Pro Athletes Can Up Their Game by Adopting a Natural, Organic Lifestyle and So Can You

If you want your body to perform optimally, you need real food and all-natural nutrients. This is commonsense advice for everyone, but perhaps of particular importance for athletes. Although you’d think professional athletes would know better, many still make unwise food- and lifestyle choices. This is largely related to the fact that they are mostly young and their body can compensate for foolish food choices (think Michael Phelps). With all the exercise they get, the damaging effects of poor food choices tend to be held at bay longer than for someone who is sedentary, but sooner or later it does catch up with you, and athletes who take a more natural, whole foods approach usually find it really does give them an edge. The fact is, a high-sugar, high-refined carb diet makes you more prone to muscle and joint deterioration and injury. Who knows how many careers have been cut short due to diminishing skills or injuries? Right now, I’m thrilled for my hometown hockey team, which has performed exceptionally well, and I congratulate Duncan Keith on his personal achievements in particular. Duncan is one high-level professional hockey player who decided to take control of his health, and is reaping the rewards of improved performance and well-being.

The Importance of Real Food

First and foremost, eating real food is a foundational basic for optimizing your health—and your physical performance. If it’s beneficial for the “regular Joe,” you can be sure it’s going to be beneficial for athletes as well. Choosing organic, whole (meaning unprocessed) foods, grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers or genetically engineered organisms (GMO) is key, as avoiding toxins is just as important as getting a wide variety of nutrients. While conventionally-grown and organic crops often contain about the same amount of nutrients, one key nutritional difference between them is their antioxidant content. Research¹ has shown organic fruits and vegetables can contain anywhere from 18-69 percent more antioxidants than conventionally-grown varieties. Many of these antioxidants have been linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases and certain cancers. Unfortunately, the nutrient content of foods has dramaticallydeclined across the board since the introduction of mechanized farming in 1925. As a general rule, it’s the health of the soil that to a large degree dictates the quality of the food, ^2,3with healthy microbe-rich soil producing higher levels of nutrients in the crop. Mechanical, chemical-based farming destroys the soil, thereby making it more challenging to grow healthy nutritious foods. Processing has further worsened the nutritional value of the standard American diet (SAD). The sad fact is, most of the food consumed by Americans today is not real food—it’s genetically engineered (GE), saturated with pesticides and added chemicals, and processed in a number of different ways. Many are so used to pre-packaged foods, they struggle to understand what realfood is.

How to Identify Real Food

If you fall into this category, here’s a quick summary of real food versus the processed “food products” that most people eat:

Real food	Processed food products
Is grown (above or below ground) in healthy microbe-rich soils that are being regenerated by sustainable land management practices	Grown in depleted, chemical-doused soils, and/or produced or manufactured in whole or in part in a factory
Has variable quality, taste, and texture	Has uniform quality, taste, and texture
Spoils quickly	Can stay “fresh” for weeks, months or years
Requires preparation when cooking	Quick, convenient, no-prep cooking
Is authentically flavorful and colorful	Flavored and colored with chemicals
Has strong cultural connectionsand heritage	Has no cultural connections
Grown without, or with minimal, agricultural chemicals	Grown with chemicals
Not genetically altered	Often contains genetically engineered ingredients
Contains no added growth hormones, antibiotics, or other drugs	Grown with hormones, antibiotics, and/or other drugs
Does not contain artificial anything, nor chemical preservatives	Contains artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, fillers, nano technology, and more
Grown with the laws of nature in mind (meaning animals are fed their native diets, not a mix of grains and animal byproducts, and have free-range access to the outdoors)	Grown with profits and high-yield performance in mind
Grown in a sustainable way (using minimal amounts of water, protecting the soil from burnout, and turning animal wastes into natural fertilizers instead of environmental pollutants)	Grown in an unsustainable way, such as large mono-crop factory farms, and confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) that raise thousands, or tens of thousands, of animals in an unnatural factory-style environment

