11 Ways Brain Food Power Your Brain Function and Memory

“How Does The Food You Eat Power Your Health, Fitness, Brain Function, Memory and Concentration”

Brain food maybe a pleasant eye-opening surprise even for the health conscious…

However, the science of eating for cognitive power and more energy is still a big challenge for most people.

Eating the right foods can be a simple way to keep your brain sharp and vibrant.

You already know your brain is the control center of your body.

In the background, your brain is in charge of keeping your heart beating.

And lungs breathing…

Allowing you to move, feel and think.

Would you agree your brain is kinda a big deal?

Okay, would it be a good idea to keep your brain in peak working condition?

The foods you eat play a crucial role in keeping your brain healthy.

And can improve specific mental tasks.

For example…memory and concentration.

Keep reading because I’ve listed 11 foods below to help you boost your brain…

1. Fatty Fish

When people talk about brain foods, fatty fish is often at the top of the list.

This type of fish includes salmon, trout and sardines, which are all rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids (1).

About 60% of your brain is made of fat, and half of that fat is the omega-3 kind (2).

Your brain uses omega-3s to build brain and nerve cells, and these fats are essential for learning and memory (2, 3).

Omega 3-s also have a couple additional benefits for your brain.

For one thing, they may slow age-related mental decline and help ward off Alzheimer’s disease (4, 5, 6, 7).

On the flip side, not getting enough omega-3s is linked to learning impairments, as well as depression (3, 8).

In general, eating fish seems to have positive health benefits.

One study found that people who ate baked or broiled fish regularly had more gray matter in their brains. Gray matter contains most of the nerve cells that control decision making, memory and emotion (9).

Overall, fatty fish is an excellent choice for brain health.

SUMMARY:
Fatty fish is a rich source of omega-3s, a major building block of the brain. Omega-3s play a role in sharpening memory and improving mood, as well as protecting your brain against decline.
2. Coffee
If coffee is the highlight of your morning, you’ll be glad to hear that it’s good for you.

Two main components in coffee — caffeine and antioxidants — help your brain.

The caffeine in coffee has a number of positive effects on the brain, including (9):

Increased alertness: Caffeine keeps your brain alert by blocking adenosine, a chemical messenger that makes you sleepy (10, 11, 12).
Improved mood: Caffeine may also boost some of your “feel-good” neurotransmitters, such as serotonin (13).
Sharpened concentration: One study found that when participants drank one large coffee in the morning or smaller amounts throughout the day, they were more effective at tasks that required concentration (14).
Drinking coffee over the long term is also linked to a reduced risk of neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s (9).

This could at least be partly due to coffee’s high concentration of antioxidants (15).

SUMMARY:
Coffee can help boost alertness and mood. It may also offer some protection against Alzheimer’s, thanks to its caffeine and antioxidants.

3. Blueberries
Blueberries provide numerous health benefits, including some that are specifically for your brain.

Blueberries and other deeply colored berries deliver anthocyanins, a group of plant compounds with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects (16).

Antioxidants act against both oxidative stress and inflammation, conditions that may contribute to brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases (16).

Some of the antioxidants in blueberries have been found to accumulate in the brain and help improve communication between brain cells (16, 17).

Animal studies have shown that blueberries help improve memory and may even delay short-term memory loss (18, 19, 20).

Try sprinkling them on your breakfast cereal or adding them to a smoothie.

SUMMARY:
Blueberries are packed with antioxidants that may delay brain aging and improve memory.
4. Turmeric
Turmeric has generated a lot of buzz recently.

This deep-yellow spice is a key ingredient in curry powder and has a number of benefits for the brain.

Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, has been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier, meaning it can directly enter the brain and benefit the cells there (21).

It’s a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound that has been linked to the following brain benefits:

May benefit memory: Curcumin may help improve memory in people with Alzheimer’s. It may also help clear the amyloid plaques that are a hallmark of this disease (21, 22).
Eases depression: It boosts serotonin and dopamine, which both improve mood. One study found curcumin improved depression symptoms just as much as an antidepressant over six weeks (23, 24).
Helps new brain cells grow: Curcumin boosts brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a type of growth hormone that helps brain cells grow. It may help delay age-related mental decline, but more research is needed (25).
To reap the benefits of curcumin, try cooking with curry powder, adding turmeric to potato dishes to turn them golden or making turmeric tea.

