Marvellous Melatonin for Breast Protection
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Listen up, ladies. A good night’s sleep does much more for you than simply optimizing energy levels and rejuvenating your body. Getting enough sleep in the proper environment creates a hormonal state for protection from breast cancer onset as well as the risk of recurrence.
How Does Sleep Offer Protection from Breast Cancer?
When we sleep in complete darkness and avoid eating in the two hour period before bedtime, this encourages the release of melatonin from the pineal gland, a hormone that essentially slows breast cancer growth by 70%. These astounding results were reported by David E. Blask, MD, PhD, of Bassett Research Institute in Cooperstown, N.Y.
His research group discovered that cancer cells accelerate their growth and development in the presence of a type of dietary fat called linoleic acid. The growth and development of cancer cells is further enhanced when we are exposed to light and less melatonin is produced in the body.
Linoleic Acids
Linoleic acids are a type of omega-6 fatty acid. When consumed, they are converted in the body to gamma linoleic acid (GLA) and ultimately to compounds called prostaglandins that influence inflammation, blood clotting, digestive function and blood pressure. The majority of omega-6 fatty acids are found in eggs, poultry, safflower oil, sunflower oil, evening primrose oil, borage oil, and flaxseed oil.
These oils are health-promoting, good fats when consumed in balance with omega-3 fatty acids present in walnuts, fish oils, and omega-3 eggs. Unfortunately, diets today are heavy on omega-6s, typically at the expense of omega-3s. Under these circumstances, an excess of omega-6 can become harmful in the body, but balanced in the right amounts, omega-6s are health-promoting.
Marvellous Melatonin
Melatonin, made from the hormone serotonin, is produced only while we sleep in pitch black. Acting as a hormone, melatonin influences the function of our nervous system, glandular (endocrine system) and immune system. The highest production of melatonin is typically between 1 AM and 3 AM while we are asleep in the dark. But, exposure to light or to electromagnetic radiation, through digital alarm clocks, TVs, heating pads or electric blankets if within 2 and ½ feet of us, disrupts this process. Melatonin is also an antioxidant that maintains youthfulness, improves sleep, improves libido, boosts energy and builds resistance to infections.
Approximately 90% of breast cancers have signal receptors for melatonin regulation. Evidently, melatonin is currently recognized as a very protective agent against breast cancers because of its ability to bind to these cell receptors and to slow the growth of cancer cells. When Blask's team exposed lab mice with human breast cancers to constant light, tumor growth was seven times faster and the cells took up higher amounts of linoleic acid. Breast cancers become very active in the presence of linoleic acid, especially during the day, but at night, melatonin interacts with this fat and its use by cancer cells which ultimately slows their growth or essentially puts cancer cells to sleep. This is why proper sleep in pitch black that enhances the production of melatonin is essential for breast cancer protection. When we are exposed to light at night, this suppresses the production of melatonin and allows cancer cells to become active, to take up more linoleic acid and to grow as they do during the daytime.
These finding may explain why shift workers such as nurses have high rates of breast and colon cancer. So, if shift work is unavoidable, supplements of melatonin should be taken.
Assessing Melatonin Status
Samples of melatonin can be taken at 3 AM through a saliva hormone analysis. It is best to take melatonin supplements only through a doctor’s advice and preferably only when a deficiency has been identified. The standard dose is 1 to 3 mg per evening. Another simple way to determine if your melatonin levels are sub-optimal is by looking at your sleep patterns. If you sleep in the light or have insomnia, your melatonin may be low. Your melatonin levels may also be sub-optimal if you notice you have become more susceptible to jet lag.
Melatonin should not be taken by individuals with autoimmune diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis because of its immune-enhancing effects that may aggravate symptoms.
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