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Melatonin as a treatment for food waste

anthropocenemagazine.org

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Re: Melatonin as a treatment for food waste

#131

Post by hughesjj »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #86
maltyr wrote: post #5

I'm not sure we should cover our food in melatonin. People would recoil at the thought of pretty much any other hormone being added to our food supply. It's strange to me how Melatonin is so uncontrolled in usage, dosage, etc., despite being a hormone. The article suggests it's safer than current food additives, but I find that statement questionable. We don't understand the full effect of Melatonin on the human body…

I think it was here, where I read that the optimal dosage for melatonin was 0.3 mg (300 micrograms). The smallest OTC dosage you can get, is 1mg, and they sell 10mg pills. When I switched from 10mg to 0.3mg, my sleep improved drastically . Also, I stopped getting those really weird dreams. But I don't like taking stuff, and ended up stopping completely, a long time ago.

> The smallest OTC dosage you can get, is 1mg

Well, in the US yeah. It's banned OTC in France and the Netherlands will actually sell you the 0.3mg pills.

Re: Melatonin as a treatment for food waste

#132

Post by delgaudm »

denverllc wrote: post #95

Speaking of fruit preservation: has anyone bought prepacked/sliced fruit from the grocery store / Costco that has an "off" flavor to it? Almost like they added some preservative. (The different fruit had the same flavor, which makes me think something was added). I have, and nothing was on the ingredients, so I am wondering what could have been added.

Could it be lemon juice? That's a common think to add to preserve color and prevent oxidation in a home recipe.

Re: Melatonin as a treatment for food waste

#133

Post by vl »

mewpmewp2 wrote: post #101
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it was here, where I read that the optimal dosage for melatonin was 0.3 mg (300 micrograms). The smallest OTC dosage you can get, is 1mg, and they sell 10mg pills. When I switched from 10mg to 0.3mg, my sleep improved drastically . Also, I stopped getting those really weird dreams. But I don't like taking stuff, and ended up stopping completely, a long time ago.

Is there a source for the 0.3mg, because the most sleep supplements around here I've tried seem to have at least 0.5mg, or at least 1mg. They contain a mixture of other things as well, like magnesium, leonurus cadiaca, humulus lupulus. Melatonin only supplements mostly seem to start at around 2mg. There may be few of them at 1mg. I can't tell if I've personally had any effects from melatonin specifically though. Some…

Yes, just get liquid melatonin from Amazon and you can dose it super precisely using small syringe.

Re: Melatonin as a treatment for food waste

#134

Post by conorh »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #27
nuxi wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure about the recoil? After all, "vitamin" D is a hormone and it's also added to a lot of different foods. And it's also uncontrolled in usage and dosage...

It's a precursor to a hormone. And whether it's a vitamin depends on your sun exposure.

I don't think that is entirely correct (and mostly semantics). Vitamin D has multiple forms [1]

Vitamin D from the diet, or from skin synthesis, is biologically inactive. It is activated by two protein enzyme hydroxylation steps, the first in the liver and the second in the kidneys. Because vitamin D can be synthesized in adequate amounts by most mammals if they get enough sunlight, it is not essential and therefore is technically not a vitamin. Instead it can be considered a hormone, with activation of the vitamin D pro-hormone resulting in the active form, calcitriol, which then produces effects via a nuclear receptor in multiple locations.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D

Re: Melatonin as a treatment for food waste

#135

Post by vl »

ex3ndr wrote: post #104
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it was here, where I read that the optimal dosage for melatonin was 0.3 mg (300 micrograms). The smallest OTC dosage you can get, is 1mg, and they sell 10mg pills. When I switched from 10mg to 0.3mg, my sleep improved drastically . Also, I stopped getting those really weird dreams. But I don't like taking stuff, and ended up stopping completely, a long time ago.

I needed to cut small pills into 6 pieces to get optimal dosage, now i know why

There is liquid version in the bottle which you can dose very precisely by using small syringe.