The Importance of Grass-Fed Meats and Wild-Caught Fish

While most will benefit from high-quality animal protein, it’s particularly important for athletes. As a general rule, I suggest keeping your protein intake to one-half gram of protein per pound of lean body mass to avoid the risks associated with excessive protein consumption. Athletes (and pregnant women), however, typically need about 25 percent more. But what constitutes "high quality"? One key factor that has a tremendous bearing on the quality is whether or not the animal was raised on pasture, opposed to a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO). Hence you’ll want to look for organic grass-fed and finished beef, and organic pasture-raised, aka free-range pastured chicken. These animals eat a natural wholesome diet, which optimizes the nutritional composition of the meat, unlike CAFO animals that are fed an unnatural diet of glyphosate-contaminated GE corn and soy, along with growth promoting drugs, hormones, and/or antibiotics. Besides destroying your gut flora, both glyphosate and antibiotics also promote antibiotic-resistant diseases that now kill an estimated 23,000 Americans each year. When it comes to fish, which is another good protein source, the consideration is two-fold: first, I recommend opting for wild-caught rather than farm-raised (as aquafarms are associated with the same health- and environmental problems as land-based CAFOs), and second, you need to take pollution levels into account. Mercury contamination is a serious concern when it comes to fish these days, so ideally you want to look for fish high in healthy fats and low in mercury.⁴ Wild-caught Alaskan salmon and sockeye salmon fit the bill here, as do smaller fatty fish such as sardines, anchovies and herring. Besides protein, fish is also an important source of healthy fats like omega-3, which many are deficient in. To ensure you’re getting a healthy amount of animal-based omega-3 each day, you may want to consider taking a supplement like krill oil, which is better absorbed by your body than fish oil. Krill oil also contains vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin D, and canthaxanthin, which is a potent antioxidant. The astaxanthin found in krill oil also provides added protection against ultraviolet light and UV-induced skin damage when you’re outdoors. This potent antioxidant also has performance-boosting properties^5,6 and help reduce lactic acid in muscle tissue, which is an added boon for athletes. Reports of significant health improvements from astaxanthin supplementation have come in from athletes all over the world. For example, Tim Marr, a professional triathlete in Honolulu, Hawaii, suffered from overuse injuries and sun overexposure from rigorously training in the intense Hawaiian sun. Since starting a natural astaxanthin supplement, he's experienced significantly fewer overuse injuries and fewer adverse reactions to the sun. Marr credits astaxanthin with helping him achieve his goals and says the supplement is now one of his favorite tools.

Whey Is an Excellent Post-Workout Recovery Meal

High-quality whey made with unpasteurized (raw) milk from organic grass-fed cows is another excellent protein source that can be particularly beneficial as a recovery aid after a strenuous workout. You need to supply your muscles with the appropriate fuel at the appropriate time to provide them with the proper signals and building blocks to build new muscle tissue, and this is where whey protein, which is often referred to as the gold standard of protein, comes into play. Ideally you'll want to consume the whey about 30 minutes before your workout to help increase both fat burning and muscle building. The whey meal will stop the catabolic process in your muscle and promote protein synthesis towards recovery and growth. If you have done a strength training workout you can repeat the dose about one hour later. Be aware that there’s only a two hour window afterexercise that allows your body to fully use the proteins you ingest for optimizing muscle repair and growth, so it is important to get the timing right here. One of the reasons whey protein works so well is that it is a protein that assimilates very quickly, and will get to your muscles within 10-15 minutes of swallowing it, supplying your muscles with the right food at the right time. A study⁷ published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise showed the amino acids found in high-quality whey protein activate certain cellular mechanisms, including a mechanism called mTORC-1, which in turn promote muscle protein synthesis, boost thyroid, and also protect against declining testosterone levels after exercise.

