WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:03.120 - Welcome to this evening's Ask Your Herb Doctor. 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:04.440 My name's Andrew Murray. 00:00:04.440 --> 00:00:06.400 - My name's Sarah Johanna Sun Murray. 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:08.120 - For those of you who perhaps have never listened 00:00:08.120 --> 00:00:09.960 to the shows, they run every third Friday of the month 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:12.520 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. 00:00:12.520 --> 00:00:17.120 We have call-in from 7.30 until 8 o'clock. 00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:21.640 And once again, we have our very special guest speaker 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:23.800 who's full of information about current events 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:27.000 as well as historically accurate, important past events. 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:29.360 So that brings it into context for all of us. 00:00:29.360 --> 00:00:33.120 You're listening to KMUD Garville 91.1 FM 00:00:33.120 --> 00:00:36.360 and from 7.30 until the end of the show, 00:00:36.360 --> 00:00:38.560 like I said, we're asking callers, 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:41.200 call in with any questions either related or related 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:45.720 to this month's loose topic on stress, GABA systems, 00:00:45.720 --> 00:00:48.840 different herbs that combat stress in different ways, 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:51.840 mitochondrial support, and Dr. Peat will be bringing 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:55.400 his wisdom and his expertise in terms of mitochondrial 00:00:55.400 --> 00:00:59.720 activity and how that all plays in with the hormones 00:00:59.720 --> 00:01:04.280 and other substances like thyroid, progesterone, 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:06.760 pregnenolone, et cetera, that all support 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:10.040 the anti-inflammatory cascade, as it were, 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:12.160 that battles the inflammation that most people 00:01:12.160 --> 00:01:14.400 just constantly under attack with. 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:17.680 We are going through a pledge drive this evening, 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:20.840 so sorry for those people who perhaps waited, 00:01:20.840 --> 00:01:22.080 thinking it was starting at seven. 00:01:22.080 --> 00:01:23.960 It's just started just now. 00:01:23.960 --> 00:01:24.800 So it's all good. 00:01:24.800 --> 00:01:28.000 So without this radio show, this kind of program 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:29.160 would not be on the air. 00:01:29.160 --> 00:01:32.320 So those people that are listening, 00:01:32.320 --> 00:01:33.960 there is a pledge drive going on. 00:01:33.960 --> 00:01:38.760 It's basically a supported network of people, 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:41.840 volunteers, and donors that keep this radio station 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:45.400 independent and make just this kind of show possible 00:01:45.400 --> 00:01:49.000 because you're not gonna hear too much of what we say 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:51.200 and too much of what other people have to say 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:54.320 in their various programmings from regular broadcast. 00:01:54.320 --> 00:01:57.200 It's not controlled mainstream media, folks. 00:01:57.200 --> 00:01:58.280 It's the alternative. 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:02.480 So please support it wherever and however you can. 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:04.880 So like I said, this evening, Dr. Raymond Peat's joining us 00:02:04.880 --> 00:02:08.000 and hopefully he's with us on the VIP line. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:08.920 Are you there, Dr. Peat? 00:02:08.920 --> 00:02:09.760 - Yes, hi. 00:02:09.760 --> 00:02:11.560 - Thanks so much for joining us again 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:14.240 and sharing your wisdom and giving your time 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:15.080 as freely as you do. 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:15.920 I really appreciate it. 00:02:15.920 --> 00:02:16.760 Thank you. 00:02:16.760 --> 00:02:19.480 As usual, I think it's always very good 00:02:19.480 --> 00:02:22.200 to just outline your professional and academic background. 00:02:22.200 --> 00:02:24.300 So people who perhaps have never listened to the show, 00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:28.080 or heard you even before, can hear your background. 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:30.040 And I know when they hear you speak, 00:02:30.040 --> 00:02:31.320 they know you know what you're talking about. 00:02:31.320 --> 00:02:33.680 But if you can just say a little bit about your background 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:36.600 and your past, that'd be great to illuminate. 00:02:36.600 --> 00:02:41.600 - Okay, after 10 or 15 years of working in language 00:02:41.600 --> 00:02:46.320 and literature, I have shifted over to biology 00:02:46.320 --> 00:02:51.320 and especially aging and metabolism reproduction. 00:02:53.200 --> 00:02:56.980 Studying at the University of Oregon 1968 to '72 00:02:56.980 --> 00:02:58.660 for a biology PhD. 00:02:58.660 --> 00:03:03.180 - Okay, so I know we've heard a lot about you in the past 00:03:03.180 --> 00:03:07.180 in terms of thyroid, your specialty with thyroid hormone, 00:03:07.180 --> 00:03:11.020 physiology, explaining the mechanisms by which 00:03:11.020 --> 00:03:14.860 you have come to see thyroid activity within the body, 00:03:14.860 --> 00:03:17.420 as well as, like you mentioned, progesterone and pregnenolone 00:03:17.420 --> 00:03:21.620 and the aging that is one of your specialties. 00:03:21.620 --> 00:03:24.600 In terms of what we're gonna get into this evening 00:03:24.600 --> 00:03:29.600 with a loose connection to the topic of mitochondria 00:03:29.600 --> 00:03:34.500 and their job in the body, what they do, how they operate, 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:37.220 what things decrease their activity, 00:03:37.220 --> 00:03:40.900 and how they are slowly deactivated and the substances 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:43.180 that deactivate them over time with aging. 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:46.380 I think, can I just start with GABA. 00:03:46.380 --> 00:03:48.180 There's a compound called GABA, 00:03:48.180 --> 00:03:50.540 it's an inhibitory neurotransmitter. 00:03:50.540 --> 00:03:54.500 And I know there's some herbs that I'd like to link that to 00:03:54.500 --> 00:03:58.020 as we get on with this discussion about things 00:03:58.020 --> 00:03:59.940 that stimulate the nervous system, 00:03:59.940 --> 00:04:03.860 things that help it to relax, and what that relaxation is 00:04:03.860 --> 00:04:08.860 as opposed to the excitotoxic effect of stress. 00:04:08.860 --> 00:04:13.940 So in terms of GABA, what do you wanna say, Sarah? 00:04:13.940 --> 00:04:15.500 - Well, I just wanted to ask Dr. Peat 00:04:15.500 --> 00:04:18.240 if you can explain simply what the mitochondria is 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:20.100 in the cell and the power. 00:04:20.100 --> 00:04:23.180 I've been told it's the powerhouse of the cell. 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:25.740 And can you please explain that to our listeners 00:04:25.740 --> 00:04:28.300 in case people might not know what mitochondria is? 00:04:28.300 --> 00:04:33.020 - That's a good enough definition, I think, 00:04:33.020 --> 00:04:38.020 but there's a very stereotyped textbook-y definition of it 00:04:38.020 --> 00:04:42.460 that it consists of a certain kind of membrane 00:04:42.460 --> 00:04:48.940 and special enzymes and some DNA separate from the nucleus. 