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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
Melatonin for More than Sleep – InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode 513
Hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
*Intro music*
InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InViteⓇ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!
*Intro music*
Amanda Williams, MPH:
[00:00:40] We all understand that getting a good night’s sleep is important for our overall health, and oftentimes we consider melatonin being the key to successful sleep. But did you also know that melatonin, this very important hormone, plays a critical role in so many other functions in our body? And today I want to talk about that.† [00:00:56]
[00:00:56] I’m Amanda Williams, MD, MPH, and when we think about melatonin, we understand this is our sleep hormone. It helps to regulate our circadian rhythm, our body’s internal clock and without adequate melatonin production, this can certainly have an impact on the quality of sleep that we have. But its role as a hormone in the body certainly goes well beyond that of just what we think of for sleep. And melatonin is a hormone that is produced primarily in the pineal gland within the brain. But we can also see that it is produced in other areas, other tissues within the body, including within the cells that make up our immune system. So this is why much of the research over the past couple of decades has been focusing on the impact of melatonin when it comes to immune health, when it comes to its potential anti-cancer activities. And this is where the interest really for me is so driving because when we recognize that certain hormones in the body do more than just one intended thing, then it really makes it quite fascinating to, to really see how it is that the endocrine system itself, how multimodal that actually is.† [00:02:19]
[00:02:20] When we think about things like immunosenescence and the aging of our immune system, which we know occurs just through the aging process itself. But when we can look and say, “Well, hey, you know, is melatonin and the rate at which melatonin is released, can this actually have an impact in terms of bolstering up our immune defenses?” And this is really quite interesting because one of the main causes of immunosenescence or the aging thereof, the immune system is due to the inadequate production of hormones that help to control the immune function itself. So when we think of melatonin, we now have to link that with our immune system and understanding that melatonin is working in different ways to help to enhance how our antibodies, for example, are responding to exposures to different viruses and bacterias and understanding how melatonin is actually playing a pretty important role when it comes to targeting inflammation and helping to enhance the activity of our T-cells. So there’s a lot more to melatonin than just sleep, and that’s what I wanted to zero in on today.† [00:03:29]
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[00:03:30] And there’s a wonderful amount of research showing melatonin impact, even when it comes to that gut-brain connection and also when it comes to weight loss. They did a really interesting study back in 2017, and it was published in the Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity Journal, looking at how melatonin supplementation actually lowered oxidative stress and helped to regulate our fat cells. And this was a first-time look into the power of hormones when it came to melatonin specifically, understanding that melatonin supplementation really helped to facilitate body weight loss or reducing body weight and at the same time, help to bolster up our antioxidant defenses, which is key because the more we can fend off the free radicals and ease inflammation in the body, the better we are doing when it comes to maintaining cellular longevity. So there’s so much information out there when it comes to the impact of melatonin so far removed from just maintaining proper circadian rhythm, which in and of itself if that was its only function, great.† [00:04:38]
[00:04:38] But we can see that it plays a role even as a neuroprotector when we think about our brain and we think about different neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and MS and starting to see that link of how melatonin is actually protecting the brain cells from those types of disease states, which is really very important when you think about future research going into looking at, you know, trying to find a breakthrough medicine, for example, for Alzheimer’s disease or trying to get better management of folks who have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. So many of the different actions that we now understand about melatonin and how it’s impacting our aging process and helps us in terms of anti-aging comes down to, you know, how it’s regulating gene expression, how it’s targeting the inflammatory pathways, for example, and the different cytokines that are released, how we can now see its direct interaction with antibodies and those cellular immune cells to really allow the body that ability to fend off bacterial infection or a viral infection.† [00:05:46]