Probiotics Help Strengthen Your Immune Function, and Much More

Strenuous training can affect the immune system and make athletes vulnerable to infections like coughs and colds, but research⁸ has shown that taking probiotics more than halves the days endurance athletes show symptoms. If you eat properly, meaning an organic whole-food based diet with plenty of traditionally fermented and cultured foods added to the mix, you’ll automatically support the colonization of beneficial microbes in your gut, and you likely won’t need a probiotic supplement. That said, if you’re just starting to make healthy changes to your diet, or suffer from chronic disease, it may be beneficial to reseed your gut with a high quality probiotic supplement for a few months. Your microbiome—those trillions of microbes living in an on your body—outnumber the cells in your body by about 10 to one, and they have a wide variety of functions that impact your weight and general health, both physically and mentally. So paying careful attention to your gut health is a foundational component for optimizing your health. There are two major ways you can throw your bacterial balancing act off kilter, both of which you’ll want to avoid, in addition to adding probiotics via your diet or a supplement:

1. Antibiotics. Antibiotics are indiscriminate killers that destroy ALL bacteria, both good and bad, which is why side effects from taking antibiotics frequently include gas, cramping, or diarrhea.
2. Eating too much sugar causes over-growth of “unfriendly” microorganisms, such as disease-causing bacteria, yeasts, fungi, and parasites. This is often the case if you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, Candida, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease), H. pylori infection, periodontal disease, vaginal infections, or other common stomach or respiratory infections. A high-sugar diet is the most common culprit, as sugar is an incredibly efficient fertilizer for bad bacteria and yeast in your gut. On the other hand, when you eat a healthy diet that is low in sugars and processed foods, one of the major benefits it produces is that it causes the good bacteria in your gut to flourish, thereby preventing the proliferation of health-harming bacteria.

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of UV Exposure

A robust and rapidly growing body of research that clearly shows vitamin D is critical for good health and disease prevention. I firmly believe UVB exposure is the healthiest way to optimize your vitamin D levels, but if you can't use the sun or a tanning bed, then it’s certainly advisable to use an oral supplement in combination with vitamin K2. Vitamin D supplements are among the least expensive, and the health impact of deficiency is so broad and detrimental that it simply makes little sense to avoid them. Part of the reason I recommend getting your vitamin from UVB exposure, either from the sun or a tanning bed opposed to orally, is because you’ll reap additional benefits above and beyond the vitamin D. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation has been used since ancient times to treat various diseases, and it’s known that a large number of molecules in your skin interact with and absorb UV light.⁹ Peter Robert Ebeling, head of the department of medicine, School of Clinical Sciences and professor of medicine at Monash University, suggests that sunshine may have largely unknown health effects, such as impacting your body’s biological rhythms, reducing physical stresses on your body’s cells, and increasing heat production. Sun exposure also alters the activity of your immune system in a way that reduces inflammation and likely helps protect against certain inflammatory diseases.¹⁰ Sun exposure also has pain-killing (analgesic) properties,¹¹ and research¹² suggests UV exposure converts to metabolic energy (i.e. we may "ingest" energy directly from the sun, like plants do). Duncan mentions “improved energy” as a benefit from optimizing his vitamin D using a tanning bed, and most people would agree that spending some time outdoors on a bright sunlit day provides a near instant boost of energy. There’s little doubt in my mind that measuring your vitamin D performance and taking steps to optimize your level is one of the easiest and least expensive things you can possibly do for your health.

Four Simple Energy Rules for Athletes

Energy and stamina doesn't come from sugar. Taking in simple carbs like sugar, corn syrup, pasta, or bread before an event will tend to cause a quick spike in your blood sugar followed by a corresponding fall, making you feel more exhausted than before. More than anything, simple carbs and excess complex carbs will make you sluggish and hamper your performance. If you want to create energy naturally—and this certainly applies to non-athletes as well—here are four simple rules to follow:

