I finished reading "Melatonin: Breakthrough Discoveries That Can Help You Combat Aging, Boost Your Immune System, Reduce Your Risk of Cancer and Heart Disease, Get a Better Night's Sleep" by Russel Reiter. The book was published in the 90s, but I was amazed of how passionate was the author about this topic and how he presents all the research. It really makes you appreciate melatonin!
There's no bio of Russel Reiter, although is briefly mentioned that he was at the University of Rochester prior to his move to the University of Texas. He has published an academic book on Melatonin and the bestseller mentioned above that I'm going to summarize in parts because its trivia is really pretty amazing.
First, Reiter orients us to where exactly is the pineal gland, which is the first gland in your body to be formed and which is clearly distinguishable after 3 weeks of conception:
The pineal gland produces melatonin which is a very "old" molecule. That is, it has been found in every animal and plant studied to date, from human beings to the most primitive once-celled algae that appeared on the scene more than 3 billion years ago. In each organism's, melatonin's molecular structure is identical. This sameness is a rare occurrence in biology. Humans produce 5 to 10 times more melatonin at night that during the day, a circadian rhythm found in animals as well.
The first experiment involving melatonin, after it was isolated and chemically re-created, was an experiment for skin diseases. Since it turned frog's skin lighter, they wanted to see the effects in humans. They used 200mg and the only side effect was mild sedation.
To test toxicity, they've used in animals the equivalent of injecting half-cup of pure melatonin in humans, and no toxic effects were seen.
Babies produce increasing amounts of melatonin until they are about one year old. Then their nocturnal melatonin levels remain steady until just before puberty, when they decline markedly, a trend that continues for 5 years or so. This suggests a strong tie between melatonin levels and sexual maturity. Children who are late to enter puberty have been found to have higher levels of melatonin.
Then, melatonin continues to decline with age. So it may also trigger senescence. A 70 or 80 year old may have the hormone in amounts so small as to be undetectable.
Melatonin's first link with stimulating the immune system comes from studies done in mice where they were able to fight deadly viruses, their diabetes type I was less severe and adverse effects of chemotherapy were counteracted with the use of melatonin.
Melatonin is an excellent antioxidant, as well as a hormone. In fact, Reiter considers it the most efficient and versatile antioxidant. It is 5 times more effective than glutathione and 500 times more effective than DMSO!!!
Melatonin's protective effect in cancer comes in part from its antioxidant effect. They have done studies where after giving a toxic element to rats, their DNA gets destroyed. Mice who receive melatonin sustained only 1% as much damage. They had given the animals 750 times more of the toxin than melatonin, yet the hormone had offered near total protection!
For this same reason, melatonin protects against radiation. In fact, melatonin was 500 times more effective than DMSO as a radioprotector, and DMSO is already regarded as an excellent radioprotector.
In still the same line, melatonin has proven to protect against cataracts which are considered a result of oxidative stress among other things.
Melatonin's neuroprotective effects might also derive from the fact that the brain is most vulnerable to free radical attack. The brain presents a challenge because it has the blood brain barrier. However, this is not a problem for melatonin which can cross readily the blood brain barrier. They've found melatonin to be protective against free radicals generated by strokes.
In fact, melatonin is both water and fat soluble - a rare occurrence in nature - making it the one antioxidant that can protect all parts of the cell including its fatty membrane, and the one antioxidant that can cross all barriers. Furthermore, once in the body (after an oral dose), you don't have to worry about having the right enzymes or cofactors because it doesn't have to be converted into some other form.
In future posts, we'll see how melatonin's role in hormones, aging, immune system, glucose metabolism, etc. from Reiter's point of view. But I also wanted to mention now that some beneficial effects in animal studies were not seen when they used super high artificial doses of melatonin that your body can't produce. They were seen when a more "normal" range was used though. The scientists speculated that it had to be levels that the body could recognize so to speak. I also wanted to mention now that Reiter suggests a dose range from 0.1mg to 10mg depending on the aim or condition. I forgot the exact figure, but there's an individual difference response to melatonin of about 75%. Those who are very sensitive, will have anxiety and nightmares from taking just even 1 or 2 mg, which is why some suggest to start with 0.5mg or less.
