Melatonin & the Pineal Gland:
young and healthy
Amazing antioxidant and disease
fighting properties of melatonin,
February 2013
by: Mike Bundrant
Melatonin is a naturally occurring compound found in mammals, plants and microbes that in animals fluctuates on a daily cycle. In mammals melatonin is secreted into the blood stream by the pineal gland in the brain and is known as the "hormone of darkness."
That is, melatonin is secreted
in the middle of the night in both day-active (diurnal) and night-active
(nocturnal) animals, including humans.Endogenous peak melatonin production
occurs at 2 AMand ceases when the sun rises, making measurements of melatonin
problematic. There are no foods that one can eat to raise melatonin levels,
although it is synthesized in the brain from the essential amino acid
L-Tryptophan.
Melatonin is available as an
over-the-counter supplement and has been studied for the treatment of cancer,
immune disorders, cardiovascular disease, depression, seasonal affective
disorder (SAD), circadian rhythm and sleep disorders as well as sexual
dysfunction and many other diseases and conditions. This is obviously a very
large topic, so we will limit this discussion to melatonin's antioxidant and
sleep inducing effects, as well as how it prevents and may even help cure cancer.
Many years ago I was attending
a bioidentical hormone conference where the speaker presented the case of a 20
y/o woman who had developed bilateral breast cancer. That is very unusual of
course, and in the process of a complete diagnostic work-up, it was found that
her pineal gland was completely calcified, essentially a piece of stone in the
middle of her brain. Since the pineal gland is wheremelatonin is produced, this
meant she had no melatonin whatsoever.
This indicates melatonin has
very potent anti-cancer effects and when absent markedly increases cancer risk,
especially breast cancer.
The World Health Organization
has named late night shift work as a probable cancer provoking activity.
Reduced melatonin production has been proposed as a likely factor in the
significantly higher cancer rates observed in night workers.
Melatonin is a very powerful
antioxidant that can easily cross the cell membrane and blood brain barrier. It
is a direct free radical scavenger of hydroxide, oxygen and nitrous oxide free
radicals. Unlike vitamin C that can be "recycled" which allows it to
also be a pro-oxidant, melatonin is reduced to several stable endpoints upon
reacting with free radicals, meaning it is a terminal (or suicidal)
antioxidant.
Recent studies of melatonin
metabolites show it can neutralize up to 10 reactive oxygen or nitrogen
species. This makes melatonin capable of creating a "free radical
scavenging cascade" that is not possible with other antioxidants. In
animal models this superior antioxidant ability can prevent damage to DNA by
some carcinogens.
Melatonin's antioxidant
activity may reduce cellular damage such as in Parkinson's, as well as prevent
cardiac arrhythmia and possibly increase longevity.
The average life span of mice
has been increased by 20% with melatonin. Another way in which melatonin may
prevent cancer is its radiation protecting effects. Melatonin protects against
ionizing radiation via free radical scavenging of the hydroxyl free radical
that attacks DNA, proteins and cellular membranes. A systematic review of
unblinded clinical studies involving a total of 643 cancer patients using
melatonin documented a reduced incidence of death.
Melatonin may have exceptional
anti-aging effects as well. Young children hit their peak melatonin production
at night. As we age, the peak melatonin production occurs earlier at night,
which may explain why adults go to bed earlier, wake up earlier and have more
sleep difficulties.
Another study has found
melatonin is crucial to slowing the aging process via its effects on specific
genes. The administration of melatonin may reverse the gene expression of over
100 genes, making the genes of elderly people similar to those of younger
people. Thus, using melatonin supplements may assist in reversing some signs
and symptoms of aging by working at a genetic level, influencing the aging
process favorably.
Poor sleep is a symptom that
plagues millions of men and women. The melatonin signal forms part of the
system that regulates the wake-sleep cycle by chemically causing drowsiness and
lowering body temperature. Human melatonin production decreases as a person
ages. In humans, 90% of melatonin is cleared in a single pass through the
liver. This is why those who use melatonin supplements to improve the length
and depth of sleep may not find success, as over-the-counter melatonin
supplements create a rapid blood spike that is rapidly washed out.
Using a compounded, slow release
version with a higher dose (3 - 20 mg) may be a better option that will create
a more sustained blood melatonin level. A prolonged release prescription
version of melatonin called "Circadin" has been approved in Europe
for patients over age 55 for the treatment of insomnia.