SUMMARY:
Turmeric and its active compound curcumin have strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits, which help the brain. In research, it has reduced symptoms of depression and Alzheimer’s disease.

5. Broccoli
Broccoli is packed with powerful plant compounds, including antioxidants (26).

It’s also very high in vitamin K, delivering more than 100% of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) in a 1-cup (91-gram) serving (27).

This fat-soluble vitamin is essential for forming sphingolipids, a type of fat that’s densely packed into brain cells (28).

A few studies in older adults have linked a higher vitamin K intake to better memory (29, 30).

Beyond vitamin K, broccoli contains a number of compounds that give it anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which may help protect the brain against damage (31).

SUMMARY:
Broccoli contains a number of compounds that have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, including vitamin K.

6. Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds contain powerful antioxidants that protect the body and brain from free radical damage (31).

They’re also an excellent source of magnesium, iron, zinc and copper (32).

Each of these nutrients is important for brain health:

Zinc: This element is crucial for nerve signaling. Zinc deficiency has been linked to many neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, depression and Parkinson’s disease (33, 34, 35).
Magnesium: Magnesium is essential for learning and memory. Low magnesium levels are linked to many neurological diseases, including migraines, depression and epilepsy (36, 37).
Copper: Your brain uses copper to help control nerve signals. And when copper levels are out of whack, there’s a higher risk of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s (38, 39).
Iron: Iron deficiency is often characterized by brain fog and impaired brain function (40).
The research focuses mostly on these micronutrients, rather than pumpkin seeds themselves. However, since pumpkin seeds are high in these micronutrients, you can likely reap their benefits by adding pumpkin seeds to your diet.

SUMMARY:
Pumpkin seeds are rich in many micronutrients that are important for brain function, including copper, iron, magnesium and zinc.
7. Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate and cocoa powder are packed with a few brain-boosting compounds, including flavonoids, caffeine and antioxidants.

Flavonoids are a group of antioxidant plant compounds.

The flavonoids in chocolate gather in the areas of the brain that deal with learning and memory. Researchers say these compounds may enhance memory and also help slow down age-related mental decline (41, 42, 43, 44).

In fact, a number of studies back this up (45, 46, 47).

In one study including over 900 people, those who ate chocolate more frequently performed better in a series of mental tasks, including some involving memory, than those who rarely ate it (45).

Chocolate is also a legitimate mood booster, according to research.

One study found that participants who ate chocolate experienced increased positive feelings, compared to participants who ate crackers (48).

However, it’s still not clear whether that’s because of compounds in the chocolate, or simply because the yummy flavor makes people happy (48).

SUMMARY:
The flavonoids in chocolate may help protect the brain. Studies have suggested that eating chocolate could boost both memory and mood.
8. Nuts
Research has shown that eating nuts can improve markers of heart health, and having a healthy heart is linked to having a healthy brain (49, 50).

A 2014 review showed that nuts can improve cognition and even help prevent neurodegenerative diseases (51).

Also, another large study found that women who ate nuts regularly over the course of several years had a sharper memory, compared to those who didn’t eat nuts (49).

Several nutrients in nuts, such as healthy fats, antioxidants and vitamin E, may explain their brain-health benefits (52, 53).

Vitamin E shields cell membranes from free radical damage, helping slow mental decline (54, 55, 56).

While all nuts are good for your brain, walnuts may have an extra edge, since they also deliver omega-3 fatty acids (57).

SUMMARY:
Nuts contain a host of brain-boosting nutrients, including vitamin E, healthy fats and plant compounds.
9. Oranges
You can get all the vitamin C you need in a day by eating one medium orange (58).

Doing so is important for brain health, since vitamin C is a key factor in preventing mental decline (59).

Eating sufficient amounts of vitamin C-rich foods can protect against age-related mental decline and Alzheimer’s disease, according to a 2014 review article (60).

