Melatonin - impressive health supplement

Goldenrod

Goldenrod

Well-known member
Staff member
https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2007/6/nu_melatonin/Page-01

The uses of melatonin beyond sleep are coming to light. It has excellent liver protection qualities - more so than NAC for acetaminophen toxicity in recent studies. Very high doses are not showing negative side effects other than drowsiness.
It is being added to cancer treatment regimens with success and is being used successfully to treat eye diseases that require daily steroidal drops like prednisolone.
The only downfall I can find is the unknown - long term usage not recommmeded as no long term studies have been published (that I can find).
That being said - it is a very inexpensive supplement and one of the best antioxidants known.
As with most things as we age - so does melatonin production.

All of the aforementioned statements are from articles I read - a quick search on google provides endless info.
 
The way it was explained to me was that long term useage is mostly not recommended because if you need melatonin every night to help you go to sleep, there are larger issues and you should seek further help - but it doesn’t actually have much to do with how melatonin effects you. They just don’t want you duct taping insomnia problems with melatonin, and not seeing a doctor.
 
Goldenrod said:
https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2007/6/nu_melatonin/Page-01

The uses of melatonin beyond sleep are coming to light. It has excellent liver protection qualities - more so than NAC for acetaminophen toxicity in recent studies. Very high doses are not showing negative side effects other than drowsiness.
It is being added to cancer treatment regimens with success and is being used successfully to treat eye diseases that require daily steroidal drops like prednisolone.
The only downfall I can find is the unknown - long term usage not recommmeded as no long term studies have been published (that I can find).
That being said - it is a very inexpensive supplement and one of the best antioxidants known.
As with most things as we age - so does melatonin production.

All of the aforementioned statements are from articles I read - a quick search on google provides endless info.
Click to expand...

I've been taking Melatonin for a couple years now - alongside Magnesium - to have better sleep.

However I recently noticed some studies that point to Melatonin having a negative effect on BP. I'm not an expert in the area of science or medicine, nor am I very proficient in reading/understanding some of these pubmeds - so maybe some of the guys on here that read and understand these studies can comment better on this.

One of the studies says:

"The evening administration of melatonin induced an increase of blood pressure and heart rate throughout the 24 h period. The DBP as well as the HR increase were particularly evident during the morning and the afternoon hours."

Systolic BP was also affected:

​
Placebo​
Melatonin​
SBP (mm Hg)​
P​
24 h​
124.16 ± 9​
130.65 ± 10​
< 0.001​
Daytime​
128.53 ± 10​
134.91 ± 11​
< 0.002​
Nighttime​
115.43 ± 7​
122.11 ± 8​
< 0.001​



 
@Bolton73 Hot take after a very quick read - Very likely nothing to worry about unless you are taking a calcium channel blocker medicine. Nifedipine is "Calcium Channel Blocker", google that to find a list of them.

Seems to be a case of a novel drug interaction.

Melatonin alone lowers BP and affects heart rate in both directions depending on time of day. *See below
Nifedipine alone lowers BP.
All of these effects are fairly mild statistically (?) but a little bit of improvement in those numbers goes a long way healthwise.
Generally you'd expect the two taken together would have an additive effect in lowering BP.

But when you add Melatonin to a Nifedipine regime BP and HR both go up a bit. Not sure how this neg effect compares to the pos effect that was originally seen from the Nifedipine.

While the increases in BP and heart rate individually are not large the potential trouble comes when both are present. This situation increases the "BP Load", not good, a description of this is in the Discussion section.

* On the upside a study of Melatonin on it's own is cited in this study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10234100/ . it shows the pos effects we seek.

Both of these studies are over 20 years years old and they both note that further studies are needed. Researchers use these preliminary studies to justify the need for more funding for those further studies. If successful their are likely newer studies available which may draw varying conclusions.

If successful this also has the very handy side effect of providing a few years of job security. Pardon my cynicism lol.

TLDR - not medical advice but these studies seem to say "no CCB, no problem"
 
gondar1 said:
@Bolton73 Hot take after a very quick read - Very likely nothing to worry about unless you are taking a calcium channel blocker medicine. Nifedipine is "Calcium Channel Blocker", google that to find a list of them.