1. Just before a game or hard workout, eat a little bit of fruit, such as an apple, plum, pear, citrus fruit (not juice) or berries. They're great right before a game or workout, as they give you a small spike without the massive plummet.
2. Two to three hours before a game or hard workout, complex carbs, fats and a small amount of protein will do the trick. Sweet potatoes, brown rice, olive oil, almond butter, flax oil, walnuts, almonds and eggs are all easy to digest and can give you more sustained energy.
3. Post exercise, your body is nitrogen-poor and your muscles have been broken down. That's why you need amino acids from animal proteins like chicken, beef and eggs, as well as vegetable carbohydrates. Whey protein is another excellent choice here.
4. Although many experts still recommend carb-loading before an endurance event, the fact is, burning sugar is not what happens over long distances. Carbs are stored in your muscles and liver in the form of glycogen that your body uses as fuel. Once this fuel runs out, fatigue sets in and your performance suffers. Your body actually starts burning fats after a short period of time, so therefore, rather than loading up on carbs, loading up on healthy fats and small amounts of protein will typically improve athletic endurance.

Some athletes, including basketball superstars LeBron James and Ray Allen,¹³ have started taking this advice to heart—with excellent results. Other athletes jumping onto the high-fat, low-carb diet include Ironman triathlete Nell Stephenson, pro cyclist Dave Zabriskie, ultra-marathoner Timothy Olson, and former Ironman triathlete Ben Greenfield, who is said to have followed a ketogenic diet while training for the 2013 Ironman World Championships.¹⁴

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Biomedical Tidbits

ALC Recharges Low-Energy Brains Higher levels of acetyl L-carnitine (ALC) can help to alleviate an energy crisis in the brain such as that associated with lower levels of glucose.

• Kuratsune H, Watanabe Y, Yamaguti K, et al. High uptake of [2-11C]acetyl-L-carnitine into the brain: a PET study. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1997;231:488-93

5-HTP Suppresses Appetite 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) behaves as an appetite suppressant even if taken at low doses (50-100 mg). To be most effective, 5 HTP should be taken with a low-glycemic carbohydrate, such as fructose, about 45 minutes before meals. 5-HTP is readily converted into serotonin in the brain, which in turn causes the release of CCK, the satiety hormone.

• Ju CY, Tsai CT. Serotonergic mechanisms involved in the suppression of feeding by 5-HTP in rats. Chin J Physiol. 1995;38:235-240.
• Martinelli I, Mainini E, Mazzi C. Effect of 5-hydroxytryptophan on the secretion of PRL, GH, TSH and cortisol in obesity. Minerva Endocrinol. 1992;17:121-126.

5-HTP Helps Relieve PMS When converted into serotonin, 5-HTP helps reduce sensitivity to pain. Because pain sensitivity has been found to be one of the principal contributing factors to PMS, 5-HTP can help alleviate irritability, agitation, and other characteristics of PMS.

• Sayegh R, Schiff I, Wurtman J, Spiers P, McDermott J, Wurtman R. The effect of a carbohydrate-rich beverage on mood, appetite, and cognitive function in women with premenstrual syndrome.Obstet Gynecol. 1995;86:520-528.

5-HTP Enhances SSRI Effects Depressed patients taking an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, e.g., Zoloft, Paxil, or Prozac) who had low levels of tryptophan in their diet were found to quickly lapse back into depression. Supplementation with tryptophan restored the antidepressant effects of the SSRI. 5-HTP can produce serotonin more efficiently than tryptophan.

• Delgado PL, Miller HL, Salomon RM, et al. Monoamines and the mechanism of antidepressant action: effects of catecholamine depletion on mood of patients treated with antidepressants.Psychopharmacol Bull. 1993;29:389-396.

Pregnenolone Stabilizes Cortisone Pregnenolone (PREG) can help ease withdrawal from cortisone treatment and possibly prevent adrenal atrophy (Addison's disease) under such circumstances. Because of PREG's stabilizing effect on cortisone levels and the adrenals, it may help relieve the stress elevation associated with diabetes.

• Peat R. Three youth-associated hormones. 1996;http://www.efn.org/~raypeat/horm.html:2-3.

Lipoic Acid for Liver Health Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a natural antioxidant that has been used to help maintain or restore liver health. In Europe it has been used under emergency conditions to treat overdoses and poisoning from radiation and mushrooms. ALA has proven to be beneficial even for alcoholic hepatitis. When drugs or certain foods are rapidly metabolized by the liver, the results can be high enzyme levels representing threat of free-radical damage. As a high-powered and universal antioxidant, ALA can help normalize these enzymes.