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps fight off the free radicals that can damage brain cells. Plus, vitamin C supports brain health as you age (61).

You can also get excellent amounts of vitamin C from bell peppers, guava, kiwi, tomatoes and strawberries (62).

SUMMARY:
Oranges and other foods that are high in vitamin C can help defend your brain against damage from free radicals.
10. Eggs
Eggs are a good source of several nutrients tied to brain health, including vitamins B6 and B12, folate and choline (63).

Choline is an important micronutrient that your body uses to create acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood and memory (64, 65).

Two studies found that higher intakes of choline were linked to better memory and mental function (66, 67).

Nevertheless, many people don’t get enough choline in their diet.

Eating eggs is an easy way to get choline, given that egg yolks are among the most concentrated sources of this nutrient.

Adequate intake of choline is 425 mg per day for most women and 550 mg per day for men, with just a single egg yolk containing 112 mg (64).

Furthermore, the B vitamins have several roles in brain health.

To start, they may help slow the progression of mental decline in the elderly (68).

Also, being deficient in two types of B vitamins — folate and B12 — has been linked to depression (69).

Folate deficiency is common in elderly people with dementia, and studies show that folic acid supplements can help minimize age-related mental decline (70, 71).

B12 is also involved in synthesizing brain chemicals and regulating sugar levels in the brain (69).

It’s worth noting that there’s very little direct research on the link between eating eggs and brain health. However, there is research to support the brain-boosting benefits of the nutrients found in eggs.

SUMMARY:
Eggs are a rich source of several B vitamins and choline, which are important for proper brain functioning and development, as well as regulating mood.
11. Green Tea
As is the case with coffee, the caffeine in green tea boosts brain function.

In fact, it has been found to improve alertness, performance, memory and focus (72).

But green tea also has other components that make it a brain-healthy beverage.

One of them is L-theanine, an amino acid that can cross the blood-brain barrier and increase the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA, which helps reduce anxiety and makes you feel more relaxed (73, 74, 75).

L-theanine also increases the frequency of alpha waves in the brain, which helps you relax without making you feel tired (76).

One review found that the L-theanine in green tea can help you relax by counteracting the stimulating effects of caffeine (72).

It’s also rich in polyphenols and antioxidants that may protect the brain from mental decline and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s (77, 78).

Plus, green tea has been found to improve memory (79).

SUMMARY:
Green tea is an excellent beverage to support your brain. Its caffeine content boosts alertness, while its antioxidants protect the brain and L-theanine helps you relax.
The Bottom Line
Many foods can help keep your brain healthy.

Some foods, such as the fruits and vegetables in this list, as well as tea and coffee, have antioxidants that help protect your brain from damage.

Others, such as nuts and eggs, contain nutrients that support memory and brain development.

You can help support your brain health and boost your alertness, memory and mood by strategically including these foods in your diet.

Did you enjoy reading this evidence-based nutrition article?

Brain Food

Top 10 Foods For Boosting Testosterone

Your testosterone is the foundation of your energy and power for everyday life.

Testosterone is key to build muscle and burn belly fat.

Testosterone affects your sex drive, improves heart and strengthens bones.

So let’s just agree that testosterone is essential.

What foods help increase testosterone levels?

It is important to eat the right kind of testosterone boosting foods…

Question is, which foods increase testosterone the most?

The foods which replenish and refill your testosterone production naturally.

Good news, there are hundreds of different natural testosterone boosting foods to choose.

And hundreds of foods which can do the exact opposite.

Have you ever experienced low testosterone?

Would you like to discover how to increase natural testosterone production?

1. Avocados

Avocados are packed with monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs).

This is exactly the fat you want to consume for a testosterone boost.

Avocados also have more than 20 dietary vitamins and minerals, which the body can use to produce testosterone including Vitamin A, B2, C, K2, zinc, magnesium

Avocados are one of the few foods known to contain testosterone-boosting oleuropein (extremely bitter glycoside with aromatase enzyme blocking effects).

