at it. Hydrogen has a pure simplicity when you think about it and how it works. From that standpoint, you have to let it stand out and let it shine. It's so disruptive on it's own, without adding anything to it. The simplest design is usually the most elegant.
• When you look at the ingredients here's what you see: carbonated water, magnesium, and hydrogen. And I added the magnesium for two reasons. One, because it is a critical mineral for your health, and two, because it helps to further differentiate. The same target audience that would value hydrogen would value magnesium, and because of the magnesium it gets people to embrace the product.
• Magnesium is an amazing electrolyte, and as a mineral it takes the acidic pH of sparkling water from about 3.5 to about 4.5, so it's about 10x less acidity on your teeth, because pH is a logarithmic system. It also means that when you drink it, it's much more smooth.
• The acidity in other brands begins to overpower the other flavors, so what do you do, you add more flavor. So in this case I throttle back the acidity so it's not as acidic as other products. And magnesium is great for the nervous system and for anxiety.
• So in concert, the hydrogen and magnesium work together beautifully in your body. So it's as simple as you can get. We have the most pure, simple ingredients, the best tasting, and the most functional without any calories or sweeteners and so forth.
• There's potential for line extensions, if anyone out there is a beer drinker I've added it to beer.

-People are getting more focus when they drink it towards the end of the day. Are there any other reports from people of the benefits of drinking HyVida that you know of? [27:36]

• There's been reports of hydrogen's impact on inflammation, memory and cognition, and Alzheimer's. I've personally had people contact me about respiratory function. For example, someone had a collapsed lung due to a reaction to medication. He's in his 40's and put on weight due to his inability to exercise, and for an hour post-consumption he can workout and has been able to lose some weight.

-What demographic are your biggest consumers of HyVida? [29:57]

• First we targeted the people who would typically drink sparkling water, women aged 20-50. We also targeted energy drinkers and men. We looked at who shops at Whole Foods and Sprouts Markets and it's typically about 70% women who make the buying decisions for the household. And I'm a man in my 40's and if my wife buys something healthy, I drink it, and I like it, then she'll continue to buy it. So our demographic is approximately 60% women and 40% men.
• On Amazon we are starting to see a lot of people in their 40's and 50's who realize they don't have the same level of health and bravado as they did in their early 30's and they have a little more disposable income and who have some influencing power.

-So what's the future for HyVida and what do you hope to achieve with it? [33:12]

• The sky's the limit. It seems that people are sticking with it once they try the product. I can see the more progressive companies offering it to their employees rather than a cup of coffee or energy drink due to its effects on cognitive function and memory.
• Certain hospitals are adding it to saline products because surgery is extremely traumatic and there's a lot of inflammation that is created to help with the surgery and post-op.
• One of his earliest investors heard about molecular hydrogen because he had knee surgery and they were doing knee flushes with hydrogen-infused water to help reduce the inflammation

-Hydrogen is a gas and when you open it, the gas escapes. So what is the window for drinking it after you open a bottle of HyVida? [36:31]

• As with anything that is carbonated, it will go flat eventually after you open it. The best is to determine the half life: after what time have you lost half of the hydrogen? It's between 45 and 60 minutes. If you really want the functional benefit, you should consume a 12 ounce can within 30 minutes.

-Can you comment on adding HyVida to cocktails for hydration? [38:01]

• If you think about, where are the wasted calories? In a gin and tonic, there's some sugars and calories in the tonic so if you replace it with a raspberry HyVida and it actually tastes lighter, smoother, and it has the antioxidants so it can help combat some of the oxidative stress caused by the alcohol.

-What is HyVida's overarching vision for where you want to take people in terms of their health? [39:49]

• From a hydrogen perspective, everyone can benefit. From little children to elderly people at the end of their life.
• This gets in on the preventative side, and culturally we are going to embrace the holistic, preventative, and alternative side of things more.

-What are your plans for 2019 to get maximum exposure for HyVida? [43:18]

• Our goal is to get into 2,000 stores this year. We are strategically targeting stores out east and pushing west in 2020.
• The first goal is to get in the stores, then to get the product off the shelves.
• We are also focusing on education, first about molecular hydrogen as a whole, then for HyVida specifically.

-Who are your competitors now and what makes you guys different? [47:37]

• Our direct competitors now are the more established sparkling waters and functional waters.

-Where can people find HyVida now and in the future? [50:12]

• We're in about 100 stores in metro-New York in a lot of smaller independent stores. We're in eastern PA, and we're in a lot of the independent health and wellness stores. In Minneapolis we are in Kowalsky's and we just got into Giant of Carlisle Martin in 140 stores in Pennsylvania. We've gotten verbal commitment from a few other chains but we won't be able to be in stores until February up to May, but I can't really comment on which ones.

-I'm in Wyoming right now. Do you guys have plans to bring it out west any time soon? [52:16]

• We want to focus first on concentrating geographically, getting the narrative right on how to sell it and position it, tweaking the label, and once that gets refined, then you can cascade it out.
• So 2020 we will be looking to parts of California and it's just a matter of time. And it's available on Amazon right now.

-If the world is ending today and you could eat anything for your last meal, what would it be? [54:17]

• I would have a seafood feast with grilled asparagus and broccoli sprouts, wash it down with a HyVida and maybe a chardonnay.

-If you had one last week to live, in perfect health, and could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? [55:49]

• I would take my wife and kids someplace where we can learn something together like New Zealand or Peru where we can experience some amazing things together.

-Last Question: If you had one piece of advice for anyone out there listening to live a better life, what would it be? [56:42]

• What's your motto or your creed? For me, it's “Die with memories, not with dreams”.
  • I had to make the decision: Do I go work for someone else or do I go for it and start something?
  • No matter what happens, I'm going to have fantastic memories and I'm going to give it my all.
• Know your motto and live by it.
• If you have limited experiences, you're just boring.

-Are there any hashtags people can use on Instagram or Facebook? [59:51]

• #HydrogenWater helps you discover new and emerging products.
• You can meet health and wellness influencers who have tried competitors' products and you can build a relationship with them.

-And much more...

 

Resources from this episode:

• Go to AMAZON.com to get 10% off your purchase of HyVIDA Hydrogen Water by using promo code: "UNLEASHED"
• Instagram: @HyVidaBrands
• Twitter:@HyVidaBrands
• HyVIDA.com
• Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyvida-brands-inc./

 

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