Seems to be a case of a novel drug interaction.

Melatonin alone lowers BP and affects heart rate in both directions depending on time of day. *See below
Nifedipine alone lowers BP.
All of these effects are fairly mild statistically (?) but a little bit of improvement in those numbers goes a long way healthwise.
Generally you'd expect the two taken together would have an additive effect in lowering BP.

But when you add Melatonin to a Nifedipine regime BP and HR both go up a bit. Not sure how this neg effect compares to the pos effect that was originally seen from the Nifedipine.

While the increases in BP and heart rate individually are not large the potential trouble comes when both are present. This situation increases the "BP Load", not good, a description of this is in the Discussion section.

* On the upside a study of Melatonin on it's own is cited in this study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10234100/ . it shows the pos effects we seek.

Both of these studies are over 20 years years old and they both note that further studies are needed. Researchers use these preliminary studies to justify the need for more funding for those further studies. If successful their are likely newer studies available which may draw varying conclusions.

If successful this also has the very handy side effect of providing a few years of job security. Pardon my cynicism lol.

TLDR - not medical advice but these studies seem to say "no CCB, no problem"
Click to expand...

Thx gondar. Awesome breakdown.
 
@gondar1 covered off the explanation. It is worth noting that you have to look at several studies before making any concrete conclusion unless the study uses a huge number of people and takes place over an extended period (years - like the orange juice study that lasted 20 years and is posted in the health section). This was 47 people for 3 months - all had high BP and on a specific med. I am not saying these small studies don't hold statistical value - they do but only so much. I regularly post small studies I find interesting that are similar.

Out of curiosity - do you have high BP or are on BP medications?

I am just one person who is not on and never has been on BP meds but I have tried all kinds of different dosages of melatonin and none have negatively impacted my BP but HGH and moderate doses of some androgens do.
 
Goldenrod said:
https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2007/6/nu_melatonin/Page-01

The uses of melatonin beyond sleep are coming to light. It has excellent liver protection qualities - more so than NAC for acetaminophen toxicity in recent studies. Very high doses are not showing negative side effects other than drowsiness.
It is being added to cancer treatment regimens with success and is being used successfully to treat eye diseases that require daily steroidal drops like prednisolone.
The only downfall I can find is the unknown - long term usage not recommmeded as no long term studies have been published (that I can find).
That being said - it is a very inexpensive supplement and one of the best antioxidants known.
As with most things as we age - so does melatonin production.

All of the aforementioned statements are from articles I read - a quick search on google provides endless info.
Click to expand...
Another great post by the golden rod thanks man
 
I belevie it can raise your blood sugar... Along with a bunch of other things, I cut it out when I was pre diabetic. Not sure if it affected my blood sugar though since I cut out a lot of stuff all at once so of course my bs dropped.
 
Goldenrod said:
@gondar1 covered off the explanation. It is worth noting that you have to look at several studies before making any concrete conclusion unless the study uses a huge number of people and takes place over an extended period (years - like the orange juice study that lasted 20 years and is posted in the health section). This was 47 people for 3 months - all had high BP and on a specific med. I am not saying these small studies don't hold statistical value - they do but only so much. I regularly post small studies I find interesting that are similar.

Out of curiosity - do you have high BP or are on BP medications?

I am just one person who is not on and never has been on BP meds but I have tried all kinds of different dosages of melatonin and none have negatively impacted my BP but HGH and moderate doses of some androgens do.
Click to expand...

Actually, i am on 2 meds for my BP (Omlodipine and Ramipril). I also take cialis daily. With the meds, lots of fish oil, and better diet my BP now sits around 125/57 ish. Before the meds it was pretty high - approx 185ish/90ish.
 
animal-inside said:
I belevie it can raise your blood sugar... Along with a bunch of other things, I cut it out when I was pre diabetic. Not sure if it affected my blood sugar though since I cut out a lot of stuff all at once so of course my bs dropped.
Click to expand...

Yeah, its strange. I've read studies that said Melatonin plays a beneficial role in the controlling of blood glucose, but I've also read some studies that stated that Melatonin raised blood glucose levels - more so in individuals that carried the risk gene and who also showed lower levels of insulin secretion.