Funk Food Tip: I love to add avocados to my lunch and dinner meals and even like to spread it on my cooked meats….taste soooo good!

2. Organic Whole Eggs

So a little while ago I shared content about the “4 Clinically Proven Ways To Increase Your Testosterone Levels Naturally!”

In fact, eggs and testosterone levels go hand in hand.

When I don’t eat this one food for a few days…

I notice morning erections are less frequent and sometimes don’t even happen.

Emotionally, I’m not as happy or as driven in life

I also notice I’m not as muscular.

And even my memory isn’t as good.

It’s all minor, still over time it becomes more noticeable.

Now the kicker is as soon as I add eggs back into my diet, it’s like BOOM.

Morning erections and sex drive is super powerful… especially when I add specific herbs, vitamins and supplement.

Stick around, I’ll share the info in just a minute…

Okay, so without any further delay this super, testosterone-boosting food is whole eggs!

And yes, I said whole eggs with the yolk.

Nature made the perfect protein because egg contains all the essential amino acids…

Yes, half are in white and other in yolk, this is why you want to eat whole eggs.

However, it’s not the “protein” that’s important for increasing your testosterone.

Actually it’s the CHOLESTEROL found in the yolk.

And no, this doesn’t mean you should then have only the yolks – you need the entire egg.

And before I tell you why the cholesterol is so important for testosterone production – I want to first stop and tell anyone listening who is thinking “wait a minute, isn’t this going to raise my cholesterol? Isn’t cholesterol bad for your health?”

The answer is that yes, eggs do raise cholesterol – but it’s the good, HDL cholesterol!1,2

So, that’s the first myth that I want to expose.

The second is that “high” blood cholesterol is not due to the cholesterol you eat from your diet.

This is because 80% of cholesterol is made INTERNALLY, by your liver.1,2

Unfortunately, as we age, as you liver becomes weaker and you have negative changes in your hormones due to aging, your body and liver isn’t as efficient for getting rid of excess cholesterol and that’s why there’s an increase.

Remember, cholesterol is good for your health. EVERY cell in your body requires cholesterol to function properly. And, this is especially important for testosterone production.

This is also why taking cholesterol lowering “statin” drugs causes
lowered libido
Muscle loss and weakness
Depression
Memory loss

And other health ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure, alzheimer’s, etc.

So if you do have high cholesterol, eating eggs isn’t a problem if done correctly.

And that’s what I’ll explain in just a minute.

Okay, so getting back to why eggs and cholesterol is so important for testosterone production.

First, cholesterol has a similar 4-ring structure to testosterone. And, testosterone is also produced from cholesterol.

And the best time have eggs is before bed because most of your testosterone is produced during sleep.

So your body will now have enough “fuel” from the cholesterol from the eggs…

To maximize production of testosterone while you’re sleeping — assuming all of your hormones are functioning correctly.

The best kind of eggs to have are “pastured” eggs…

You want to have about 2-3 eggs a day, again before bed would be the best time. I have 4 or more eggs myself.

Do the eggs at night and take specific “testosterone boosting herbs” in the morning and you’ll be set.

Organic whole eggs are a great balance of amino-acids and the good cholesterol which is key for increasing testosterone levels.

The yolk contains natural cholesterol, which is the direct precursor steroid for the production of testosterone.

Your leydig cells simply can’t make any testosterone without cholesterol.

Whole eggs also have pretty great fatty acid profile.

They contain more of the testosterone boosting saturated (SFA) and monounsaturated (MUFA) fatty acids.

And less of the testosterone lowering polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).

It has been proven countless of times that eating more SFAs and MUFAs increases testosterone,

Eggs are packed with testosterone boosting vitamins and minerals, such as: A, D, B , iodine, and selenium.

Eggs are one of the best testosterone boosting foods out there, so add them to your daily nutrition

I typically eat raw eggs because this is the best.

I’ll alternate between raw or soft boiled (runny) whole eggs (usually 4, add green onion, tomatoes, spinach and a little feta cheese.