00:04:49.980 --> 00:04:53.860 And it handles various functions 00:04:53.860 --> 00:04:55.420 other than energy production, 00:04:55.420 --> 00:05:00.420 but steroid synthesis is one of its very important functions. 00:05:00.420 --> 00:05:06.340 It converts cholesterol to pregnenolone, progesterone, 00:05:06.340 --> 00:05:12.020 and those turn into all of the steroid hormones. 00:05:12.020 --> 00:05:13.900 - So is that why people, when they age, 00:05:13.900 --> 00:05:16.340 their cholesterol goes up because their mitochondria 00:05:16.340 --> 00:05:18.380 isn't as efficient in converting 00:05:18.380 --> 00:05:20.300 the cholesterol into those hormones? 00:05:20.300 --> 00:05:24.340 - Yeah, and thyroid is the main hormone 00:05:24.340 --> 00:05:28.140 that activates the oxidative metabolism 00:05:28.140 --> 00:05:31.300 of the mitochondrion. 00:05:31.300 --> 00:05:33.540 And so if your thyroid is low, 00:05:33.540 --> 00:05:39.340 the mitochondria don't pull in the cholesterol 00:05:39.340 --> 00:05:42.940 and turn it to pregnenolone. 00:05:42.940 --> 00:05:47.940 And the other cofactor working with thyroid 00:05:48.380 --> 00:05:50.660 happens to be vitamin A. 00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:54.580 And that protein in the blood carries thyroid 00:05:54.580 --> 00:05:57.860 and vitamin A on a single protein 00:05:57.860 --> 00:06:00.900 and delivers it to the mitochondria over there 00:06:00.900 --> 00:06:04.180 like a factory with a conveyor belt 00:06:04.180 --> 00:06:07.740 bringing in the raw materials and the catalysts. 00:06:07.740 --> 00:06:09.220 - And that's how they make the hormones 00:06:09.220 --> 00:06:10.900 because the cholesterol plus the vitamin A 00:06:10.900 --> 00:06:12.980 makes progesterone and- 00:06:12.980 --> 00:06:17.980 - Yeah, the vitamin A is involved in steroid formation 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:21.900 in not only the gonads and the adrenals, 00:06:21.900 --> 00:06:24.460 but also in the brain and the skin. 00:06:24.460 --> 00:06:30.900 The skin and the brain are major steroid endocrine glands. 00:06:30.900 --> 00:06:33.300 - So every cell in our body has a mitochondria 00:06:33.300 --> 00:06:36.860 and does its job in that particular part of the body. 00:06:36.860 --> 00:06:39.500 But if you don't have adequate thyroid, 00:06:39.500 --> 00:06:41.340 then you won't be getting adequate oxygen 00:06:41.340 --> 00:06:44.780 into that mitochondria and basic energy production 00:06:44.780 --> 00:06:48.620 of that cell and cellular function will be decreased. 00:06:48.620 --> 00:06:51.660 - Yeah, red blood cells don't have mitochondria. 00:06:51.660 --> 00:06:56.820 They depend on sugar for their energy, glucose. 00:06:56.820 --> 00:07:00.580 - Okay, just quickly getting onto, 00:07:00.580 --> 00:07:02.020 I just caught on what you said. 00:07:02.020 --> 00:07:04.180 I know in the past you've always mentioned it 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:07.700 and I think people who perhaps have heard you speak 00:07:07.700 --> 00:07:11.220 and have listened to you would begin to understand 00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:16.220 that the physiological explanations of membranes 00:07:16.220 --> 00:07:18.140 is pretty flawed. 00:07:18.140 --> 00:07:20.860 When I was studying- 00:07:20.860 --> 00:07:25.180 - That includes the textbook definition 00:07:25.180 --> 00:07:28.540 of what a mitochondrion is and how it works. 00:07:28.540 --> 00:07:30.220 They use a membrane 00:07:30.220 --> 00:07:33.820 and what they call the chemiosmotic hypothesis. 00:07:33.820 --> 00:07:34.660 - Okay. 00:07:34.660 --> 00:07:37.340 - And the membrane has to have certain 00:07:37.340 --> 00:07:40.620 kind of metaphysical, physical properties. 00:07:40.620 --> 00:07:45.540 And if you look at a real cell oxidizing, 00:07:45.540 --> 00:07:49.500 it turns out that the outer surface of the cell 00:07:49.500 --> 00:07:52.300 has mitochondrial-like properties. 00:07:52.300 --> 00:07:58.540 The same enzyme reactions using oxygen 00:07:58.540 --> 00:08:02.540 and consuming electrons happens right at the surface 00:08:02.540 --> 00:08:06.100 of the cell as well as in the mitochondrion. 00:08:06.100 --> 00:08:09.660 - So the whole supposition 00:08:09.660 --> 00:08:14.620 that the membrane is a cohesive barrier 00:08:14.620 --> 00:08:16.980 and it's not fluid, it's not dynamic, 00:08:16.980 --> 00:08:18.740 it's very much a skin, 00:08:18.740 --> 00:08:20.260 which is the way I always understood, 00:08:20.260 --> 00:08:23.140 was told to understand membranes. 00:08:23.140 --> 00:08:23.980 - And with channels. 00:08:23.980 --> 00:08:26.060 - And with channels and pumps and all the rest of it. 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:27.180 - And what about all the organelles? 00:08:27.180 --> 00:08:31.060 Is that completely bogus as well? 00:08:31.060 --> 00:08:35.900 - They are suspected to be artifacts of fixation largely, 00:08:35.900 --> 00:08:39.140 but things are differentiated. 00:08:39.140 --> 00:08:43.100 But when you kill them and take out the water 00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:45.220 and harden them and slice them, 00:08:45.220 --> 00:08:50.900 things don't look the way they did when they were alive. 00:08:50.900 --> 00:08:52.780 - So is there no way they can look at the cell 00:08:52.780 --> 00:08:53.820 while it's alive? 00:08:53.820 --> 00:08:55.580 - Yeah. 00:08:55.580 --> 00:09:02.860 People have done an atlas of the brain, for example, 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:06.860 slicing the brain and freezing it and making pictures 00:09:06.860 --> 00:09:09.860 and then doing the standard fixation 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:11.980 where you get a nice sharp image. 00:09:11.980 --> 00:09:17.340 Their size is tremendously different. 00:09:17.340 --> 00:09:22.060 The internal structure, of course, is different too. 00:09:22.060 --> 00:09:24.420 - Well, don't the fixatives change the structure 00:09:24.420 --> 00:09:25.780 as well though? 00:09:25.780 --> 00:09:27.340 - Yeah. 00:09:27.340 --> 00:09:31.300 Harold Hillman is probably the person most famous 00:09:31.300 --> 00:09:35.220 for challenging conventional biology, 00:09:35.220 --> 00:09:38.860 saying that everything is an artifact of fixation. 00:09:38.860 --> 00:09:40.740 - What about the live microscopy? 00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:46.580 - Yeah, where you use a fluorescent stain, for example. 00:09:46.580 --> 00:09:50.380 You can see very amazing things, 00:09:50.380 --> 00:09:54.260 things swirling around and doing things 00:09:54.260 --> 00:09:59.260 that are fairly parallel to the theoretical descriptions, 00:10:00.940 --> 00:10:05.940 but sometimes the structures seem to be 00:10:05.940 --> 00:10:10.420 more like a whirlwind than an organelle. 00:10:10.420 --> 00:10:18.460 In the 1940s, when radioactive isotopes became available, 00:10:18.460 --> 00:10:24.100 the whole idea of the barrier membrane was eliminated. 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:29.300 Gilbert Ling reviews the history of that, 00:10:29.300 --> 00:10:33.340 but there is no barrier to sodium, for example. 00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:35.940 It just slips in and out of the cell. 00:10:35.940 --> 00:10:38.860 - 'Cause I was always taught about the sodium potassium ATP 00:10:38.860 --> 00:10:42.300 eggs which needed a molecule of ATP to pump in 00:10:42.300 --> 00:10:46.980 and pump out a molecule of sodium and potassium in return. 00:10:46.980 --> 00:10:51.620 - Yeah, but if you take a hair which is perfectly dead 00:10:51.620 --> 00:10:56.620 and wash out the minerals and then dip it in blood serum 00:10:56.860 --> 00:11:01.780 or plasma, you get the same unequal distribution 00:11:01.780 --> 00:11:05.820 of the minerals, potassium inside and sodium outside. 00:11:05.820 --> 00:11:10.820 And it's exactly the same principle as a water softener 00:11:10.820 --> 00:11:14.260 where you charge it with sodium 00:11:14.260 --> 00:11:18.500 and then it removes calcium from the hard water. 