Another thing to note is that the disturbance of the internal circadian system can induce glucose intolerance and insulin resistance - however, this can be restored by using Melatonin.

Personally, I'm pre-diabetic and still using Melatonin, but I've been successful in bringing my A1C and fasted blood sugar down since finding this out. Diet was a big one, plus Tudca and Ceylon cinnamon. I also have water mixed with Psyllium Husk every time I eat a meal with carbs.

I also started using Berberine, but stopped using it when I realized Berberine affected my acid reflux badly. Berberine also apparently causes muscle degradation - i believe by inhibiting protein synthesis.
 
Bolton73 said:
Yeah, its strange. I've read studies that said Melatonin plays a beneficial role in the controlling of blood glucose, but I've also read some studies that stated that Melatonin raised blood glucose levels - more so in individuals that carried the risk gene and who also showed lower levels of insulin secretion.

Another thing to note is that the disturbance of the internal circadian system can induce glucose intolerance and insulin resistance - however, this can be restored by using Melatonin.

Personally, I'm pre-diabetic and still using Melatonin, but I've been successful in bringing my A1C and fasted blood sugar down since finding this out. Diet was a big one, plus Tudca and Ceylon cinnamon. I also have water mixed with Psyllium Husk every time I eat a meal with carbs.

I also started using Berberine, but stopped using it when I realized Berberine affected my acid reflux badly. Berberine also apparently causes muscle degradation - i believe by inhibiting protein synthesis.
Click to expand...

I was pre diabetic as well.

I changed lots of things and lost 50 pounds.

I am still using bererine, ALA, cinnamon, Coq10, b- complex, fish oil, flax oil.. They all help.

Also try using a REALLY good probioitc. This helped my fasting fglucose.


When I became pre diabeitc, I bought a glucose monitor to see what works and what didn't work for me.

Biggest thing that helped, was no more carbs unless it's from dark berries, nuts, or trace carbs... That helped the most.

Dropping 50lbs helped


And going HITT cardio really helped.


Not sure why you got heartburn from berberine? N?ever heard of that.


Have you ever had your thyroid checked? IF so what was your TSH? My docotr put me on enough T4 to get my TSH below 1.0.. That dropped my blood sugars as well.
 
animal-inside said:
I was pre diabetic as well.

I changed lots of things and lost 50 pounds.

I am still using bererine, ALA, cinnamon, Coq10, b- complex, fish oil, flax oil.. They all help.

Also try using a REALLY good probioitc. This helped my fasting fglucose.


When I became pre diabeitc, I bought a glucose monitor to see what works and what didn't work for me.

Biggest thing that helped, was no more carbs unless it's from dark berries, nuts, or trace carbs... That helped the most.

Dropping 50lbs helped


And going HITT cardio really helped.


Not sure why you got heartburn from berberine? N?ever heard of that.
Click to expand...

I actually just ordered some Coq 10 and ALA on the weekend. Out of curiosity, what probiotic do you use?
 
Bolton73 said:
I actually just ordered some Coq 10 and ALA on the weekend. Out of curiosity, what probiotic do you use?
Click to expand...

One a day, no refridgeration needed.. It's the only one I've eve tried that made my guts a bit gurgly for a day or two and then much better digestion from then after.

Lots of reseatrch coming out now that gut bacteria is very strongly linked to type 2 diabetes.

 
animal-inside said:
One a day, no refridgeration needed.. It's the only one I've eve tried that made my guts a bit gurgly for a day or two and then much better digestion from then after.

Lots of reseatrch coming out now that gut bacteria is very strongly linked to type 2 diabetes.

Click to expand...


Thx my friend. That's a decent price. I was looking online for probiotics for diabetics and the one most recommended was Pendulum Glucose Control - but i wasn't about to pay $160 for a one-month supply.
 
Bolton73 said:
Thx my friend. That's a decent price. I was looking online for probiotics for diabetics and the one most recommended was Pendulum Glucose Control - but i wasn't about to pay $160 for a one-month supply.
Click to expand...

That probiotic is ONE pill ONCE a day.. All others are like 1-2 pills 3 times a day.. And those have to be kept in fridhe. One pill once a day no fridge is easy
 
i tried the sublingual kind and it nocked me out but i woke up a few hours later.do you find this to?
 
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