3. Grass Fed Beef

These are good news for all my Over 40 brothers out there. Beef is a food that increases testosterone levels immensely.
Sure protein is the least important macronutrient to focus on if you’re boosting testosterone, and studies constantly show that high protein diets are detrimental for testosterone production…

However science shows that when you consume protein that animal protein is superior to plant-based protein sources when it comes to testosterone optimization.

In other words, start eating more beef.

You might be wondering, why grass-fed instead of grain-fed?

a) Grain-fed cattle that lives in large feedlots is fed mostly with GMO soy and corn, which increases the estrogen levels, which is the enemy of testosterone.

b) Grain-fed cattle is often pumped full of hormones to make them grow faster. Most often this is a combination of estrogen and growth hormone to make the cattle big, but also fat at the same time.

Bottom line: Eating beef as your main source of protein is a good idea if you want to boost that big T production.
The fat is mostly saturated, which is the best kind for testosterone production, and the protein is high quality animal protein, which is what you want to eat this food to boost testosterone production.

Grass-fed is better than grain-fed, but if you’re short on money, grain-fed is better than nothing.

Funk Food Tip: I like my beef super rare, almost blue, but there is nothing like BBQ’S your beef!

4. Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes

Carbohydrates are an important staple in a testosterone-boosting diet, but HOW you get those carbs is even more important.
Getting your carbs from grains though is not preferred mainly due to gluten which can significantly increase prolactin levels, which messes up your testosterone production.

Potatoes of any kind are great sources of gluten free carbohydrates that do not boost your prolactin or decrease testosterone
Sweet potatoes, white potatoes, russets, red potatoes, purple potatoes, etc. If it’s a potato, you should be eating this testosterone boosting nutrient dense carbohydrate source.

Funk Food Tip – I like to eat my potatoes after a workout session to replenish the glycogen stores so that my body can continue to burn fat, recovery and shuttle your protein to the muscles. I will either boil and mash or fry up some spaghetti sweet potatoes and add it to my meals

5. Spinach, Broccoli and Cruciferous Vegetables.

Broccoli and cauliflower are cruciferous vegetables that contain indoles, which are compounds that boost testosterone by flushing out estrogen in your body.

Cruciferous vegetables is especially important for older men to eat, because estrogen levels rise with age

Spinach is high in magnesium, which is a supplement key to muscle building and reproductive function. Studies show that adding spinach into your diet can increase your testosterone over all age groups.

Funk Food Tip: I like to steam my broccoli and cauliflower but also will add broccoli or spinach to my morning egg white scramble. Also salads are massive for me so a good spinach salad with tomatoes and cucumber is amazing for me

6. Pomegranates

Pomegranates have been used for centuries to boost libido and increase testosterone levels.

Active compounds in pomegranate act as natural vasodilators. These relax the blood vessels and thereby promote better blood flow.
With high levels of antioxidants, vitamins A, C, E and iron, researchers have found one glass of pomegranate juice a day can increase testosterone levels between 16 percent and 30 percent improve mood, and increase libido.

You can choose to eat the whole fruit or simply drink pomegranate juice (we suggest switching your breakfast orange juice for some pomegranate juice).

Also one study showed that consuming pomegranate juice daily for just two weeks increased salivary testosterone levels by 24%. A ton of other health benefits can come from pomegranates, including drops in blood pressure.

Funk Food Tips: Pomegranates are just a great snack for me. I like to actually like to spend the time to pop out the seeds first and then enjoy and savor the mouth watering flavor of the Pomegranate

7. Wild Caught Salmon

Salmon is amazing source of Omega-3 fatty acids and protein which both support testosterone levels, but that’s not how it made this list!

Salmon has selenium which is a powerful mineral that is involved in metabolic processes like muscle growth and testosterone production.

Selenium plays a role in thyroid function, specifically in the conversion of the T4 hormone to the active T3 hormone. The T3 hormone is vital for testosterone production. This is why men with healthy amounts of selenium in their diet have healthy semen and balanced testosterone and estrogen levels.

Salmon also has the highest levels of vitamin D than any other fish. And the male reproductive system requires vitamin D for health and proper function.

