Rhythmicity from the start👶

🪶 I am an antioxidant synthesized in darkness from tryptophan and serotonin. What am I?

Hi,

I have been wanting to share today's review for a long time. Read the paper here: Melatonin and stable circadian rhythms optimize maternal, placental and fetal physiology (2013).

Or, keep reading for my summary. This is a great introduction to the topic, which I wrote about in much more depth here.

What says darkness and fertility like the moon? Photo by Sebastian Voortman.

I learned a ton about melatonin from this review, such as how it:

• is a more powerful antioxidant than vitamin C and vitamin E

• protects ova and sperm from damage

• protects mothers from long-term damage from pregnancy-induced high blood pressure

• may protect babies from adverse outcomes including metabolic disorder, obesity, adhd and autism spectrum disorders

• is suppressed in mothers with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia

• and so much more

Circadian Rhythm and Melatonin

The circadian rhythm controls melatonin cycles. If you remember from Useful Jargon, endo/exo pathways are important to consider! In the body, melatonin naturally rise…