00:11:18.500 --> 00:11:25.820 A man named Meiselt wrote a book on things including 00:11:26.660 --> 00:11:30.660 the physics of water softeners and he recognized 00:11:30.660 --> 00:11:38.380 Gilbert Ling's work in biology as the best explanation 00:11:38.380 --> 00:11:42.180 for how a water softener works. 00:11:42.180 --> 00:11:46.020 The physics was so good in describing cells 00:11:46.020 --> 00:11:49.820 that even physicists recognized that it worked 00:11:49.820 --> 00:11:53.420 for something as common as a water softener. 00:11:53.420 --> 00:11:58.420 But biologists just don't like that way of looking at cells. 00:11:58.420 --> 00:12:05.300 It tends to leave out a lot of their favorite beliefs 00:12:05.300 --> 00:12:07.240 about genes and so on. 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:10.860 - Is that where the word Meiselt was coined from? 00:12:10.860 --> 00:12:11.700 - No. 00:12:11.700 --> 00:12:12.540 - No, okay. 00:12:12.540 --> 00:12:13.620 - Just a funny coincidence. 00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:15.860 - All right, you're listening to Ask Your Obdoctor, 00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:18.580 K. E. Meadie Galbraith, 91.1 FM. 00:12:18.580 --> 00:12:21.340 From 7.30 to the end of the show, eight o'clock, 00:12:21.340 --> 00:12:23.780 you're invited to call in with questions related 00:12:23.780 --> 00:12:25.420 or unrelated to this month's topic 00:12:25.420 --> 00:12:28.100 of mitochondria, energy production, 00:12:28.100 --> 00:12:31.540 and we're gonna cover things like valerian and rhodiola, 00:12:31.540 --> 00:12:34.860 schizandra and ginseng as typical herbs 00:12:34.860 --> 00:12:36.460 that have plenty of scientific data 00:12:36.460 --> 00:12:39.700 and pharmacological data to support their effects 00:12:39.700 --> 00:12:42.500 in supporting mitochondria and in energy production 00:12:42.500 --> 00:12:45.820 and mediating the negative effects of stress. 00:12:45.820 --> 00:12:48.940 A number if you live in the area is 923-3911. 00:12:48.940 --> 00:12:49.860 If you're outside of the area, 00:12:49.860 --> 00:12:54.780 there's a toll-free number, which is 1-800-KMUD-RAD. 00:12:54.780 --> 00:12:58.620 Those people listening to us on the web, 00:12:58.620 --> 00:13:01.300 that toll-free number's a good number to call. 00:13:01.300 --> 00:13:03.180 If you have any questions, either related or unrelated, 00:13:03.180 --> 00:13:06.900 and Dr. Peat is joining us again this month. 00:13:06.900 --> 00:13:08.860 We are going through a pledge drive, folks. 00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:11.320 Those people who perhaps have just tuned in, 00:13:11.320 --> 00:13:13.620 K. E. Meadie Galbraith, 91.1, 00:13:13.620 --> 00:13:16.700 conducting one of our several pledge drives 00:13:16.700 --> 00:13:18.620 that go on through the year to raise finances 00:13:18.620 --> 00:13:20.700 to keep this great show on the air 00:13:20.700 --> 00:13:23.460 and to keep other shows on the air, not just this one. 00:13:23.460 --> 00:13:26.300 I didn't mean this great show, but great shows on the air. 00:13:26.300 --> 00:13:27.140 - This great station. 00:13:27.140 --> 00:13:29.700 - Yeah, this great station that actually brings out 00:13:29.700 --> 00:13:32.500 a lot of very alternative information to people 00:13:32.500 --> 00:13:34.220 that's not mainstream. 00:13:34.220 --> 00:13:36.180 You probably won't find this kind of stuff 00:13:36.180 --> 00:13:38.580 too many other places, so keep it alive 00:13:38.580 --> 00:13:41.380 because it's rapidly disappearing in this country. 00:13:41.380 --> 00:13:43.140 Okay, so Dr. Peat, you mentioned 00:13:43.140 --> 00:13:44.980 that there was a single protein 00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:47.340 which carries vitamin A and cholesterol. 00:13:48.340 --> 00:13:50.220 If you know the name of the protein, great, 00:13:50.220 --> 00:13:52.060 but otherwise, do you know if there's anything 00:13:52.060 --> 00:13:54.700 that would be supportive to that protein? 00:13:54.700 --> 00:13:59.060 That seems like a fairly key intermediary in that process. 00:13:59.060 --> 00:14:01.940 - It's the low-density lipoprotein 00:14:01.940 --> 00:14:06.940 that delivers cholesterol and then prealbumin 00:14:06.940 --> 00:14:10.900 or transthyretin, which transports the thyroid 00:14:10.900 --> 00:14:12.140 and vitamin A. 00:14:12.140 --> 00:14:15.780 - Which is why it'd be so dangerous to have a low LDL, 00:14:15.780 --> 00:14:19.300 which is what most doctors call the bad cholesterol. 00:14:19.300 --> 00:14:22.220 - It's a good one because it brings us stuff 00:14:22.220 --> 00:14:24.060 to make progesterone out of. 00:14:24.060 --> 00:14:27.420 - Okay, good, so people, did you get that? 00:14:27.420 --> 00:14:29.900 Once again, it's just another call to arms, as it were, 00:14:29.900 --> 00:14:32.340 that cholesterol is not the enemy. 00:14:32.340 --> 00:14:35.580 So the LDL cholesterol, which is always coined 00:14:35.580 --> 00:14:38.660 as the bad cholesterol, is actually the cholesterol 00:14:38.660 --> 00:14:41.580 that chaperones these very important molecules 00:14:41.580 --> 00:14:43.980 to enable things like steroid synthesis to occur. 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:46.980 So without cholesterol, you'd be in bad shape. 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:49.540 Another fact, I think, I just, I coined, 00:14:49.540 --> 00:14:51.740 I heard this coined not too long ago, 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:56.180 was that the brain's white matter is 95% cholesterol. 00:14:56.180 --> 00:14:57.380 So if cholesterol's not important, 00:14:57.380 --> 00:15:00.420 then why is the brain 95% cholesterol? 00:15:00.420 --> 00:15:03.540 - Well, that's why they did that study in older people 00:15:03.540 --> 00:15:06.580 who had low cholesterol were much more prone to dementia. 00:15:06.580 --> 00:15:09.260 - And Dr. Peat, just to let people know, again, 00:15:09.260 --> 00:15:11.940 you always advocate a cholesterol should be 00:15:11.940 --> 00:15:14.340 between 180 and 200, that's quite healthy, 00:15:14.340 --> 00:15:16.180 and also after 50 years of age, 00:15:16.180 --> 00:15:18.780 you should be slightly over 200. 00:15:18.780 --> 00:15:20.740 - Yeah, according to the Framingham study, 00:15:20.740 --> 00:15:25.740 people over 50 who weren't above 200 in their cholesterol 00:15:25.740 --> 00:15:29.380 were more likely to have dementia. 00:15:29.380 --> 00:15:31.380 - Yeah, okay. 00:15:31.380 --> 00:15:35.140 All right, so let's move on to some of those things 00:15:35.140 --> 00:15:38.460 that have been written about and recorded, 00:15:38.460 --> 00:15:40.980 and pharmacology's been provided, 00:15:40.980 --> 00:15:44.260 and scientific background's been explained 00:15:44.260 --> 00:15:46.260 for the action of, but I know that you probably have 00:15:46.260 --> 00:15:49.060 some other ways of tying in what perhaps we were taught 00:15:49.060 --> 00:15:50.900 when we were studying how these things worked. 00:15:50.900 --> 00:15:54.460 So perhaps filarium root is one of those herbs 00:15:54.460 --> 00:15:57.420 that a lot of people would have used, 00:15:57.420 --> 00:16:00.820 would have heard about, and have tried, 00:16:00.820 --> 00:16:03.860 and certainly would have gotten benefits 00:16:03.860 --> 00:16:08.420 for either insomnia or anxiety as a mild sedative. 00:16:08.420 --> 00:16:11.660 And I was always told that its main attribute 00:16:11.660 --> 00:16:16.180 was that it provided GABA and prevented the breakdown, 00:16:16.180 --> 00:16:18.540 so the valeranic acid was actually responsible 00:16:18.540 --> 00:16:21.220 for inhibiting the breakdown of GABA as well. 00:16:21.220 --> 00:16:25.340 What do you know about GABA as a neurotransmitter, 00:16:25.340 --> 00:16:28.020 and how do you feel about valerian's use 00:16:28.020 --> 00:16:30.860 being warranted, given what I've said? 