Melatonin is remarkably safe
with few side effects.
Next day grogginess,
irritability, vivid dreams and/or nightmares and hypothermia have occurred in
some people with doses over 3 mg taken at bedtime. Toxicity has not been seen
in doses as high as 200 mg/kg bodyweight in mice.
In summary, melatonin is a
very safe and potentially very effective hormone treatment for improving sleep,
treating jet lag and insomnia that has minimal downside. It may help prevent a
number of cancers as well as slow down the aging process.
Even children with autism have
been documented to fall asleep faster and longer with nightly doses of 2-10 mg
of melatonin.
Other studies have found
melatonin may relieve headaches, reduce delirium, and improve mood disorders
such as SAD, bipolar disorder and some forms of depression. Vivid dreaming
indicates melatonin is increasing REM restorative sleep.
Randy Ice and David Mitzner
are with Vintage Medical Group.
This article from last January gives some excellent information on the importance of the Pineal Gland
Why pineal gland and mental health
are most important in these times
BY ADONAI – POSTED ON JANUARY 24, 2012
POSTED IN: COSMIC EVOLUTION, EDITORS' PICKS, HEALTH, SOCIAL EVOLUTION
BY ADONAI – POSTED ON JANUARY 24, 2012
POSTED IN: COSMIC EVOLUTION, EDITORS' PICKS, HEALTH, SOCIAL EVOLUTION
Clean pineal gland and strong mental health are most important to tell the truth from the lies and take control of your life back to your own hands. While we spend our days being manipulated slaves, science and spirituality are joining up and offering us clues. Today we can say that many of the secrets are right out in the open and that truth and knowledge can come to those that seek them and are able to recognize them. Though this process is individual there are common things that all of us feel when our dormant knowledge bursts into our consciousness.
The pineal gland and mental
health
The pineal gland, or third
eye, is located in the geometric center of the brain. This correlates to the
location of the Great Pyramid in the center of the physical planet.
The pineal gland was called
the “third eye” by ancient people. It was thought to have mystical powers. This
may be why the French philosopher Descartes decided that the pineal gland was
the seat of the human soul, the location of what we call the mind. The pineal
does contain a complete map of the visual field of the eyes, and it plays
several significant roles in human functioning.
It is the center for the
production of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is implicated in a wide range of
human activities. It regulates daily body rhythms, most notably the day/night
cycle (circadian rhythms). Melatonin is released in the dark, during sleep.
The pineal gland has been
implicated in a number of disorders including cancer, sexual dysfunction,
hypertension, epilepsy, Paget’s disease… The pineal gland calcifies with age
and melatonin production correspondingly decreases. This decline in melatonin
has been suggested to be a trigger for the aging process.
Environmental stresses affect
pineal function, impacting overall body alertness, temperature levels, and
hormone operation. Stresses that affect pineal function include unusual light
and dark rhythms, radiation, magnetic fields, nutritional imbalances,
temperature swings, high altitude, and overall daily stress patterns.
Pineal gland contains magnetic
material in birds and other animals. It is a center for navigation. This, of
course, is important for blind individuals. If the pineal gland turns out to
contain magnetic material in humans (researchers are looking), then it may be
involved in navigational processing. Magnetic processing is subtle and may be
part of the bodies unconscious navigational system. Mobility specialists are
aware of this possibility, but we have yet to use it to train students.
Studies done mostly with birds
strongly suggest that the pineal gland is a center for navigation. Scientists
believe that the pineal body is a magnetoreceptor, capable of monitoring
magnetic fields, and helping to align the body in space. Changing the direction
of magnetic fields around the heads of birds alters their ability to orient.
Electromagnetic fields (EMF)
suppress the activity of the pineal gland and reduce melatonin production. EMF
activity therefore disrupts the bodies circadian rhythms.
A recent study published some
years ago in the NewScientist, indicates a direct connection between the Sun’s
solar storms and human biological effect. The conduit which facilitates the
charged particles from the Sun to human disturbance — is the very same conduit
which steers Earth’s weather —– The Magnetic Field. Yes, animals and humans
have a magnetic field which surrounds them — in the very same way the magnetic
field surrounds the Earth as a protector.
The NewScientist study states:
“The most plausible explanation for the association between geomagnetic
activity and depression and suicide is that geomagnetic storms can
desynchronize circadian rhythms and melatonin production,” says Kelly Posner, a
psychiatrist at Columbia University in the US. The pineal gland, which
regulates circadian rhythm and melatonin production, is sensitive to magnetic
fields. “The circadian regulatory system depends upon repeated environmental
cues to [synchronize] internal clocks,” says Posner. “Magnetic fields may be
one of these environmental cues.”