Salmon is rich in dietary cholesterol that is associated with lean muscle gains. Dietary cholesterol also has a hand in testosterone production.

But try to get your salmon fresh, Wild salmon is better than the farmed variety, both in terms of overall nutrition and safety from contaminants.

So in addition to the protein and necessary fatty acids, salmon offers a healthy alternative proven to support testosterone levels which includes improved sexual characteristics – better sexual drive, better mood, and optimum reproductive health.

Funk Food Tip – I love my Sashimi, so I will go to the local market and grab fresh sashimi along with wild caught salmon. I’ll have sashimi 3-4X per week

8 Ricotta Cheese

The animo acids in the whey protein found in Ricotta cheese helps lower cortisol production, and if you know about cortisol it’s the arch enemy of testosterone

To top that off, one published study shows 15 grams of this protein pre and post workout boosts testosterone 25% in 24 hours.
So by ingesting enough bcaa’s (through whey or supplementation), you block the negative effects insinuated by cortisol, thus allowing for ample testosterone production.

Funk Food Tip: I always add Ricotta cheese to my Ezekiel bread for my morning breakfast

9 Strawberries

Strawberries are a great source of vitamin C which also lowers cortisol

Good amounts of this vitamin can lower cortisol levels that are associated with intense workouts. When your workouts are intense, cortisol levels rise. And cortisol contends with testosterone. So, with lower levels of cortisol, testosterone can then have a more anabolic effect of your muscle growth

Funk Food Tips: Strawberries are my natural salad dressing. I don’t general use salad dressing but like to use the juices from the berries that I add, like strawberries to give it a fresh and tasty salad

10 Real Salt

I LOVE SALT!

There’s a huge difference between real crystal, sea, or rock salt when compared to the usual “table salt”.

That is, real unrefined and unaltered salts are bit clumpy and they have about 60+ trace minerals in them.

The basic table salt on the other usuahlly has only two – Sodium and chloride. The rest is stripped away so that companies that can increase their profits due to longer shelf life…in other words it’s no longer salt.

Processed table salts can also have up to 3% anti-caking agents, which are often unhealthy heavy metals like aluminum silicate or sodium ferrocyanide.

The bottom line is to stick with REAL SALT that contains 100% real salt and 0% caking agents rather than consume the terrible purified table salt that has mere 2 minerals and heavy-metal caking agents.

Funk Food Tip – I LOVE REAL SALT…Oh and REAL SALT has a taste that explodes in your mouth!

Conclusion
If you want to boost your muscle gains, you have to maintain healthy levels of testosterone.

While testosterone is naturally produced in the body, consuming anabolic foods that boost its production will certainly help you in your journey to building more muscle mass.

Melatonin the First or Final Destination

You may know of melatonin…

One of your body’s natural sleep hormones.

In fact, melatonin has sweeping effects on your whole system.

And can help you fight cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, even migraines.

Studies also shows melatonin to be a master detoxifier.

And by the way, if you tried it as a sleep aid and found it didn’t work, you probably took the wrong dose. Nearly every commercial supplement contains far too much.

Read on to find out more about why melatonin is so much more than a one-trick pony. . .

Melatonin is produced by a tiny gland tucked deep in a groove between the two halves of your brain.

You can think of it as a janitor who comes in at night to scrub the floors and empty the trash. This hormone’s job is to detoxify, rebuild, and rejuvenate you during the wee hours of the night.

It’s such a key player that your health and wellbeing ultimately depend on how well it does its job.

Regulates your circadian rhythm, and so much more

Your pineal gland and the melatonin it produces help regulate your body’s clock for both the 24-hour day-night cycle and the changes of the seasons. The 24-hour cycle is called the circadian rhythm, as you may know.

As it plays this role, melatonin deeply influences nearly every cell in your entire body. It is present in your cell membranes and mitochondria (the “batteries” in each cell). Oddly enough, melatonin is also found in your GI tract, where it helps regulate your immune system.

It’s also a known buffer against inflammation. It helps prevent complications from infections, vaccines, autoimmune responses, and age-related immune deficiencies.