Re: Melatonin as a treatment for food waste

#136

Post by hunson_abadeer »

wnevets wrote: post #93
maltyr wrote: post #5

I'm not sure we should cover our food in melatonin. People would recoil at the thought of pretty much any other hormone being added to our food supply. It's strange to me how Melatonin is so uncontrolled in usage, dosage, etc., despite being a hormone. The article suggests it's safer than current food additives, but I find that statement questionable. We don't understand the full effect of Melatonin on the human body…

> It's strange to me how Melatonin is so uncontrolled in usage, dosage, etc., despite being a hormone. You can thank Mel Gibson and industry lobbying [1][2]. [1] https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/supplements-a... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV2olDA0w8U

> You can thank Mel Gibson and industry lobbying

Why do we always need a boogeyman?

Melatonin appears nearly harmless. Isn't it strange that we've grown so accustomed to so many things being restricted that we're taken aback by this sliver of medical self-determination, and we publish hard-hitting investigative pieces about how supposedly terrible that is?

I get it that we maybe don't want to go back to the era of "patent medicine" containing radium, but when we require prescriptions for birth control, eyeglasses, and non-narcotic sleep aids, maybe we've gone a bit too far.

Re: Melatonin as a treatment for food waste

#137

Post by vl »

swozey wrote: post #45
teamonkey wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be uncontrolled in the US but not everywhere. It’s not allowed to be sold without a prescription where I live, and even then it’s only prescribed for chronic sleep disorders. I always ask anyone travelling to the US to bring back a bottle.

> chronic sleep disorders Wow. It's been a long time but I've definitely taken melatonin and if I felt any effects at all they definitely weren't strong if even noticable. Here (USA) Ambien is prescribed often for chronic sleep issues and that drug absolutely terrifies me. I've had friends addicted to it who wound up in a lot of criminal trouble for trespassing and wandering around beaches naked and things like that…

Melatonin, as any hormone/supplement, helps if you have deficiency, and hurts if you have normal or high level already. If your natural melatonin production is good enough, you are not going to feel effects, or even will get negative effects (I.e. people reporting hallucinations)

Re: Melatonin as a treatment for food waste

#138

Post by vl »

matthewaveryusa wrote: post #30
cjrp wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The dosage of melatonin you can buy over-the-counter in the US always surprises me. In the UK I believe it’s only 2mg with a prescription, but I was seeing 5mg+ just in a grocery store.

Behold the new target market: children at 1mg [1]. The US markets melatonin as a vitamin. I really have no clue on the long term adverse effects, but having used 5mg as a sleeping aid for a bit, one thing is for sure: melatonin is really not for OTC child use. I'm shocked that this is legal! [1] https://www.target.com/s/kids+melatonin+gummies

Yes, let’s make everything illegal, so you have to pay somebody to give a prescription to you any time you need anything. Somebody else always knows better what is good for you! Especially it will help poor people, which already shop at veterinary stores instead of pharmacies.

Re: Melatonin as a treatment for food waste

#139

Post by deprecative »

jimbobimbo wrote: post #128

Upper dose for melatonin has not been established, generally considered safe. https://ajac.substack.com/p/melatonin for references. I'm on 40mg every night, gives me deep restful sleep.

As an insomniac I am jealous. I take prescription medication for it but nothing I've tried (both prescribed and over the counter) has ever been very restful.

Re: Melatonin as a treatment for food waste

#140

Post by joker_minmax »

maltyr wrote: post #5

I'm not sure we should cover our food in melatonin. People would recoil at the thought of pretty much any other hormone being added to our food supply. It's strange to me how Melatonin is so uncontrolled in usage, dosage, etc., despite being a hormone. The article suggests it's safer than current food additives, but I find that statement questionable. We don't understand the full effect of Melatonin on the human body…

They'd definitely need to disclose this, too. Imagine it being unsafe to operate machinery and drive just because you ate a bowl of berries. (Or for me, melatonin supplements always make me wired for some reason. I wouldn't want to feel caffienated after a bowl of berries.)
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