[00:05:47] We can also see how it is, and this was a lot of this research came through in that setting of brain health, was how melatonin is protecting and restoring the mitochondrial function, which is really very important because we know that with mitochondrial dysfunction, we get this lack of integrity within the cells. The cell starts to lose its focus and no longer is working the way that we need it to work. And so melatonin is actually helping with that. We can see the interaction of melatonin and sirtuin. We know that the sirtuins, SIRT1 in particular, is very important when it comes to maintaining cellular longevity. Looking at how it helps to enhance the production of endogenous antioxidants, things like superoxide dismutase and glutathione, for example. So there’s a lot of very important roles that melatonin, our sleep hormone, is actually playing in the human body, and it’s really, for me, an area of interest because oftentimes people will ask me about melatonin and, “Should I be taking melatonin? And if so, you know, how much should I take? And this is going to vary from one person to the next?” Obviously, we’re dealing with a hormone. But when you look at the science of how even high dose melatonin can really potentially wonderful benefits when it comes to say, for example, weight loss or when it comes to bolstering up the immune defenses, it really is quite fascinating. There was a study that showed how melatonin actually protect the kidneys after radiation treatment, and it’s like, “Well, who would have ever thought that melatonin would be this protector in chief?” And it is. And part of the reason that it does that is through its unique ability to help to support our endogenous antioxidants, that glutathione, that superoxide dismutase, thinking about things like catalase, for example, being able to build those levels back up to offset the negative impact that free radicals actually bring on is really quite fascinating in and of itself.† [00:07:58]
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[00:07:59] There was a study that the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA, that’s a huge, huge journal, that they came out and they talked about how there was a direct link between low levels of melatonin and a greater risk of developing type two diabetes. I mean, this is very interesting because now you can start to connect these dots and you say, okay, well, we know that sleep is important for our health. We recognize that melatonin, gut-based, is playing a role when it comes to fat metabolism and the way that our adipocytes are actually working, which is why you now see these weight loss studies done with melatonin. So it certainly makes sense that when you have low levels of melatonin, that this could potentially be linked to a metabolic condition such as type two diabetes. So thinking about its action in the body and how it’s affecting so many different tissues and this is the important thing about hormones, is that they are going systemically and they are having their little bit of impact over here and a little bit of impact over here. So we’re seeing how the melatonin receptors within the pancreas are actually working in a sense for energy metabolism and for that regulation of body weight. So there’s so much interesting research out there on melatonin. I just wanted to bring this to your attention because many times when we think about our sleep, we do think about melatonin, which is key. But we also have to understand that if we are walking around with a state of melatonin deficiencies, we’re lacking this key hormone, it can be impacting so many other things besides our sleep, and we know that quality of sleep matters. But we also recognize that our immune system matters, maintaining healthy weight and being able to fend off oxidative stress. All of these are key components to aging gracefully and melatonin, we now recognize as being a huge player in this, which is really quite interesting.† [00:09:57]
[00:09:58] So that is all that I have for you for today, I want to thank you so much for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting invitehealth.com/podcast. Now do make sure that you subscribe or leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and we will see you next time for another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.† [00:09:58]
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Impact of Moderate Alcohol Consumption – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 510
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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
Impact of Moderate Alcohol Consumption – InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode 510
Hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
*Intro music*
InVite Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InViteⓇ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!
*Intro music*
Amanda Williams, MD, MPH: [00:00:40] We’ve all heard that you shouldn’t over consume alcohol. Today, I want to talk about the physiological impact that alcohol consumption actually has on the body and the different nutrients that can be impacted or influenced by the consumption of alcohol. And then obviously, if you’re going to be consuming alcohol, what nutrients would certainly be advisable to to have on board to help your little cells recover from that. I’m Amanda Williams, MD, MPH, and this is an important topic, and I have a lot of people who will ask me this question, “You know, I… Oh, I, you know, have social drinks once or twice a week. And you know, what concerns should I have?” Obviously, we always want to focus on the liver, but we have to look at the bigger picture. And the bigger picture is, is that we know certainly when it comes to alcohol consumption in the United States, it’s pretty high. You know, according to surveys and statistics, we know that it’s probably about 86% of people over the age of 18 have, you know, at some point in time their life consumed alcohol and then you’re going to have, you know, different periods in people’s lives where perhaps alcohol consumption is greater or less. And there’s always concern when it comes to binge drinking or, you know, heavy alcohol use at one given time like they used to always have, you know, Blackout Wednesdays, which was the the Wednesday before Thanksgiving where all college, you know, kids were back in their hometowns and hitting up the local bars. And so you could see these trends that occur and we we can even see just based off of alcohol sales, you know, New Year’s obviously is going to be the biggest, but we just, you know, have to look at the the impact of social drinking, as we shall say, because we know what happens when we have chronic abuse of alcohol, so alcoholism itself. But when we’re just looking at, say, social drinking, and if someone is doing that responsibly, we still have to think about the long-term implications that can occur from the intake of alcohol and how the body’s actually metabolizing that.† [00:02:59]