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:35.860 - I think valerian also increases the activity 00:16:36.100 --> 00:16:39.700 of the enzyme that converts the excitatory glutamic acid 00:16:39.700 --> 00:16:44.700 into the inhibitory GABA, so it does just about everything 00:16:44.700 --> 00:16:49.740 needed to protect the brain, increasing GABA, 00:16:49.740 --> 00:16:51.100 and the effect of GABA. 00:16:51.100 --> 00:16:57.940 And GABA is, the system called the GABA receptor 00:16:57.940 --> 00:17:05.780 is probably the most complex bunch of proteins 00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:10.860 that has the name receptor. 00:17:10.860 --> 00:17:15.860 Many different things affect it in different ways. 00:17:15.860 --> 00:17:20.860 Valerian, or valium, the specific molecule, 00:17:20.860 --> 00:17:25.900 apparently binds to it in a way similar to GABA, 00:17:25.900 --> 00:17:32.540 and in a slightly different way than progesterone, 00:17:33.620 --> 00:17:38.620 pregnenolone, and probably the androgens of some types. 00:17:38.620 --> 00:17:45.260 And even carbon dioxide probably is involved 00:17:45.260 --> 00:17:50.620 in binding in some way near this so-called receptor, 00:17:50.620 --> 00:17:56.020 stabilizing a whole system of proteins 00:17:56.020 --> 00:18:00.820 to turn off the excitatory process in the cell. 00:18:01.780 --> 00:18:04.540 - Yeah, it's a very excitation. 00:18:04.540 --> 00:18:06.140 I think when people hear the word, 00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:10.140 we need to support its definition. 00:18:10.140 --> 00:18:13.820 Excitatory is a very wasteful situation 00:18:13.820 --> 00:18:15.580 or state to be in, isn't it? 00:18:15.580 --> 00:18:18.020 When in terms of the cell being excited, 00:18:18.020 --> 00:18:20.940 I think for very short-term activity, that's not a problem, 00:18:20.940 --> 00:18:23.980 but the excitation in general when it's longer term 00:18:23.980 --> 00:18:26.780 is actually very detrimental to the cell. 00:18:26.780 --> 00:18:28.900 - Yeah, that's what causes brain fatigue 00:18:28.900 --> 00:18:31.980 if you stay awake too long. 00:18:31.980 --> 00:18:35.540 And if you don't have a good supply of glucose 00:18:35.540 --> 00:18:38.140 producing carbon dioxide, for example, 00:18:38.140 --> 00:18:43.260 you more quickly get into the fatigued state. 00:18:43.260 --> 00:18:49.700 Glucose, one of its functions is actually 00:18:49.700 --> 00:18:54.700 to substantially contribute to the formation of GABA, 00:18:56.700 --> 00:19:01.580 the part of glucose molecule is involved in the synthesis, 00:19:01.580 --> 00:19:06.180 but also the carbon dioxide stabilizes it. 00:19:06.180 --> 00:19:10.780 And when the glutamic acid is converted into GABA, 00:19:10.780 --> 00:19:13.100 it also releases carbon dioxide 00:19:13.100 --> 00:19:16.060 that helps with the inhibitory process. 00:19:16.060 --> 00:19:20.740 So oxidative metabolism in the brain 00:19:20.740 --> 00:19:25.380 is doing many things, producing GABA 00:19:25.380 --> 00:19:30.380 and progesterone, pregnenolone, carbon dioxide, 00:19:30.380 --> 00:19:34.820 and keeping down the excitatory things, 00:19:34.820 --> 00:19:37.500 lactic acid, nitric oxide, 00:19:37.500 --> 00:19:41.420 glucamic acid, pneumonia, for example. 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:45.060 - Well, it's estimated that 10% of people 00:19:45.060 --> 00:19:48.540 respond to valerian in the opposite way 00:19:48.540 --> 00:19:49.740 that you would want them to, 00:19:49.740 --> 00:19:52.700 and they actually get excited from taking valerian, 00:19:52.700 --> 00:19:55.420 almost like cats do when they get around it. 00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:58.980 Can you possibly explain why that might be happening? 00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:02.540 - No, not at all. 00:20:02.540 --> 00:20:04.900 - Yeah, 'cause there are some people 00:20:04.900 --> 00:20:07.180 that definitely give feedback of, 00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:09.820 oh, it woke me up, it didn't help me sleep and relax, 00:20:09.820 --> 00:20:11.100 actually it had the opposite effect. 00:20:11.100 --> 00:20:14.220 - Yeah, it stimulated me, it made me feel jittery. 00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:17.620 - Anyway, it's not a big deal. 00:20:17.620 --> 00:20:20.660 Okay, so I wanted also to bring out 00:20:20.660 --> 00:20:24.100 that St. John's wort is another herb 00:20:24.100 --> 00:20:27.860 that's posited to be a reuptake inhibitor of GABA, 00:20:27.860 --> 00:20:31.420 and that compound was shown to be hyperforin, 00:20:31.420 --> 00:20:36.420 which was one of the actives that are sometimes standardized 00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:40.100 in terms of making a standardized extract of St. John's. 00:20:40.100 --> 00:20:42.740 And then I also found some evidence here 00:20:42.740 --> 00:20:45.820 to show that lemon balm was shown to be 00:20:45.820 --> 00:20:48.460 a GABA transaminase inhibitor, 00:20:48.460 --> 00:20:51.460 so that is it blocks the enzyme GABA transaminase, 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:53.660 which converts GABA to a compound 00:20:53.660 --> 00:20:57.800 called succinic semialdehyde and glutamate. 00:20:57.800 --> 00:21:00.540 So all of these reactions are reversible 00:21:00.540 --> 00:21:03.180 for very obvious reasons, 00:21:03.180 --> 00:21:07.380 and the body obviously has a very fine tune 00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:10.300 in order to keep this whole homeostasis running properly 00:21:10.300 --> 00:21:15.300 and preventing over-excitation and over-restfulness, 00:21:15.460 --> 00:21:18.300 somnambulance almost in some ways. 00:21:18.300 --> 00:21:23.300 I did read the article on mitochondrial disease. 00:21:23.300 --> 00:21:27.100 There's a known syndrome of it, 00:21:27.100 --> 00:21:30.620 and one of its main downsides, 00:21:30.620 --> 00:21:32.780 obviously it's a complete downside having a syndrome, 00:21:32.780 --> 00:21:34.260 but one of the main downsides 00:21:34.260 --> 00:21:37.980 is the kind of somnambulance that you get with it 00:21:37.980 --> 00:21:40.580 where people just either getting seizures 00:21:40.580 --> 00:21:44.420 and just being completely unable to perform. 00:21:44.420 --> 00:21:46.740 - In terms of keeping that balance 00:21:46.740 --> 00:21:51.660 between the GABA-ergic side of keeping things stable 00:21:51.660 --> 00:21:55.660 and calm, are we even to think of that 00:21:55.660 --> 00:21:58.860 as being the optimum state 00:21:58.860 --> 00:22:00.540 and that actually it's like thyroid 00:22:00.540 --> 00:22:03.500 where thyroid itself is not at all a stimulant, 00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:05.300 it actually helps you relax, 00:22:05.300 --> 00:22:09.340 helps the cell repolarize and re-energize 00:22:09.340 --> 00:22:11.260 its resting potential? 00:22:13.060 --> 00:22:16.220 - I call that the high-energy resting state 00:22:16.220 --> 00:22:20.140 in which the cells all through the body, 00:22:20.140 --> 00:22:21.660 especially in the brain, 00:22:21.660 --> 00:22:26.180 have so much energy that they're ready to do anything. 00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:29.540 But when you get very fatigued, 00:22:29.540 --> 00:22:33.620 they lack the energy needed 00:22:33.620 --> 00:22:37.340 to replenish that work-ready condition, 00:22:37.340 --> 00:22:42.340 and so they are in sort of a hypersensitive state. 00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:46.180 A agitated condition. 00:22:46.180 --> 00:22:51.180 Their voltage, so-called resting voltage, 00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:55.100 goes very low and they stay in a more or less 00:22:55.100 --> 00:23:00.100 constantly excited but unable to work condition. 00:23:00.100 --> 00:23:05.300 And magnesium is one of the things 00:23:05.300 --> 00:23:08.900 that helps to restore the relaxed state. 00:23:08.900 --> 00:23:13.460 Thyroid helps you to retain magnesium. 00:23:13.460 --> 00:23:18.460 Magnesium stabilizes the high-energy ATP molecule, 00:23:18.460 --> 00:23:24.180 and without thyroid you can't make that very quickly. 