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 J. Reiter, Jo Robinson

Would you believe that something

Extend your youth by more than ten years?
Boost your immune system in two weeks' time?
Help prevent heart disease, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, and cataracts?
Cut your recovery time from jet lag in half?
Offer not just cancer prevention but a key to a cure?

All in a widely available non-prescription capsule? It's true--and it's called melatonin.  This remarkable book represents a major breakthrough in human health and life extension studies.  It reveals cutting-edge research on melatonin--a natural hormone produced deep within the brain--that is revolutionizing our understanding of life.  Melatonin helps determine how fast we age, how effectively we fight off disease and toxins, and how well we sleep.

Melatonin is the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and authoritative book available about this amazing substance.  Dr.  Russel J.  Reiter is one of the world's leading experts in the field.  During more than thirty years of pioneering research, he has uncovered many of melatonin's unique properties-- including its role as the most powerful antioxidant in the body.  In this book he reveals what he and other scientists around the world have only recently discovered about melatonin's remarkable potential

Increase immune response dramatically
Greatly improve existing treatments for cancer and AIDS
Lower cholesterol and blood pressure
Put you to sleep as effectively as a prescription drug--without side effects
Improve mood and reduce symptoms of PMS
Prevent the free radical damage that underlies aging
Neutralize the dangerous side effects of mammograms, X-rays, and surgery

In Melatonin , Reiter offers a complete, three-phase program to help you take advantage of this new information right now.  First, he helps you pinpoint
the habits, hidden environmental hazards, and common medications that may be diminishing your natural supply of melatonin.  Next, he explains how you can
naturally stimulate your production of this life-giving hormone.  Finally, he provides a complete guide to melatonin supplements, including safe and effective doses, the best kind to buy, and when and how to take them.

With all the suspense of a medical detective story, Melatonin reveals clue by tantalizing clue all of the amazing properties of this "hidden" wonder hormone, much the way they presented themselves to Dr.  Reiter and his colleagues.  The result is a book that only an insider could write--a book as exciting to read as it is vital to your health and the health of those you love.

Genres: Health, Science

416 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

Reviews

[ainisreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book talks about the beauty of a hormone secreted by pineal gland, a tiny gland which is about the size and shape of a kernel of corn that resides in our brain. The hormone is called melatonin.

Melatonin is widely known as a hormone that enhance sleep and relieving jet lag. Interestingly, this book discovers other multiple life-giving roles of melatonin in the body.

Here is the list of fast-breaking discoveries of melatonin:
- Melatonin boosts the immune system.
- Melatonin is the most potent, versatile antioxidant.
- Melatonin protects against environmental hazards.
- Melatonin helps maintain a healthy heart.
- Melatonin may help prevent cancer.
- Melatonin augments other cancer therapies.
- Melatonin may be a powerful weapon against AIDS.
- Melatonin has little or no toxicity.
- Melatonin promises to add years to your life and life to your years.

Basically, melatonin is a hormone that plays a major role in the circadian rhythm of our body because the body produce about five to ten times more melatonin at night than during the day.

Like any other hormones in our body that decline with age such as oestrogen, testosterone, growth hormone and DHEA, melatonin too continues to decline as we are getting older.
Newborns produce very little melatonin until around three months of age. Melatonin levels are relatively high in early childhood and decline from adolescence onward.

There is a part in this book that intriguing me to know more about melatonin. It is about melatonin improving the quality of life in old age.

This book helps me with the question of “What would happen if you and I were to take a little melatonin every night?”

- By scavenging free radicals, melatonin may prevent or reduce the severity of a host of diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, Parkinson’s, and ulcers.

- By counteracting the effects of ageing on the immune system, melatonin may give us added protection against cancer, viruses, bacteria, and parasites.

- By giving us a more youthful pattern of sleep, melatonin would allow us to derive maximum benefit from the nightly cycle of rest and repair.

- By taking a small nightly dose of melatonin, we should be able to stabilise our circadian rhythms, helping to counteract an ageing body clock.

- Melatonin supplementation may result in a healthier cardiovascular system. Because of its free-radical-scavenging ability and direct heart-protective effects, melatonin might lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and reduce the risk of coronary artery disease.

[Ci · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few notes from the book that are worthy for future reading and verification:

(1) Melatonin was discovered by Lerner in 1957 through his research on pineal gland It is named for "mela" (as this hormone lightens the cells that produce the pigment melanin) and "tonic" because it is derived from chemical serotonin.

(2) Melatonin does the opposite as adrenaline by producing a relaxing effect on the body, particularly promoting sleep. Particularly, some research have shown that it promotes "priority sleep" (REM, stages III and IV sleep) including vivid dreams.

(3) Our body produces more melatonin at night between midnight to early morning. The production sharply decreases with age.

(4) Melatonin is both a antioxidant as well as hormone. Its anti-oxidation power is higher than most other known ones such vitamin E, beta-carotene and glutathione.

How to take it?

(1) fast release vs. slow release tablets. For fast-release tablets, the peak time is 30 to 60 minutes. Since the half-life of melatonin is also that length, it is possible that one may wake up in the earlier hours. Hence the slower release one is perhaps better in mimicking the body's own circadian rhthyem.

(2) For sleeping: up to 10 milligram taken at bedtime. Immune stimulation is typically at higher, up to 20 mg.

(3) Melatonin is relatively safe. Here is the semi-official NIH research compilation: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dr...

(One star is deducted from this reader's review entirely due to the dust jacket of this book: "wonder drug", "combat aging", etc. Even given its own publication era (1995), this type of shelf-space screaming should be frowned upon for its lack of any pretension of scholarly modesty, even a false one for the sake of propriety. Then again, who am I to say when browsing through the shelves crammed with such triumphant self-help books? )

[Đức Toàn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and some unique references that could not be find on other books regarding melatonin

[Psparke2000 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so enlightening. One of the most interesting things to me was that melatonin is an anti-oxidant that is both water and fat soluble. This means it can repair things inside and outside of our cells. Other anti-oxidants can only do one or the other.
It also talked about studies that show children who are mentally or physically abused as children have smaller pineal glands and they are not able to produce as much melatonin. Less melatonin means they are not able to sleep as well and are more prone to anxiety and depression. It is interesting that the stress the children experienced shrunk there pineal gland. Wow! to see such a physical manifestation caused by stress (abuse) was very interesting to me. I do not necessarily think people should take melatonin. It is just so cool to learn that this hormone is released when it is dark and it is there to help us sleep and to heal our bodies as we sleep.

[P.J. Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one sounds like a commercial because it is so overwhelmingly positive. Sounds too good to be true. Where are the downsides to melatonin? If this is the whole story, wow!

The audio version was adapted from the 1995 book, so does not include any advances made since then. It is good as far as it goes, and calls for more research. Clear and not too technical.

Side one recounts melatonin’s history and the discoveries of its various properties: soporific, anti-oxidant, immune-supporting, etc. Side two gets into its use against AIDS, cancer, heart disease, and insomnia. Side three discusses “the body clock,” circadian rhythms, jet lag, shift work. Side four discusses light and dark therapies and melatonin supplementation.

Recommended, but supplement with later findings.

[Machel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed my life and it will yours, too. Melatonin isnt just for sleep. A hormone that your brain produces naturally, we start to lose the amount of melatonin our body creates. Without it, we don't sleep as soundly. We don't heal as fast, our immune systems linger...on and on.
Read this book and find out why you should take 3 mg. of Melatonin every night.

I was fascinated by all of the research!