Function and official research
on pineal gland
This gland is activated by
Light, and it controls the various biorhythms of the body. It works in harmony
with the hypothalamus gland, which directs the body’s thirst, hunger, sexual
desire and the biological clock, that determines our aging process.
The pineal gland was
originally believed to be a “vestigial remnant” of a larger organ.
Dermatology professor Aaron B. Lerner and colleagues at Yale University, hoping
that a substance from the pineal might be useful in treating skin diseases,
isolated and named the hormone melatonin in 1958.
Melatonin
Melatonin is
N-acetyl-5-methoxy-tryptamine, a derivative of the amino acid tryptophan, which
also has other functions in the central nervous system. The production of
melatonin by the pineal gland is stimulated by darkness and inhibited by light.
Photosensitive cells in the retina detect light and directly signal the SCN, entraining
its rhythm to the 24-hour cycle in nature. Fibers project from the SCN to the
paraventricular nuclei (PVN), which relay the circadian signals to the spinal
cord and out via the sympathetic system to superior cervical ganglia (SCG), and
from there into the pineal gland.
Melatonin is a very ancient
hormone that is found throughout the animal kingdom. In reptiles and birds the
pineal is close to the skin and needs no interaction with the eye to register
day/night cycles (this is where the notion of the ‘third eye” comes from). In
these animals, the pineal gland is the master clock. In mammals, however, the
pineal gland is subordinate to the eye/SCN system. Light severely curtails the
production of melatonin.
Melatonin has been shown to
inhibit the growth and metastasis of some tumors in experimental animals, and
may therefore play a role in cancer inhibition. Removal of the pineal gland
and/or reduction in melatonin output have been implicated in the increased
incidence of breast cancer in laboratory animals. Patients who have breast
cancer have lower levels of melatonin in the blood. The hormone has also been
shown to be protective against genetic damage, and it has a stimulatory effect
on the immune system.
The anticancer role of
melatonin in humans is not established yet, but in a study involving blind
women, melatonin production was found to be higher at all times. This finding
was associated with the finding that breast cancer in this study was
correspondingly lower for these blind women compared to the general population.
The abundant melatonin levels
in children are believed to inhibit sexual development, and pineal tumors have
been linked with precocious puberty. When puberty arrives, melatonin production
is reduced. Calcification of the pineal gland is typical in adults.
Apparently the internal
secretions of the pineal gland inhibit the development of the reproductive
glands, because in cases where it is severely damaged in children, the result
is accelerated development of the sexual organs and the skeleton. In animals,
the pineal gland appears to play a major role in sexual development,
hibernation, metabolism, and seasonal breeding.
Pineal cytostructure seems to
have evolutionary similarities to the retinal cells of chordates. Modern birds
and reptiles have been found to express the phototransducing pigment melanopsin
in the pineal gland. Avian pineal glands are believed to act like the SCN in
mammals.
Studies on rodents suggest
that the pineal gland may influence the actions of recreational drugs, such as
cocaine, and antidepressants, such as fluoxetine (Prozac), and its hormone
melatonin can protect against neurodegeneration
Cleaning the pineal gland
Cleaning up the pineal gland
is useful for those wishing to develop their multidimensional perception. The
Pineal gland will naturally make its own DMT when fully operational and we will
be able to remain in a visionary state most of the time. An awakened pineal
gland brings the ability to consciously astral travel, explore other
dimensions, foresee the future…
It is said that when the
pineal gland or ‘third eye’ is awakened, one is able to see beyond space time
into time space. It raises the frequency on which one operates and moves one
into a higher consciousness.
When the pineal gland awakens,
one feels a pressure at the base of the brain. This pressure will often be
experienced, when connecting to higher frequency. A head injury, can also
activate the Third Eye – Pineal Gland.
While the physiological
function of the pineal gland, has been unknown until recent times, mystical
traditions and esoteric schools, have long known, this area in the middle of
the brain, to be the connecting link… between the physical and spiritual
worlds.
Further articles:
The pineal gland and melatonin in relation to aging: a summary of the theories and of the data.
The Pineal gland and Fluoride
A Fluoride-Free Pineal Gland is More
Important than Ever
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