00:23:24.180 --> 00:23:28.900 And so if you have adequate thyroid-producing 00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:32.460 oxidative energy and producing ATP, 00:23:32.460 --> 00:23:36.180 that causes the cell to retain magnesium, 00:23:36.180 --> 00:23:39.780 and that complex of things holds the cell 00:23:39.780 --> 00:23:44.780 in a ready-to-work state with lots of reserve energy. 00:23:44.780 --> 00:23:50.460 Simply a magnesium deficiency will cause seizures, 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:54.900 insomnia, inflammation, 00:23:54.900 --> 00:23:57.900 everything that a lack of energy leads to. 00:23:57.900 --> 00:24:03.540 - So do you think then it's very important to, 00:24:03.540 --> 00:24:05.060 and I'm saying this because I understand 00:24:05.060 --> 00:24:07.700 that this is the way, but just for our listeners, 00:24:07.700 --> 00:24:12.060 to have small amounts of sugars, foods regularly 00:24:12.060 --> 00:24:17.060 so that your body's energy supply is constantly stocked 00:24:17.060 --> 00:24:22.060 rather than going four, six hours or more without food 00:24:22.060 --> 00:24:24.780 and then having a loaded meal 00:24:24.780 --> 00:24:30.540 in terms of keeping mitochondria as happy as possible 00:24:30.540 --> 00:24:32.300 rather than allowing them to get depleted 00:24:32.300 --> 00:24:35.420 to a point where they're no longer really able 00:24:35.420 --> 00:24:38.700 to bounce back or for you to be able 00:24:38.700 --> 00:24:41.060 to pick up again relatively quickly? 00:24:41.060 --> 00:24:43.060 - And the B vitamins are essential 00:24:43.060 --> 00:24:47.460 for using oxygen efficiently in the mitochondria. 00:24:47.460 --> 00:24:51.020 - Okay. - Vitamin B1, biotin B2. 00:24:51.020 --> 00:24:54.060 - Okay, all right. 00:24:54.060 --> 00:24:55.300 So what about melatonin? 00:24:55.300 --> 00:24:57.740 Let's move on to melatonin as a substance 00:24:57.740 --> 00:25:00.020 that I've read quite a few articles, 00:25:00.020 --> 00:25:01.860 some of which have been very disturbing, 00:25:01.860 --> 00:25:04.780 I must admit, and we'll get into that in a little bit, 00:25:04.780 --> 00:25:07.820 but I know most of the advertising for melatonin 00:25:07.820 --> 00:25:11.660 is very pro-sleeping, pro-relaxing. 00:25:11.660 --> 00:25:13.900 They don't say anything dangerous about it. 00:25:13.900 --> 00:25:16.300 It's naturally produced. 00:25:16.300 --> 00:25:21.300 It is found in different products from foods, 00:25:21.300 --> 00:25:24.180 liquids and foodstuffs. 00:25:24.180 --> 00:25:27.580 So it's a fairly ubiquitous chemical. 00:25:27.580 --> 00:25:31.840 It obviously has a very specific function. 00:25:31.840 --> 00:25:34.420 It really does work physiologically and it's very important, 00:25:34.420 --> 00:25:38.140 but what's your impression of melatonin 00:25:38.140 --> 00:25:40.460 in terms of its use and whether or not 00:25:40.460 --> 00:25:44.140 you feel comfortable around it? 00:25:44.140 --> 00:25:47.700 - Well, I think the good side of it 00:25:47.700 --> 00:25:51.260 is that in the fatigued state of the brain, 00:25:51.260 --> 00:25:55.100 the excitatory de-energized condition, 00:25:55.100 --> 00:25:58.780 nitric oxide rises and starts a vicious circle 00:25:58.780 --> 00:26:02.220 in which it activates acetylcholine, 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:05.820 which activates nitric oxide synthesis 00:26:05.820 --> 00:26:09.140 and it rises and can keep you awake. 00:26:09.140 --> 00:26:14.140 And melatonin is effective at turning off that cycle. 00:26:14.140 --> 00:26:18.700 So when your brain is in a bad, fatigued state, 00:26:18.700 --> 00:26:22.780 melatonin can protect it by getting down 00:26:22.780 --> 00:26:25.820 the nitric oxide and excitation. 00:26:25.820 --> 00:26:27.660 - But wouldn't that be like in a small dose 00:26:27.660 --> 00:26:30.740 or is it different for every patient? 00:26:30.740 --> 00:26:35.740 - Yeah, one publication refers to the physiological dose, 00:26:35.740 --> 00:26:41.900 which would be equivalent in an average sized adult 00:26:41.900 --> 00:26:46.860 to five micrograms per body. 00:26:46.860 --> 00:26:53.780 An ultra small amount would replenish your whole body. 00:26:54.060 --> 00:26:59.060 Others have measured it as up to maybe two or three 00:26:59.060 --> 00:27:01.700 milligrams in the whole body 00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:04.580 as a physiological concentration. 00:27:04.580 --> 00:27:08.740 So when a person takes 10 milligrams for sure, 00:27:08.740 --> 00:27:09.940 it will put them to sleep, 00:27:09.940 --> 00:27:12.780 but it probably is doing lots of other things. 00:27:12.780 --> 00:27:16.340 And in the antioxidant experiments 00:27:16.340 --> 00:27:19.940 or the radiation protection experiments, 00:27:19.940 --> 00:27:22.460 they've used something like a thousand 00:27:22.460 --> 00:27:26.060 or maybe a million times the concentration 00:27:26.060 --> 00:27:29.780 that exists physiologically. 00:27:29.780 --> 00:27:32.500 So it can do amazing things 00:27:32.500 --> 00:27:35.300 like protect you against gamma rays. 00:27:35.300 --> 00:27:39.660 But if you do that more than during 00:27:39.660 --> 00:27:42.380 or shortly after the exposure, 00:27:42.380 --> 00:27:47.140 the outcome might have unexpected consequences. 00:27:47.140 --> 00:27:50.620 It was only in the later 1990s 00:27:50.620 --> 00:27:55.620 when the material became very cheap and widely sold 00:27:55.620 --> 00:28:01.060 that all of this amazing stuff about being 00:28:01.060 --> 00:28:06.060 a little anti-cancer, anti-stress, anti-inflammatory, 00:28:06.060 --> 00:28:08.780 issue protecting against everything, 00:28:08.780 --> 00:28:12.500 all of these studies came out by the thousands. 00:28:12.500 --> 00:28:16.100 But when I was in graduate school, 00:28:17.540 --> 00:28:20.660 it wasn't even certain that melatonin 00:28:20.660 --> 00:28:25.140 was the main pineal hormone. 00:28:25.140 --> 00:28:30.140 And what was known was that the pineal extract 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:34.580 had very specific effects 00:28:34.580 --> 00:28:38.740 that imitated nighttime and winter. 00:28:38.740 --> 00:28:43.660 And in the winter, all animals from fish, 00:28:43.660 --> 00:28:48.660 turtles, lizards, rats, sheep, and so on, 00:28:48.660 --> 00:28:54.060 everyone's reproductive system 00:28:54.060 --> 00:28:56.780 shrinks away during the winter. 00:28:56.780 --> 00:29:01.780 Some species can manage to reproduce in the winter, 00:29:01.780 --> 00:29:04.260 but in general, it's a principle 00:29:04.260 --> 00:29:07.060 that not only the gonads regress, 00:29:07.060 --> 00:29:10.500 but the thymus gland regresses 00:29:10.500 --> 00:29:13.780 in all of these different types of animals. 00:29:13.780 --> 00:29:18.780 And the thymus atroviar involution during the winter 00:29:18.780 --> 00:29:24.020 strongly affects the way the immune system works. 00:29:24.020 --> 00:29:27.980 And that's part of why people are more susceptible 00:29:27.980 --> 00:29:29.860 to infections during the winter. 00:29:29.860 --> 00:29:35.860 And this involution of both the reproductive glands 00:29:37.340 --> 00:29:40.620 and the immune thymus gland, 00:29:40.620 --> 00:29:46.540 this has lots of behavioral consequences. 00:29:46.540 --> 00:29:51.540 Everyone knows about the seasonal affective disorder 00:29:51.540 --> 00:29:55.900 or winter sickness in which depression 00:29:55.900 --> 00:29:58.740 and weight gain become so common 00:29:58.740 --> 00:30:01.380 during the winter, long nights. 00:30:01.380 --> 00:30:05.740 And melatonin is the main thing 00:30:05.740 --> 00:30:10.740 that causes involution of the thymus gland and gonads. 00:30:10.740 --> 00:30:13.780 The original studies were done 00:30:13.780 --> 00:30:16.820 with extracts of the pineal gland, 00:30:16.820 --> 00:30:21.780 but you get effectively the same thing just with melatonin. 00:30:21.780 --> 00:30:25.020 - So what about different parts of the world? 00:30:25.020 --> 00:30:27.700 You know, like if someone was in Hawaii. 00:30:27.700 --> 00:30:32.700 - Yep, the seasonal changes don't exist near the equator. 