There's no bio of Russel Reiter, although is briefly mentioned that he was at the University of Rochester prior to his move to the University of Texas. He has published an academic book on Melatonin and the bestseller mentioned above that I'm going to summarize in parts because its trivia is really pretty amazing.
First, Reiter orients us to where exactly is the pineal gland, which is the first gland in your body to be formed and which is clearly distinguishable after 3 weeks of conception:
The pineal gland produces melatonin which is a very "old" molecule. That is, it has been found in every animal and plant studied to date, from human beings to the most primitive once-celled algae that appeared on the scene more than 3 billion years ago. In each organism's, melatonin's molecular structure is identical. This sameness is a rare occurrence in biology. Humans produce 5 to 10 times more melatonin at night that during the day, a circadian rhythm found in animals as well.
The first experiment involving melatonin, after it was isolated and chemically re-created, was an experiment for skin diseases. Since it turned frog's skin lighter, they wanted to see the effects in humans. They used 200mg and the only side effect was mild sedation.
To test toxicity, they've used in animals the equivalent of injecting half-cup of pure melatonin in humans, and no toxic effects were seen.
Babies produce increasing amounts of melatonin until they are about one year old. Then their nocturnal melatonin levels remain steady until just before puberty, when they decline markedly, a trend that continues for 5 years or so. This suggests a strong tie between melatonin levels and sexual maturity. Children who are late to enter puberty have been found to have higher levels of melatonin.
Then, melatonin continues to decline with age. So it may also trigger senescence. A 70 or 80 year old may have the hormone in amounts so small as to be undetectable.
Melatonin's first link with stimulating the immune system comes from studies done in mice where they were able to fight deadly viruses, their diabetes type I was less severe and adverse effects of chemotherapy were counteracted with the use of melatonin.
Melatonin is an excellent antioxidant, as well as a hormone. In fact, Reiter considers it the most efficient and versatile antioxidant. It is 5 times more effective than glutathione and 500 times more effective than DMSO!!!
Melatonin's protective effect in cancer comes in part from its antioxidant effect. They have done studies where after giving a toxic element to rats, their DNA gets destroyed. Mice who receive melatonin sustained only 1% as much damage. They had given the animals 750 times more of the toxin than melatonin, yet the hormone had offered near total protection!
For this same reason, melatonin protects against radiation. In fact, melatonin was 500 times more effective than DMSO as a radioprotector, and DMSO is already regarded as an excellent radioprotector.
In still the same line, melatonin has proven to protect against cataracts which are considered a result of oxidative stress among other things.
Melatonin's neuroprotective effects might also derive from the fact that the brain is most vulnerable to free radical attack. The brain presents a challenge because it has the blood brain barrier. However, this is not a problem for melatonin which can cross readily the blood brain barrier. They've found melatonin to be protective against free radicals generated by strokes.
In fact, melatonin is both water and fat soluble - a rare occurrence in nature - making it the one antioxidant that can protect all parts of the cell including its fatty membrane, and the one antioxidant that can cross all barriers. Furthermore, once in the body (after an oral dose), you don't have to worry about having the right enzymes or cofactors because it doesn't have to be converted into some other form.
In future posts, we'll see how melatonin's role in hormones, aging, immune system, glucose metabolism, etc. from Reiter's point of view. But I also wanted to mention now that some beneficial effects in animal studies were not seen when they used super high artificial doses of melatonin that your body can't produce. They were seen when a more "normal" range was used though. The scientists speculated that it had to be levels that the body could recognize so to speak. I also wanted to mention now that Reiter suggests a dose range from 0.1mg to 10mg depending on the aim or condition. I forgot the exact figure, but there's an individual difference response to melatonin of about 75%. Those who are very sensitive, will have anxiety and nightmares from taking just even 1 or 2 mg, which is why some suggest to start with 0.5mg or less.
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