• Ramakrishnan N, Wolfe WW, Catravas GN. Radioprotection of hematopoietic tissues in mice by lipoic acid. Radiat Res. 1992;130:360-365.

Glucosamine Improves Joint Function Glucosamine, naturally formed in the human body from glucose, is necessary for the synthesis of a group of long-chain modified sugars known as glycosaminoglycans which serve important structural functions in the body, including facilitating effortless joint movement. The lubricant enabling proper joint movement is synovial fluid. A principal component of synovial fluid is hyaluronic acid, a subcomponent of which is acetyl glucosamine (AG). By contributing to the antioxidant ability of hyaluronic acid, AG may also help arrest the oxidative processes associated with arthritis.

• Sato H, Takahashi T, Ide H, Fukushima T, et al. Antioxidant activity of synovial fluid, hyaluronic acid, and two subcomponents of hyaluronic acid. Synovial fluid scavenging effect is enhanced in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Arthritis Rheum. 1988;31:63-71.

Melatonin and Immune Function Melatonin may play a complex physiological role in neuronal signaling and immune system modulation. It is also possible that melatonin may help allergies. Cutando A, Silvestre FJ. Melatonin: implications at the oral level.

• Bull Group Int Rech Sci Stomatol Odontol. 1995;38:81-86.

Green Tea Prevents Prostate and Breast Cancer Green tea's cancer prevention ability may involve the action of a chemical known as a catechin, also known as epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG), which inhibits urokinase, an enzyme crucial for cancer growth. EGCG attaches to urokinase and prevents it from invading cells and forming tumors in the prostate and breast.

• Liao S, Umekita Y, Guo J, Kokontis JM, Hiipakka RA. Growth inhibition and regression of human prostate and breast tumors in athymic mice by tea epigallocatechin gallate. Cancer Lett.1995;96:239-243.

PREG and PROG Help Overcome Fear and Anxiety In the Little Orphan Annie comic strip, Punjab, an Indian swami complete with turban, is chosen by Daddy Warbucks to guard Annie, watch over her, lighten her burdens, and see that no harm comes to her. Recently, scientists at Punjab University in India examined the effects of neurosteroids such as DHEA and Pregnenolone (PREG) on the behavior of mice under anxiety-producing conditions. What they found creates a new understanding of how neurosteroids operate to alleviate anxiety and in-so-doing, lighten your burdens. Call it the "Punjab effect."

Mice were given amounts of PREG equivalent to a proportional human dose of 35 to 140 mg and then introduced to a mirrored chamber (which would normally make them fearful). The researchers then measured the reluctance of the mice to enter the chamber. PREG significantly reduced the fear of entry without affecting spontaneous locomotor activity. The reduction of entrance-anxiety varied with dose; the greater the dose, the more time the mice spent in the fear-chamber and the greater the number of times they entered.

Progesterone (PROG) at proportional human equivalence of 70 to 700 mg produced positive results, similar to PREG. Curiously, though, DHEA at the proportional human equivalence of 70 to 140 mg produced negative results: there were increases in motor activity and anxiogenic responses - just the opposite of PREG - with fewer entries and less time spent in the chamber. DHEA increased the fear of entry in the same anxiety-provoking circumstance.

Although the positive anxiolytic responses for PROG were blocked by a GABAA chloride channel antagonist, a selective benzodiazepine antagonist did not have anxiety-reducing effects. In contrast, the anxiety-reducing effect of PREG was not blocked by GABAA chloride channel antagonist.

Unlike PREG and PROG, drugs such as triazolam (Halcion^®), which are capable of eliciting similar responses, did not markedly affect locomotor activity. This finding suggested that the changes in behavior were anxiolytic actions. Although the mechanisms may be different for each steroid, it seems likely that, taken as a whole, neurosteroids are involved in the homeostasis of stress response.