00:30:32.700 --> 00:30:34.300 - So their thymus and... 00:30:35.260 --> 00:30:37.740 - Yeah, you don't have the winter sickness 00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:40.340 or winter immune disturbance. 00:30:40.340 --> 00:30:42.940 - Okay, you're listening to Ask Your Obloxer, 00:30:42.940 --> 00:30:45.540 KMUD Galbraith 91.1 FM. 00:30:45.540 --> 00:30:46.820 From now to later clock, 00:30:46.820 --> 00:30:48.620 callers are invited to call in questions 00:30:48.620 --> 00:30:51.260 either related to what we've been talking about so far 00:30:51.260 --> 00:30:54.020 from GABA to melatonin, 00:30:54.020 --> 00:30:57.260 to the various mitochondrial issues. 00:30:57.260 --> 00:31:00.900 Number here is 391, sorry, 923-3911, 00:31:00.900 --> 00:31:03.780 or 1-800-KMUD-RAD. 00:31:03.780 --> 00:31:07.540 That's 1-800-568-3723. 00:31:07.540 --> 00:31:10.700 Okay, Dr. Peat, I had some articles 00:31:10.700 --> 00:31:12.180 that I was reading this afternoon 00:31:12.180 --> 00:31:14.380 whilst putting this together 00:31:14.380 --> 00:31:16.340 to see if this was gonna be something 00:31:16.340 --> 00:31:17.420 that we were gonna be supporting 00:31:17.420 --> 00:31:20.660 or helping people discourage the use of, 00:31:20.660 --> 00:31:23.460 'cause I know melatonin's use along with serotonin 00:31:23.460 --> 00:31:27.660 is very popular, but not always a good thing. 00:31:27.660 --> 00:31:29.980 I did read the papers, 00:31:29.980 --> 00:31:32.940 and again, there was conflicting information on PubMed. 00:31:33.860 --> 00:31:36.020 Some of the information was saying, for example, 00:31:36.020 --> 00:31:39.820 that melatonin suppresses tumor aerobic metabolism, 00:31:39.820 --> 00:31:42.180 which is the kind of Warburg effect 00:31:42.180 --> 00:31:43.940 that Otto Warburg described. 00:31:43.940 --> 00:31:46.300 And some of them said that melatonin 00:31:46.300 --> 00:31:48.580 was actually pro-cancerous. 00:31:48.580 --> 00:31:52.020 How do you see that? 00:31:52.020 --> 00:31:55.220 - Some of that varies with the variety of mouse 00:31:55.220 --> 00:31:56.900 that they're using, for example. 00:31:56.900 --> 00:32:02.220 In some studies, they've implanted an extra pineal gland 00:32:02.220 --> 00:32:04.820 or used melatonin. 00:32:04.820 --> 00:32:07.820 Sometimes it decreases tumors. 00:32:07.820 --> 00:32:09.540 Sometimes it increases them. 00:32:09.540 --> 00:32:17.260 The effect on the immune system partly depends on the dose. 00:32:17.260 --> 00:32:24.180 And when you're using a thousand-fold variation in doses, 00:32:24.180 --> 00:32:27.820 that's the first thing you have to think of. 00:32:27.820 --> 00:32:32.140 What's actually happening physiologically 00:32:32.140 --> 00:32:33.860 in the normal range? 00:32:33.860 --> 00:32:39.620 A lot of studies are getting anti-inflammatory 00:32:39.620 --> 00:32:42.300 and antioxidant effects, 00:32:42.300 --> 00:32:45.980 but at least two groups, 00:32:45.980 --> 00:32:48.460 one in China and one in Denver, 00:32:48.460 --> 00:32:53.460 are seeing very clear pro-inflammatory effects 00:32:53.460 --> 00:32:57.940 from physiological amounts of melatonin. 00:32:57.940 --> 00:32:58.780 - There you go. 00:32:58.780 --> 00:32:59.620 Okay, so-- 00:32:59.620 --> 00:33:01.620 - It doesn't seem like you'd want to be taking 00:33:01.620 --> 00:33:05.580 something that triggers the wintertime response. 00:33:05.580 --> 00:33:09.740 - That's what I've always thought. 00:33:09.740 --> 00:33:11.500 In our hamster lab, 00:33:11.500 --> 00:33:17.140 we noticed that even though the lab was supposedly 00:33:17.140 --> 00:33:19.460 well-insulated and temperature-controlled 00:33:19.460 --> 00:33:23.380 and had a 12-hour light and dark cycle, 00:33:23.380 --> 00:33:25.580 the hamsters during the winter 00:33:25.580 --> 00:33:29.460 had essentially no thymus gland. 00:33:30.860 --> 00:33:33.860 That was one of the things that started me thinking 00:33:33.860 --> 00:33:35.740 about the potential risk of 00:33:35.740 --> 00:33:42.660 changing your whole endocrine system 00:33:42.660 --> 00:33:46.100 by supplementing something like that. 00:33:46.100 --> 00:33:47.900 - Okay, we have a caller on the air, 00:33:47.900 --> 00:33:49.900 so let's take this first caller here. 00:33:49.900 --> 00:33:50.940 See, caller, where are you from? 00:33:50.940 --> 00:33:51.820 You're on the air? 00:33:51.820 --> 00:33:55.180 You're on the air? 00:33:55.180 --> 00:33:59.300 I think your engine is waving around. 00:33:59.300 --> 00:34:00.820 I'm not too sure what's going on. 00:34:01.100 --> 00:34:03.900 We have a caller on the air, though, but go ahead. 00:34:03.900 --> 00:34:06.940 Yeah, I think-- 00:34:06.940 --> 00:34:08.220 - Caller, you're on. 00:34:08.220 --> 00:34:09.340 You can speak up. 00:34:09.340 --> 00:34:18.180 - Okay, so someone needs to find out how to get that going 00:34:18.180 --> 00:34:19.060 'cause we do have a caller, 00:34:19.060 --> 00:34:21.500 but they're not coming through at the moment, so. 00:34:21.500 --> 00:34:27.620 Okay, well, until we get this caller back, 00:34:27.620 --> 00:34:29.980 let's just ask you about the, 00:34:29.980 --> 00:34:31.900 I think you did mention this early on, 00:34:31.900 --> 00:34:33.980 but just to reiterate, 00:34:33.980 --> 00:34:37.060 again, I had read some information about melatonin 00:34:37.060 --> 00:34:41.100 potentially helping in radiation oncology treatments 00:34:41.100 --> 00:34:43.820 where people get radiotherapy. 00:34:43.820 --> 00:34:47.860 What do you think about that in terms of 00:34:47.860 --> 00:34:50.300 its negative effects that we've heard about? 00:34:50.300 --> 00:34:52.500 Actually, let's hold it there before we go any further. 00:34:52.500 --> 00:34:54.220 Let's take this caller whilst they're on the air. 00:34:54.220 --> 00:34:56.180 Let's take 'em, where are you from, caller? 00:34:58.420 --> 00:35:00.100 Okay, we're getting messed around here. 00:35:00.100 --> 00:35:01.660 Might be something to do with the pledge drive 00:35:01.660 --> 00:35:04.060 and all the calls coming in to pour money 00:35:04.060 --> 00:35:07.540 into the studio to keep us going. 00:35:07.540 --> 00:35:09.380 Okay, so Dr. Peat, what do you think about 00:35:09.380 --> 00:35:13.740 the use of melatonin in radiotherapy, perhaps? 00:35:13.740 --> 00:35:19.820 - If you're bound to have the radiation, 00:35:19.820 --> 00:35:24.820 I think that the very large doses of melatonin 00:35:25.180 --> 00:35:30.180 are probably very protective against that damaging effect. 00:35:30.180 --> 00:35:35.460 The trouble with using it for treating tumors 00:35:35.460 --> 00:35:40.460 is that you can kill off all of the actual bulk cells 00:35:40.460 --> 00:35:44.140 of the tumor, which are really defective 00:35:44.140 --> 00:35:49.140 and weak cancer cells that are in the normal tumor. 00:35:49.140 --> 00:35:53.060 They're being replaced very quickly. 00:35:53.060 --> 00:35:55.060 And when you kill them off, 00:35:55.060 --> 00:36:00.060 you irritate the region where the tumor was 00:36:00.060 --> 00:36:03.700 and stimulate that region's ability 00:36:03.700 --> 00:36:07.180 to recruit new repair cells. 00:36:07.180 --> 00:36:12.180 And those cells zoom into the irradiated area 00:36:12.180 --> 00:36:15.260 and recreate the tumor, 00:36:15.260 --> 00:36:18.820 because you haven't cured the organism's problem. 00:36:18.820 --> 00:36:20.540 - Because it is a very, 00:36:20.540 --> 00:36:22.380 and I'll just say the last word on melatonin. 00:36:22.380 --> 00:36:25.820 The only reason I was asking for its use in radiotherapy 00:36:25.820 --> 00:36:28.620 was that it's potently antioxidant. 00:36:28.620 --> 00:36:31.940 And like you said, potentially for what it is 00:36:31.940 --> 00:36:33.260 and what it's capable of structurally, 00:36:33.260 --> 00:36:36.780 it's very good at mopping up free radical damage 00:36:36.780 --> 00:36:38.660 causing compounds. 00:36:38.660 --> 00:36:40.580 So I think that was some of the reason 00:36:40.580 --> 00:36:44.380 for the research that was done on it. 00:36:44.380 --> 00:36:45.580 Okay, well, let's move on to, 00:36:45.580 --> 00:36:47.420 I've got a few other things I wanted to ask you about. 