Ageing

Signs of ageing start to appear in humans at the age of 30. Ageing itself appears to be solely a programmed event affected by the pineal gland, which controls growth and puberty. The pineal gland, which produces melatonin, declines with age. It is generally recognized that the ageing process among other things. is related to a lower antioxidant capacity in the body, which ultimately leads to loss of function and diseases. Melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant.

Description

There are several types of animal experiments that indicate that melatonin can delay the ageing process.

However, studies on humans need to be carried out before melatonin can be labelled with certainty as an anti-ageing or life-extending substance. But the probability is definitely present.

Melatonin and the young pineal gland
In an experiment two groups of mice were used. One group comprised young adult mice aged 3-4 months. The second group comprised 18-month-old mice.

The experiment involved transplanting the pineal glands from one group of mice to the other.

The result was a significantly increased ageing and death rate in the group of young mice with old pineal glands, while the group of old mice with young pineal glands showed a reduced ageing and death rate. In both cases, the ageing change was a six months, which is a long time for a mouse. In reality, this means a quarter of a lifetime. Similar results have been seen when injecting natural melatonin directly into mice.

Melatonin as an antioxidant
It is generally recognised that the ageing process among other things is related to a lower antioxidant capacity in the body. This means that with age, the body becomes less able to fight oxidative damage to DNA and cell walls, which in turn leads to loss of function and diseases.

It has been shown that melatonin is a powerful antioxidant, that counteracts this oxidation - or rancidity - of the cells and fat in the body, which constantly happens when oxygen is converted in the body.

In animal experiments, it has been found that melatonin neutralises oxidation and thus significantly extends the lifespan of experimental animals.

Ageing and sleep glasses
If you take the preliminary studies for granted and would like to try to improve your life yourself and possibly extend it, you can wear sleep glasses for 1-2 hours before normal bedtime to extend the duration of melatonin production. The total time for sleep and the time you wear the sleep glasses should preferably be 10-11 hours.

In addition, there are good dietary options if you want to strengthen your own melatonin production.

For example, there are a lot of melatonin in oats, corn, rice, ginger, tomatoes and bananas. You can get more of the amino acid tryptophan, which is converted by serotonin into melatonin, by eating foods such as soy, cottage cheese, chicken liver, tofu, turkey, chicken, almonds and peanuts.

Research
Recent research has identified some of the likely molecular mediators which have a potentially far-reaching health-promoting and anti-ageing effect, such as DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), interleukins -10 and -4 (IL-10, 1L-4), and especially melatonin. In addition, what some call a revolution in biology and medicine came about through research into stem cells and more generally through regeneration processes. The dogma regarding limitations of the regenerative abilities of adult vertebrates, is nevertheless now being cautiously and enthusiastically revised in the wake of rapidly accumulating discoveries of several types of adult stem cells in mammals, including humans. For example, a study by D. Krause at Yale concluded that: “in (adult) bone marrow, in addition to the haematopoietic stem cells and the supporting stromal cells, there are cells with the potential to differentiate into mature cells of the heart, liver, kidney, lungs, stomach, intestines, skin, bones, muscles, cartilage, fat, endothelium and brain”. "Additionally, brand new studies have shown that DHEA, ILS-10 and -4, and melatonin possess potential regenerative properties, including stem cell activation". In the 1990s, Walter Pierpaoli initiated a series of extraordinary studies which demonstrated in laboratory animals the potential for dramatic regeneration in connection with changes in the pineal gland and bone marrow. These studies turned out to be not just the retardation of ageing, but also its reversal. Just as Pierpaoli sought to understand both antiageing regeneration and tumorur development, he focused on both pro- and anti-mitotic mechanisms. Recent research now suggests that there is a nonpathological “healthy” form of regeneration that is actually hostile to for the development of tumours and that melatonin may be important for this type of regeneration.

Since the 1980s, the relationship between the neuroendocrine system, the thymo-lymphatic system and the immune system has been investigated. In the meantime, it has been demonstrated that the pineal gland is an important adapter and an excellent synchroniser of the environmental variables and the endogenous signals of physiological changes our bodies basic functions. The pineal gland in particular seems to regulate via the circadian rhythm, the nocturnal secretion of melatonin, all the basic hormonal functions and the immune system.