What’s more, disrupted circadian rhythms – basically, bad sleep habits — are a major risk factor for cancer. And as it turns out, for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and a whole lot of other diseases. If you sleep the seven or eight hours you need every night, in a room that’s completely dark, your circadian rhythm is probably healthy.

But millions of people don’t do that.

They’re up at all hours looking at TV, smartphones or computers, and even when they sleep the room is lit up by those little lights that tell us the TV or some other device is plugged in. These days even electric sockets and thermostats have those infernal green or red lights to let us know there’s juice flowing.

What’s more, most of us live in urban areas where light floods into our homes at night even if we draw the shades, so our brain never gets the total darkness it needs to make melatonin.

All of this is devastating to your melatonin levels. Set things right and you’ll have a big leg up at beating cancer, dementia and more.

Melatonin as a cancer fighter

Growing research shows that melatonin is a potent ally in the fight against cancer.

It’s a known tumor-suppressor that’s effective against many types of cancer, including breast, prostate, gastric, colorectal, liver, brain, blood, and non-small-cell lung.1,2,3 Often this is true even when the cancer is at an advanced stage.

Pancreatic cancer is highly lethal, with a five-year survival rate so low you don’t want to hear about it. This type of cancer responds poorly to both chemo and radiation — but a 2017 study shows that melatonin inhibits proliferation of some pancreatic cancer cell lines.4

University of Texas Professor Russel Reiter noted that melatonin inhibits cancer cell development at every stage of cancer and across a multitude of cancer cell lines.5

He and his team also showed that melatonin can help make chemo- or radiation-resistant cancers more sensitive to those treatments, and may also help soften their toxic side effects.

He goes so far as to say that the medical profession’s adoption of this remedy is “unethically slow.”6

Another review considered a number of randomized controlled clinical trials using high-dose melatonin (20-40 mg/day) alongside chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or supportive care. The review concluded that melatonin was a “physiological anticancer substance.”7 [CAUTION: You should not use melatonin at such high doses merely to help you sleep.]

Four ways melatonin fights cancer

The best way to beat cancer is with a multi-modal approach.

Conveniently enough, melatonin can provide that, since it works via several mechanisms.

Pummels pro-cancer cellular activity

(a) Stops angiogenesis (growth of tumor blood vessels)

(b) Stalls tumor growth

Not bad for a “sleep hormone,” right?

Substantially increases survival rates of cancer patients

A review of eight clinical trials showed that melatonin taken alongside conventional treatment increased the one-year survival rate by 45%, compared to those who did conventional treatment alone.

And it increased the rate of complete or partial remission by nearly 50%.8 While experts still say more research is needed, those results look extremely promising.

Lissoni, an Italian researcher, found that patients suffering from glioblastoma, a lethal type of brain cancer, and receiving conventional radiotherapy plus 10 mg of melatonin reaped the benefit of a 43% one-year survival rate, compared to a survival rate of less than 1% for the placebo (supportive care only) group.

Those are astounding results.

Metastatic breast cancer patients who took 20 mg of melatonin alongside Tamoxifen had a one-year survival rate of 63%, in contrast with a mere 24% survival rate for the placebo group.9

Alleviates the debilitating side effects of chemo and radiation

Conventional treatments usually come with a host of nasty side effects. In fact, chemotherapy is so painful to endure that many patients end their treatments early.

Studies show that melatonin may alleviate side effects such as nausea and vomiting, low white blood counts, cachexia [wasting away], neurotoxicity, and more.10,11,12

Boosts your immune system

Melatonin is a natural antioxidant, boosts production of certain immune cells, and reduces oxidative stress.

The research on melatonin’s effectiveness is truly astonishing… as is oncologists’ refusal to use it in treating cancer.

Do you need more melatonin?

Growing research shows that melatonin is a potent ally in the fight against cancer.