00:36:47.420 --> 00:36:52.020 And I know you know, as usual, you know plenty about it. 00:36:52.020 --> 00:36:53.580 I didn't even know that you had looked at it, 00:36:53.580 --> 00:36:56.500 but I know I'd spoken to you a while back here 00:36:56.500 --> 00:36:59.540 and you'd mentioned what you had known. 00:36:59.540 --> 00:37:03.900 So Rhodiola rosea is a crassula, 00:37:03.900 --> 00:37:07.500 so that kind of a fleshy, 00:37:07.500 --> 00:37:12.100 thick, fleshy-leaved succulent type of plant. 00:37:12.100 --> 00:37:13.980 I didn't realize that it's actually been used 00:37:13.980 --> 00:37:17.020 for about 3,500 years. 00:37:17.020 --> 00:37:21.660 It was first mentioned 13th century BC 00:37:21.660 --> 00:37:23.820 and in the Greek Bronze Age. 00:37:23.820 --> 00:37:25.820 And then there was documentation, 00:37:25.820 --> 00:37:28.220 plenty of documentation about the Vikings 00:37:28.220 --> 00:37:30.660 using it to enhance physical strength and endurance. 00:37:30.660 --> 00:37:33.900 And then obviously lots of Chinese data 00:37:33.900 --> 00:37:36.820 about the emperor sending expeditions to Siberia 00:37:36.820 --> 00:37:38.780 to bring back this golden root, 00:37:38.780 --> 00:37:42.780 which is its common name for medical preparations. 00:37:42.780 --> 00:37:46.220 And then I know we talked about adaptogens in the past, 00:37:46.220 --> 00:37:50.060 but this is another one of those kind of golden adaptogens 00:37:50.060 --> 00:37:52.460 that was discovered in '47, 00:37:52.460 --> 00:37:57.100 the term adaptogen by the Russian scientist Nikolai Lazarev, 00:37:57.100 --> 00:37:58.540 who coined that fact. 00:37:58.540 --> 00:38:03.540 And then Dr. Lazarev was also a mentor of Dr. Breckman, 00:38:03.540 --> 00:38:08.100 who conducted extensive research on adaptogenic herbs. 00:38:08.100 --> 00:38:12.940 So Rhodiola rosea, in terms of it being an adaptogen, 00:38:12.940 --> 00:38:17.500 being a physical enhancement, 00:38:17.500 --> 00:38:21.220 a cognitive enhancer, anti-cancer. 00:38:21.220 --> 00:38:24.220 Do you know much about Rhodiola 00:38:24.220 --> 00:38:27.220 and perhaps how you'd see that being supportive 00:38:27.220 --> 00:38:32.220 in terms of mitochondrial protection or anti-stress? 00:38:32.220 --> 00:38:36.900 - Yeah, I happen to be studying 00:38:36.900 --> 00:38:40.740 the progesterone family of steroids 00:38:40.740 --> 00:38:43.980 around the same time I was running into ginseng 00:38:43.980 --> 00:38:46.180 and Rhodiola research. 00:38:46.180 --> 00:38:51.180 And Hans Selye had the concept of catotoxic steroids, 00:38:51.180 --> 00:38:55.780 he called them. 00:38:55.780 --> 00:38:56.620 - Catotoxic? 00:38:56.620 --> 00:39:01.620 - Catotoxic, they destroyed the toxin effect. 00:39:01.620 --> 00:39:05.740 And it isn't exactly the same as detoxifying, 00:39:05.740 --> 00:39:07.980 but they protect the organism 00:39:07.980 --> 00:39:12.300 by blocking the effect of a toxin. 00:39:12.300 --> 00:39:17.300 And I think that's one of the effects of the adaptogens. 00:39:17.300 --> 00:39:22.900 They have some steroids that are analogous 00:39:22.900 --> 00:39:25.740 to progesterone and testosterone 00:39:25.740 --> 00:39:30.740 in that catotoxic or stress-blocking effect. 00:39:30.740 --> 00:39:36.860 And a Russian heart researcher, Felix Meerson, 00:39:38.700 --> 00:39:43.700 was continuing Hans Selye's concept of stress 00:39:43.700 --> 00:39:46.820 and adapting to stress 00:39:46.820 --> 00:39:50.540 and applying it on the mitochondrial level, 00:39:50.540 --> 00:39:55.540 which Hans Selye never really focused very much on. 00:39:55.540 --> 00:40:00.660 But Meerson's idea was that we have many layers 00:40:00.660 --> 00:40:07.520 of stress-limiting signals and hormones and processes 00:40:08.520 --> 00:40:13.520 and it happens that the steroids 00:40:13.520 --> 00:40:19.880 are one major stress-limiting system 00:40:19.880 --> 00:40:26.520 where cortisol and serotonin and nitric oxide and estrogen 00:40:26.520 --> 00:40:30.680 activate the short-term stress reactions 00:40:30.680 --> 00:40:35.680 that can stimulate brief defense. 00:40:35.800 --> 00:40:39.180 If those continue, they destroy the organism. 00:40:39.180 --> 00:40:42.240 So you need a stress-ending process. 00:40:42.240 --> 00:40:46.040 And that's where the progesterone, 00:40:46.040 --> 00:40:48.840 testosterone, pregnenolone come in 00:40:48.840 --> 00:40:53.120 and things that turn off the nitric oxide 00:40:53.120 --> 00:40:55.960 and serotonin and estrogen. 00:40:55.960 --> 00:40:59.160 And it happens that these plants 00:40:59.160 --> 00:41:04.160 not only have the steroid level of stress-limiting factors, 00:41:05.280 --> 00:41:09.360 but many other types of substances, 00:41:09.360 --> 00:41:14.360 the polyphenols and flavonoids, for example, 00:41:14.360 --> 00:41:17.840 specifically turn off nitric oxide production 00:41:17.840 --> 00:41:22.840 and limit the excitatory serotonin pathway, for example, 00:41:22.840 --> 00:41:26.380 which turns on cortisol. 00:41:26.380 --> 00:41:28.680 - I want to ask you about that 00:41:28.680 --> 00:41:30.740 in relation to red compounds too, 00:41:30.740 --> 00:41:32.920 but we do have a caller on the air. 00:41:32.920 --> 00:41:33.760 - Let's try again. 00:41:33.760 --> 00:41:36.680 Caller, you're on the airwave, on third time lucky. 00:41:36.680 --> 00:41:37.960 - San Francisco, California. 00:41:37.960 --> 00:41:39.160 - San Francisco, California. 00:41:39.160 --> 00:41:40.000 Welcome to the show. 00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:42.600 What's your question for Dr. Peat? 00:41:42.600 --> 00:41:43.440 - Hi, Dr. Peat. 00:41:43.440 --> 00:41:45.600 I wanted to know what causes tooth decay 00:41:45.600 --> 00:41:47.040 and how do you reverse it? 00:41:47.040 --> 00:41:49.520 - What causes what? 00:41:49.520 --> 00:41:50.360 - Tooth decay. 00:41:50.360 --> 00:41:51.200 - Tooth decay. 00:41:51.200 --> 00:41:55.360 - Oh, I think it's stress-related. 00:41:55.360 --> 00:41:58.360 There is one type of cavity 00:41:59.520 --> 00:42:03.400 that starts with a dark area, 00:42:03.400 --> 00:42:08.400 or just, I think the stress one starts with a white area 00:42:08.400 --> 00:42:11.080 rather than the usual dark area, 00:42:11.080 --> 00:42:13.600 and it comes on very fast 00:42:13.600 --> 00:42:18.600 with the mobilization of calcium 00:42:18.600 --> 00:42:24.280 from the dentine under the influence of stress. 00:42:24.280 --> 00:42:27.160 Another kind is related to stress 00:42:27.160 --> 00:42:29.760 starting from the outside 00:42:29.760 --> 00:42:34.680 with the mobilization of calcium 00:42:34.680 --> 00:42:36.960 because of imbalances 00:42:36.960 --> 00:42:41.240 and pro-inflammatory factors in the saliva. 00:42:41.240 --> 00:42:47.320 So the basic thing is to keep your energy up 00:42:47.320 --> 00:42:51.840 and stress low so that you don't 00:42:53.000 --> 00:42:56.400 have either harmful saliva 00:42:56.400 --> 00:43:01.400 or an internal anti-calcium system. 00:43:01.400 --> 00:43:06.480 And vitamin D and vitamin K 00:43:06.480 --> 00:43:10.800 are very important for putting calcium into the, 00:43:10.800 --> 00:43:12.600 keeping it in the heart tissue. 00:43:12.600 --> 00:43:16.680 Serotonin, in the last three or four years, 00:43:16.680 --> 00:43:21.680 has been found to be a major calcium disruptor 00:43:21.840 --> 00:43:24.120 in the bones and teeth as well. 00:43:24.120 --> 00:43:30.120 So it's really a matter of your total systemic health 00:43:30.120 --> 00:43:35.040 more than just what happens in your mouth. 00:43:35.040 --> 00:43:39.440 - Wow, thank you very much. 00:43:39.440 --> 00:43:41.080 - Thank you for your caller, caller. 00:43:41.080 --> 00:43:43.040 Okay, well, I guess we have time. 00:43:43.040 --> 00:43:45.080 If it's eight minutes to eight, let's just see. 00:43:45.080 --> 00:43:46.160 We'll let people know anyway. 00:43:46.160 --> 00:43:48.360 Otherwise, we'll carry on here for the next eight minutes. 00:43:48.360 --> 00:43:51.880 But if you're in the area, the number's 923-3911. 