• Reddy DS, Kulkarni SK. Differential anxiolytic effects of neurosteroids in the mirrored chamber behavior test in mice Brain Res. 1997;752: 61-71.

Scent, Sight and PREG, DHEA and PROG When young adult male rats were exposed to the scent or scent and sight of young cycling female rats, their levels of pregnenolone (PREG), DHEA and progesterone (PROG) increased or varied significantly in specific areas of the brain or retina compared with males exposed to other males.¹

When male rats were exposed to the scent and sight of female rats, DHEA levels increased significantly in the olfactory bulb and retina, while PROG decreased significantly in the hypothalamus, amygdala, and parietal cortex, and PREG levels decreased significantly in the olfactory bulb. PREG has been found to have binding sights in the cytosolic fraction of the rat olfactory bulb.² PREG is synthesized in the retina and probably elsewhere in the eyes.³

Evidence supports the view that neuroactive steroids may play an important role in regulating some aspects of neuroendocrine function within the hypothalamus,⁴ the seat of emotion, fear, hope, and sensory evaluation. When author Ray Sahelian, M.D. tells us in his new book, Pregnenolone - Nature's Feel-Good Hormone, that he is 100% sure that PREG enhances perception, we must recognize that we cannot yet scientifically prove it. Yet the evidence mounts.

1. Lanthier A, Patwardhan VV. Effect of heterosexual olfactory and visual stimulation on 5-en-3 beta-hydroxysteroids and progesterone in the male rat brain. J Steroid Biochem. 1987;28:697-701.
2. Lanthier A, DiBattista JA, Patwardhan VV. Pregnenolone binding sites in the rat olfactory bulb. J Steroid Biochem. 1990;35:487-494.
3. Guarneri P, Guarneri R, Cascio C, Pavasant P, Piccoli F, Papadopoulos V. Neurosteroidogenesis in rat retinas. J Neurochem. 1994;63: 86-96.
4. Murray HE.; Gillies GE. Differential effects of neuroactive steroids on somatostatin and dopamine secretion from primary hypothalamic cell cultures. J Neuroendocrin. 1997;9:287-295.

ALC and Energy Depletion When an enzyme known as hepatic ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) is depleted in a particular strain of Sparse-fur (spf) mice, the result is elevated cerebral ammonia and depleted energy. This disorder is similar to human OTC deficiency, which is characterized by Alzheimer's-type neurodegeneration in which cytochrome C oxidase (COX) is reduced. There is also a progressive decrease in COX activity in the spf mouse.

Short-term treatment with acetyl L-carnitine (ALC) was found to restore these abnormalities. It is thought that ALC works on reducing cerebral ammonia-induced alterations, causing a decrease in COX activity. ALC thus may be able to normalize cerebral energy metabolism.

• Rao KV, Mawal YR, Qureshi IA. Progressive decrease of cerebral cytochrome C oxidase activity in sparse-fur mice: role of acetyl-L-carnitine in restoring the ammonia-induced cerebral energy depletion. Neurosci Lett. 1997;224:83-86.

Can ALC Restore Spatial Memory in Anoxic Children? Rats starved for oxygen in the birthing process were given acetyl L-carnitine (ALC). Controls not receiving ALC were noticeably hyperactive within weeks after birth and experienced spatial memory deficits. Those chronically treated with ALC (at human proportional equivalents of 3.5 g/day) during the same period that the controls were observed showed improvement in sniffing, rearing and locomotor activity. Also, ALC significantly enhanced their spatial memory performance in mazes, including a water maze. The scientists concluded that the use of ALC would probably be beneficial for the treatment of perinatal asphyctic insults in children.

• Dell'Anna E, Iuvone L, Calzolari S, Geloso MC. Effect of acetyl-L-carnitine on hyperactivity and spatial memory deficits of rats exposed to neonatal anoxiaNeurosci Lett. 1997;223:201-205.