Even if you’re not battling cancer, you may still be at risk of melatonin deficiency. Especially if you fall into any of the following categories:

Melatonin production decreases rapidly with age
Nightshift workers
Insomniacs and others with sleep problems
Exposed to EMFs
Females who suffer from PMS cramping
Folks taking blood pressure medications – beta-blockers, statins, and calcium channel blockers reduce melatonin levels
Airline pilots, flight attendants, and frequent transcontinental flyers whose circadian rhythms are disrupted by time zone changes
Your eyes may also make you deficient

Even if you don’t fall into one of the groups listed above, you may still be deficient by virtue of your eyes. Almost everyone makes one or both of these mistakes. Do you?

Too much light at night.

Darkness is your body’s cue to start producing melatonin.

If you’re watching TV or spending time on your computer, tablet, or smartphone in the evening, you’re shooting your health in the foot.

Light from the blue part of the spectrum is a particular problem for brain activity. Screens actually emit more blue light than the sun does – 35% versus 25%. And you wonder why you don’t sleep well…

Even tiny amounts of ambient light at night block melatonin production. If you struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep, this may be why.

Interestingly, a study at the University of Colorado in Boulder showed that for otherwise healthy adults with messed up circadian rhythms, one week of camping with no artificial light completely normalized melatonin levels.

And just one weekend improved levels by 69%.13

Not enough sunlight during the day.

A Finnish study evaluated two animal groups, one of which was exposed to natural sunlight, the other to fluorescent light. Both groups experienced the same amount of darkness at night and the same amount of light during the day.

In just one week, researchers were stunned to find that the animals exposed to sunlight produced FAR more melatonin at night than the ones exposed to artificial light.14

The light intensity of sunlight is more than seven times that of fluorescent light.

The takeaway is that while you may want to supplement with melatonin if you have cancer, you can stimulate your body’s natural production of it by turning off lights and screens after dark, wearing blue-blocking glasses, and getting exposure to real sunlight during the day (outside, not through a window and not while driving).

Other melatonin-maximizing strategies

There are even more ways to maximize your melatonin levels:

Sleep. In total darkness, deeply.

For seven to nine hours per night.

Limit your EMF exposure.

Lower your stress levels.

The stress hormone cortisol fights against melatonin.

They’re mortal enemies.

Eat melatonin-rich foods.

Some of the best high-melatonin foods are:

Goji berries, tart cherries (or better yet, cherry concentrate),
walnuts, almonds, pineapple, asparagus, tomatoes, bananas, oranges
broccoli.

Eat tryptophan-rich foods.

Tryptophan is a precursor to melatonin.

So enjoy some spirulina, cottage cheese, chicken, turkey, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and yogurt.

Garbanzo beans are the best of the best in terms of tryptophan content.

Go easy on the coffee.

Coffee beans are loaded with melatonin, but the caffeine cancels out the melatonin benefits.

Take time to pray or meditate.

Studies show that this improves melatonin production.

If you’re going to take a supplement, MIT researcher Dr. Richard Wurtman suggests that a dose as
low as 0.3 to 1.0 mg might be effective.

Start low at the beginning or it could be counter-productive.

Doses higher than a milligram are for cancer patients, preferably under the supervision of an alternative doctor who knows what he or she is doing.

References:
Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2012 May;69(5):1213-20.
[No authors listed] Melatonin. Monograph. Altern Med Rev. 2005 Dec;10(4):326-36.
Sainz RM, Mayo JC, Tan DX, Leon J, Manchester L, Reiter RJ. Melatonin reduces prostate cancer cell growth leading to neuroendocrine differentiation via a receptor and PKA independent mechanism. Prostate. 2005 Apr 1;63(1):29-43.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5503661/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5412427/
Reiter et al. Melatonin, a full service anti-cancer agent: Inhibition of initiation, progression and metastasis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2017). 18(4), 843
Cutando, A. et al. Role of melatonin in cancer treatment. Anticancer Research (2012) 32: 2747-54.
Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2012 May;69(5):1213-20.
https://blog.lifeextension.com/2013/02/melatonin-effective-cancer-treatment.html
Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2012 May;69(5):1213-20.
Eur J Cancer: 1999 Nov;35(12):1688-92.
Integr Cancer Ther. 2012 Dec;11(4):293-303
http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(16)31522-6
R. Melatonin. Bantom Books. New York. 1996