00:43:51.880 --> 00:43:52.880 Or if you're outside the area, 00:43:52.880 --> 00:43:57.560 there's a toll-free number, 1-800-KMUDRAD, 00:43:57.560 --> 00:44:01.400 or 1-800-568-3723. 00:44:01.400 --> 00:44:02.880 So we've got about five minutes or so 00:44:02.880 --> 00:44:04.920 before we need to wrap up. 00:44:04.920 --> 00:44:08.080 - So Dr. Peat, I wanted to ask you about hypericin, 00:44:08.080 --> 00:44:11.600 you know, the red oil from St. John's Wort that you can make. 00:44:11.600 --> 00:44:13.000 I remember you saying something to me 00:44:13.000 --> 00:44:17.920 about red compounds are very antioxidant 00:44:17.920 --> 00:44:19.480 and protective. 00:44:19.480 --> 00:44:23.880 - Yeah, that is a big polycyclic molecule 00:44:23.880 --> 00:44:28.240 that the reason it's red is that it is, 00:44:28.240 --> 00:44:33.240 the electrons resonate and absorb a lot of light. 00:44:33.240 --> 00:44:39.120 And that makes it analogous to the molecules 00:44:39.120 --> 00:44:43.760 such as in cascara, imodin, or in aloe, 00:44:43.760 --> 00:44:47.960 and in the tetracycline antibiotics, 00:44:47.960 --> 00:44:51.640 and the tricyclic antidepressant, 00:44:51.640 --> 00:44:54.920 antiserotonin, antihistamine agent. 00:44:54.920 --> 00:44:55.760 - How about Pau d'Arco? 00:44:55.760 --> 00:44:59.120 There's a dark root and Catawaba bark is a-- 00:44:59.120 --> 00:45:04.120 - Yeah, exactly that same type of polycyclic molecule. 00:45:04.120 --> 00:45:08.680 I think it's analogous to the stabilizing 00:45:08.680 --> 00:45:11.840 multi-ring steroid molecules. 00:45:11.840 --> 00:45:16.840 They have a kind of geometric stabilizing action 00:45:16.840 --> 00:45:20.600 on the microstructure of the cell, 00:45:20.600 --> 00:45:24.200 as well as the electronic withdrawing effect. 00:45:24.200 --> 00:45:29.200 When a cell is stressed and its voltage goes down, 00:45:29.200 --> 00:45:34.800 the local electrons, in effect, are concentrated. 00:45:37.080 --> 00:45:42.080 They become very active and reduce or attack molecules 00:45:42.080 --> 00:45:47.280 that they shouldn't be acting on. 00:45:47.280 --> 00:45:49.120 When you don't have enough oxygen, 00:45:49.120 --> 00:45:53.400 you get loose electrons that cause mischief 00:45:53.400 --> 00:45:55.440 all through the cell. 00:45:55.440 --> 00:45:58.840 - That's what we term free radical reaction? 00:45:58.840 --> 00:46:00.200 - Yeah. 00:46:00.200 --> 00:46:01.880 - Okay, now, Eubiquinone is another one 00:46:01.880 --> 00:46:05.240 of those structural molecules, 00:46:05.240 --> 00:46:07.960 similar to the structures that are formed by the compounds 00:46:07.960 --> 00:46:10.120 that give those dark red pigments. 00:46:10.120 --> 00:46:15.800 Eubiquinone, and then I was gonna ask you about Bio-PQ-Q, 00:46:15.800 --> 00:46:19.160 which seems to be the latest kid on the block 00:46:19.160 --> 00:46:23.000 in terms of the most potent antioxidant 00:46:23.000 --> 00:46:26.120 and mitochondrial stimulator going. 00:46:26.120 --> 00:46:30.360 It's kind of another form of Eubiquinone. 00:46:32.080 --> 00:46:35.320 - Yeah, I'm not sure how important it is 00:46:35.320 --> 00:46:38.280 to have the most potent antioxidant. 00:46:38.280 --> 00:46:41.280 - Well, in marketing, it's very important, but that's-- 00:46:41.280 --> 00:46:47.520 - The vitamin K happens to stabilize Eubiquinone. 00:46:47.520 --> 00:46:51.560 And all of these things work in a system. 00:46:51.560 --> 00:46:54.840 So when you're using vitamin C, 00:46:54.840 --> 00:46:59.680 it is in an oxidized form that keeps vitamin E 00:46:59.680 --> 00:47:03.600 in the right condition, and these and progesterone 00:47:03.600 --> 00:47:07.840 keep Eubiquinone and vitamin K in the right system. 00:47:07.840 --> 00:47:12.840 It's a much more organized system 00:47:12.840 --> 00:47:16.800 on the small molecule level than the big molecule 00:47:16.800 --> 00:47:18.680 people usually recognize. 00:47:18.680 --> 00:47:23.200 - Okay, all right, so B vitamins, very quickly here. 00:47:23.200 --> 00:47:26.560 In terms of mitochondria, I know we've mentioned here 00:47:26.560 --> 00:47:30.960 CoQ10, Eubiquinone, and BioPQQ, 00:47:30.960 --> 00:47:33.040 if people want to take a look at that and whatever research. 00:47:33.040 --> 00:47:36.040 - Doesn't CoQ10 stabilize the vitamin K? 00:47:36.040 --> 00:47:36.960 - Yeah, that's right. 00:47:36.960 --> 00:47:39.120 - They work together with the mitochondria. 00:47:39.120 --> 00:47:41.200 - So the B vitamins are also very important 00:47:41.200 --> 00:47:44.040 in terms of electronic stability. 00:47:44.040 --> 00:47:49.040 - Yeah, keeping the cell pretty free of lactate, 00:47:49.040 --> 00:47:52.240 because lactate represents the shift 00:47:52.240 --> 00:47:54.880 towards loose electrons that get in trouble. 00:47:54.880 --> 00:47:57.080 - Right, okay, and then-- 00:47:57.080 --> 00:47:58.480 - Buffalo liver pate. 00:47:58.480 --> 00:48:00.080 (laughing) 00:48:00.080 --> 00:48:01.960 For your B vitamins. 00:48:01.960 --> 00:48:03.880 - We do like buffalo liver pate, by the way. 00:48:03.880 --> 00:48:05.760 And then the antioxidants, obviously, 00:48:05.760 --> 00:48:08.560 things like vitamin C and vitamin E. 00:48:08.560 --> 00:48:10.360 We've already mentioned those in plenty 00:48:10.360 --> 00:48:12.480 of different instances where they're important. 00:48:12.480 --> 00:48:15.840 Well, Dr. Peat, thank you so much for joining us. 00:48:15.840 --> 00:48:18.000 I know we didn't get, we got one caller. 00:48:18.000 --> 00:48:20.440 I think it probably, I'm not too sure why. 00:48:20.440 --> 00:48:22.160 Sometimes it's lots, sometimes it's not many, 00:48:22.160 --> 00:48:25.120 but anyway, I know the show's gonna get listened to 00:48:25.120 --> 00:48:28.480 on the web and on the audio archives, 00:48:28.480 --> 00:48:30.720 and I know lots of people call me later. 00:48:30.720 --> 00:48:33.080 I get several weeks or months, even, 00:48:33.080 --> 00:48:34.880 people telling me how they listen to this and that show. 00:48:34.880 --> 00:48:37.840 So it's recorded there for future history, 00:48:37.840 --> 00:48:39.880 as long as our species exists, put it that way. 00:48:39.880 --> 00:48:41.400 So thanks so much for your time, Dr. Peat. 00:48:41.400 --> 00:48:42.440 - Okay, thank you. 00:48:42.440 --> 00:48:43.400 - Thank you, good night. 00:48:43.400 --> 00:48:46.480 - Okay, so for those people who've found the show 00:48:46.480 --> 00:48:47.720 this evening for the first time, 00:48:47.720 --> 00:48:50.880 Dr. Raymond Peat has got a wealth of information 00:48:50.880 --> 00:48:55.880 on his website, that is www.raypeat.com. 00:48:55.880 --> 00:48:59.080 Plenty of scholarly articles, fully referenced. 00:48:59.080 --> 00:49:00.520 He's always writing articles, 00:49:00.520 --> 00:49:03.040 so usually every month he produces a newsletter. 00:49:03.040 --> 00:49:05.160 I'm not too sure how subscription to that's going. 00:49:05.160 --> 00:49:06.400 I think at one point he stopped it 00:49:06.400 --> 00:49:08.040 'cause it was getting out of control, 00:49:08.040 --> 00:49:11.120 but I'm not too, people should definitely ask him 00:49:11.120 --> 00:49:13.600 if it's still available, though don't take my word for it. 00:49:13.600 --> 00:49:15.760 I think things may have improved a little, 00:49:15.760 --> 00:49:17.560 but I know he's a very busy person, so. 00:49:17.560 --> 00:49:19.200 - Just check his website. 00:49:19.200 --> 00:49:20.560 - Yeah, just check his website. 00:49:20.560 --> 00:49:22.680 Okay, and we can also be reached toll free, 00:49:22.680 --> 00:49:27.360 1-888-WBMER, Monday through Friday, nine to five. 00:49:27.360 --> 00:49:29.320 And my name's Andrew Murray, 00:49:29.320 --> 00:49:32.520 until the third of, the third Friday of next month. 00:49:32.520 --> 00:49:33.720 Have a good night. 00:49:33.720 --> 00:49:35.960 - My name's Sarah Johanneson Murray, and good night. 00:49:35.960 --> 00:49:40.240 And before, I wanna make sure that we gave Ray Peat's email, 00:49:40.240 --> 00:49:44.440 I mean, website, www.raypeat.com. 00:49:44.440 --> 00:49:49.440 And our website is www.westernbotanicalmedicine.com. 00:49:49.720 --> 00:49:50.720 Thank you for listening. 00:49:50.720 --> 00:49:51.720 Thank you.