DHEA for Arthritis Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) is a model for rheumatoid arthritis. DHEA supplementation prior to induction of CIA delayed onset of the disease and decreased its severity.¹ DHEA administered after the onset of arthritis was not found to be beneficial. Other studies have indicated that low levels of DHEA are associated with the development of rheumatoid arthritis.²

1. Williams PJ, Jones RHV, Rademacher TW. Reduction in the incidence and severity of collagen-induced arthritis in DBA/1 mice, using exogenous dehydroepiandrosterone. Arthrit Rheum.1997;40:907-911.
2. Nilsson E, de la Torre B, Hedman M, Goobar J, Thorner A. Blood dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) levels in polymyalgia rheumatica/giant cell arteritis and primary fibromyalgia.Clin Exp Rheumatol. 1994;12:415-417.

Phosphatidylserine May Suppress Demyelinating Disease The effect of phosphatidylserine (PS) on mice with immune-mediated demyelinating disease (IDD) was studied.¹ The effect of IDD on the central nervous system appears to be similar to that of human multiple sclerosis (MS), and thus, this system provides an excellent infectious animal model for studying MS. When PS was administered in the effector phase, IDD was significantly suppressed both clinically and histologically. As a measure of the effect of PS on IDD, the number of TNF-a (tumor necrosis factor)-producing spleen cells was reduced. TNF-a contributes to the further development of perivascular cellular infiltration and demyelination in the central nervous system (CNS). PS, a major anionic phospholipid of mammalian cells, is believed to function as a regulator of immune and inflammatory responses, especially reducing TNF-a production and release in mice. As prior work has shown, PS induces histamine release by mast cells, and it is known that histamine inhibits TNF release.²

1. Yamazaki M, Inoue A, Koh C-S, Sakai T, Ishihara Y. Phosphatidylserine suppresses Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus-induced demyelinating disease. J Neuroimmun. 1997;75:113-122.
2. Secchi EF, Monastra G, Bruni A, Chizzolini C. Adrenalectomy abolishes phosphatidylserine inhibition of lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor release. Eur Cytokine. 1993;4:371-375.

Melatonin Reverses Tolerance to Traditional Hypnotics Drugs of the benzodiazepine class (e.g., Halcion^®) have long been the standard hypnotics against which other sleeping agents are judged. For a 43-year-old woman suffering from 11 years of insomnia, however, benzodiazepine treatment has been a nightmare, literally as well as figuratively. Every attempt to stop benzodiazepine treatment resulted in withdrawal symptoms and a renewal of the insomnia.

But when she added 1 mg of melatonin to her nightly regimen, within two days she was able to withdraw from use of the benzodiazepine. Moreover, she experienced an improvement in sleep quality without side effects. Examination of her levels of urinary melatonin metabolites revealed that supplementation with melatonin had restored her abnormal non-circadian rhythmic excretion of melatonin to normal.

• Dagan Y, Zisapel N, Nof D, Laudon M, Atsmon J. Rapid reversal of tolerance to benzodiazepine hypnotics by treatment with oral melatonin: a case report. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol.1997;7:157-160.

Melatonin Protects the Gastric Mucosa Only a few years ago melatonin, a pineal hormone that is biosynthesized in the brain from tryptophan or 5-HTP, was found to also be present in the gut.¹ It was hypothesized at the time that its presence and apparent manufacture there might be responsible for the longevity benefits of caloric deprivation, which was thought to increase its abundance.

Now, a study indicates that melatonin decreases the formation of acute gastric lesions induced by stress and ischemia-reperfusion but not by topical irritants, such as ethanol or acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin).²Melatonin provides these benefits through its ability, in part, to limit free radicals, stimulate mucosal generation of prostaglandins and increase gastric blood flow.

1. Lee PP, Pang SF. Melatonin and its receptors in the gastrointestinal tract. Biol Signals.1993;2:181-193.
2. Konturek PC, Konturek SJ, Brzozowski T, et al. Gastroprotective activity of melatonin and its precursor, L-tryptophan, against stress-induced and ischaemia-induced lesions is mediated by scavenge of oxygen radicals. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1997;32:433-438.

Originally published by Will Block at http://www.life-enhancement.com/magazine/article/99-biomedical-tidbits