[00:03:00] So all of these things are important factors because there’s many moving parts. We know that most of the alcohol passes into the small intestine and it’s absorbed rapidly into the blood, which is why blood alcohol levels, you know, for the most part, are pretty good indication as to how fast your body is taking in that. We know that the conversion of alcohol into acetaldehyde occurs predominantly in the liver through an enzymatic pathway regulated through something called alcohol dehydrogenase. So the alcohol dehydrogenase converts into acetaldehyde. Now remember, acetaldehyde is not our friend. This is oftentimes what creates that headache or that nauseousness that people can get after consuming or overindulging in alcohol. Or if we think about a hangover, this is because of acetaldehyde, this toxin, this neurotoxin that builds up, and we can see that that acetaldehyde that’s produced from the alcohol, it’s converted by an enzyme known as aldehyde dehydrogenase into acetate, and the acetate can be utilized for energy throughout the body. So there’s a lot of moving parts, and the main thing to focus in on is what is actually happening, what is occurring. So we know that there’s these different pathways. You know, you go in, you get your wine, you get your vodka, you get your beer, whatever it is that you’re choosing to drink. And this is going through the intestinal absorption, the, you know, immediate release of that alcohol into the bloodstream. If you have these different moving parts, these different pathways for the breakdown. And then we have this byproduct that’s created, that acetaldehyde.† [00:04:49]
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[00:04:51] Now the problem is, is that many people when they get a unwanted side effect from overconsumption of alcohol, they right away want to turn towards like a NSAID, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug like, you know, ibuprofen or, you know, taking aspirin. But we know that, you know, this can lead to issues in terms of, you know, GI issues. And if someone already has underlying GI inflammation, it’s probably not the best. Now, acetaminophen is definitely the worst because acetaminophen is directly detrimental to, to the liver itself. So when we think about liver toxicity, acetaminophen or your Tylenol is the, is the one that will create the most havoc when it comes to liver. So if the liver is already stressed out because you just poured in a bunch of alcohol into your system, the last thing you want to be turning to is acetaminophen. So this is key.† [00:05:55]
[00:05:56] I’m talking about the subject ’cause I get so many questions about this on a regular basis is, “What should I do? I’m not going to not have a drink with my friends. I’m going to go out and I’m going to, you know, be around family or friends or whatever, be the case, and I’m going to have one or two drinks and this may happen one or two times a week or whatever the case may be. So what do I need to be doing?” So this is when we look at, you know, finding out which nutrients in particular can become depleted through alcohol use. We know that B-vitamins… yes, 100%. You can see this in alcoholism, where B1 in particular really takes a hit. And this is a major concern even in the setting of social drinking. So B-vitamins is something that, if you are going to be indulging in your alcohol, make sure that you are taking your B-vitamins. But we can also look at how other nutrients minerals such as selenium, for example, Vitamin E can also take a hit when it comes to the way that that alcohol is being processed in the body. So these are all things just to to be cognizant of.† [00:07:07]
[00:07:08] The biggest problem that many people will recognize when it comes to alcohol consumption is a hangover. So when we get that buildup acetaldehyde and you, you get that dizziness, you, you know, maybe have a headache, there’s a, you know, irritability, there’s a lot of different ways in which a hangover can present from one person to the next. But we certainly know that a hangover can impact your normal functional status and through the way that the alcohol itself is being metabolized in that buildup of that toxin, that actual toxin that is created, acetaldehyde, this is what is incredibly problematic. So how do we rid the body of this? This is kind of the key thing. Well, we know that our B-vitamins are important when it comes to metabolic detoxification for enhancing our natural antioxidants. So clearly, we have to look and say OK, if our antioxidants are not able to keep up with the demand that the alcohol is putting on that, then obviously we need to be looking at antioxidants putting those back in, including things such as glutathione. And so we would then look at more than likely we’d be looking at utilization of N- acetyl cysteine. This is going to be usually the best option when it comes to the reestablishing proper glutathione on stores. But we also want to look at things like Vitamin C, your B-vitamins, Vitamin E, for example.† [00:08:39]
[00:08:41] Inflammation is key when we think about alcohol consumption. Many times people don’t recognize the dangers, and this is why I say, you know, even social drinking can lead to harmful effects within our vascular system. But understanding that inflammation is going to be generated through the consumption of alcohol. So the alcohol itself creates this increased permeability within the intestinal lining. So when we talk about leaky gut, for example. So this is allowing these different endotoxins to pass into the bloodstream, which is then going to trigger an inflammatory response. So when we have these inflammatory cytokines traversing through the body along with the alcohol, now we’ve created a real problematic situation. So through the stimulation of the inflammatory system, this is where a lot of that cellular injury can occur. And it’s not just limited to the liver. We can look at the vascular system in particular. We can certainly look at our nervous system and within the brain. So looking at how we can minimize this, how do we minimize this? Well, number one, try to not drink or if we’re drinking very moderately. Obviously, having foods that can offset the acetaldehyde, things such as green tea is a really excellent choice when it comes to the mitigation of the harmful effects of acetaldehyde and the buildup of that. So if someone’s going to be drinking, I always say it may not be a bad idea to be considering green tea in conjunction. So maybe switch on and off. You have your alcoholic drink and then you have your green tea, so Green Tea TxⓇ, White Tea TxⓇ, excellent options for you.† [00:10:36]
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[00:10:36] And then we want to look at those key nutrients, so we have to look at the B-vitamins. We know that those B-vitamins are so critical to so many different functions in our body when it comes to our immune defenses, when it comes to the way that our brain and the neuronal connections work when it comes to the release of certain key neurotransmitters. So definitely a B-complex is incredibly advantageous. And even if you’re one of those folks where maybe you just go out and you’re drinking, you know, once a week or once a month, make sure that around that time that you are going to be consuming your alcohol, that at minimum you are on your multivitamin. But I would definitely advise being on the methylated B. So the InViteⓇ Methyl-B, the activated B-vitamins to really try to help to offset that would certainly be advantageous. Then we have to think about the antioxidant response, and this is where NAC would come into play to really give the the liver that support when it comes to bolstering up its antioxidant defense system via glutathione. So N-acetyl cysteine, certainly important. We have to look at how Vitamin E is known to be depleted in the presence of alcohol. So having natural Vitamin E as part of a supplementation routine, if you are more of that moderate social drinker, then definitely, you know, Vitamin E is something that you would want to be having into your routine. I had mentioned the mineral selenium. This is another thing. If we have inadequate selenium, we are once again going to disturb the proper functioning of how glutathione is processed and released. So in the absence of selenium we’re once again setting our body up into a state where we have a lower antioxidant defense system. So taking the multivitamin, which contains that selenium, will help to cover that basis as well. Your Vitamin C certainly is going to be beneficial.† [00:12:44]
[00:12:45] Thinking about the different targeted nutrients that we know are very friendly to our little hepatocytes, our liver cells, things like milk thistle, for example. The flavonoids contained within that milk thistle certainly can be very beneficial when it comes to targeting the inflammation that is driven up within the body. And then obviously looking at things like resveratrol, grape seed extract are all excellent choices, and we have to also look at the structural damage that can occur within the cells, not only just within the liver, but when we think about, you know, throughout the brain, throughout the vascular system. So we want to make sure that we have good omega-3 fatty acids on board. Certainly going to be quite advantageous to to maintain the health of that cellular membrane. So in combination, there’s a lot of different nutrients we have to look at, you know, the big ones being your B-vitamins, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, NAC, milk thistle are all really excellent options. But the key thing is is to to just be wise, be smart, don’t overindulge. We can see the long lasting impact in that negative way and who wants to have a acetaldehyde building up in their system? I certainly don’t. When we understand what acetaldehyde is actually doing and the harmful effect that it has within our system, we don’t want to be the the cause of that. If we know how we can make our body make acetaldehyde is through drinking, we should probably not be doing that. So this is that highly reactive compound has a, you know, very detrimental effects. And as I mentioned, most people the way that they feel the acetaldehyde is through kind of those known factors with the with the hangover, but definitely just be be smart. If you’re going to be taking an alcohol, make sure you have the right nutrients on board. Have your green tea to help combat that acetaldehyde and those key vitamins and minerals, as well as your fatty acids, very important.† [00:15:05]
[00:15:06] So I want to thank you so much for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting invitehealth.com/podcast. Now, do make sure that you subscribe and you leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and we will see you next time for another episode of the InViteⓇ Health podcast.† [00:15:06]
*Exit music*