Sleep is the most potent nutrient for balancing minerals.

The circadian rhythm is such a huge factor when we are trying to address our nutritional deficiencies, toxic metals, and chronic infections.

Let's look at this from a biochemical point of view and try to understand the mechanism of the two altering rhythms of life between sleep and wake cycles, or we could say between melatonin and the adrenals.

However, first, we need to connect the pineal gland to the HPA axis (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal axis) or as I would like to say, the “HPPA axis” for which we are just adding the pineal gland to give us a more concise depiction of neurohormone feedback loops.

The hypothalamus which is analogous to grand central station receiving all the sensory neuronal and hormonal information to interpret, process and then to respond for the greater good of all the activities going on in the body.

So in essence, the hypothalamus, through its action on the pituitary and the pineal gland, controls body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue, childbirth, emotions, growth, milk production, salt and water balance, sleep, weight, and all circadian cycles.

The physiological function of the pineal gland has been relatively unknown until recent times, but mystical traditions and esoteric schools have long known this gland to be the seat of the soul, a term coined by the late philosopher Renee Descartes.

The pineal gland is the connecting link between the physical and spiritual worlds.

In ancient lure, it has always been considered the most powerful and highest source of ethereal energy available to humans and has always been important in initiating supernatural powers.

More fascinating is that it activates the most potent psychedelic molecule known to mankind, DMT, which is the spirit molecule that opens the portal into our multidimensional universes.

DMT may provoke the mystical encounters on the border between life and death that are often reported by those who die and are revived.

It is the organ of higher vision which is why it is the all-seeing third eye.

The pineal gland works in a delicate balance with the hypothalamus overseeing the body's centers that regulate thirst, hunger, sexual desire and the biological clocks that determines our aging process.

The pineal gland is the all-seeing "third eye" of the brain, delegating the brain activities on perceiving whether it is day or night.

In essence, it controls the body's hormonal systems, sleep-wake cycle, and all the other "circadian cycles" of the body.

It is, in essence, the body's internal clock.

The pineal gland releases melatonin in humans and other mammals by the 'master' circadian clock.

For which this 'clock' is in a region of the brain in the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nuclei, which expresses a series of genes termed ‘clock genes’ that continuously oscillate throughout the day.

This is synchronized to the solar day via light input from the eyes.

The suprachiasmatic nuclei are linked to the pineal gland through a complex pathway in the nervous system, passing through different brain areas, into the spinal cord and then finally reaching the pineal gland.

During the day, the suprachiasmatic nuclei stop melatonin production by sending inhibitory messages to the pineal gland.

At night, however, the suprachiasmatic nuclei are less active, and the inhibition exerted during the day is reduced resulting in melatonin production by the pineal gland via the signal from the hypothalamus telling it what to do so that it can regulate the sleep and wake cycles.

What is interesting about the pineal gland is that it is not isolated from the body by the blood-brain barrier system, which is why it is more prone to calcification.

The precursor to melatonin is serotonin, a neurotransmitter that itself is derived from the amino acid tryptophan.

However, if we have low Na, low K coupled with low zinc and low levels of B1 and B6, we will not efficiently make the stomach acid to break down the proteins to give us the amino acids for the raw materials needed to make our neurohormones.

A low stomach acid environment predisposes us to infectious organisms.

Try this experiment.

Put some pieces of melon in the fridge for a couple of weeks and watch the white fungus overtake the fruit.

The substantial growth of this white fungus is Candida Albicans.

Stomach acid kills the fungi, but in low stomach acid environment, we lose the ability to neutralize these pathological organisms.

How many of you are walking around in a zinc-depleted copper toxic state with low Na and K?

A decrease of stomach acid will make it chemically challenging if not impossible to pull apart the molecular bonds in our food that allow us to absorb all of the vitamins and minerals we need to thrive.

Without the raw materials to make sufficient quantities of stomach acid, our digestion will slow, and we will likely suffer from leaky gut, chronic infections, poor mineral absorption and overall poor digestion as a result.

Also, deficiencies in folate, B12, choline, TMG, and betaine will cripple the enzyme speed of our methyl cycles which is like trying to run a sprint with lead sneakers on our feet stuck in second gear, like a bad dream.

This is a big reason why people with methylation problems are riddled with digestive issues!

The stomach cells that also make your HCL also release intrinsic factor which is needed for B12 absorption.

Therefore, when the stomach cannot produce enough stomach acid, it also cannot produce enough intrinsic factor which, over time, will diminish B12 absorption, which can disturb our methylation cycles leading to anemias, neurological diseases, dementia, and even death.

Serotonin is an extremely versatile neurohormone that regulates digestion, growth, reproduction, aging, bone metabolism, cardiovascular function and in the brain, it modulates learning, memory, and psychological well-being.

Serotonin is principally produced by liver and intestines and is delivered throughout the body via the cardiovascular system.

Again, all roads lead to the liver, and most are walking around with stagnant fatty livers that decrease the overall efficiency of the liver, hence, a decrease in serotonin production.

Anyone that has gotten gastric bypass surgery to lose weight commonly develops depression.

Why do you think that is?

The pineal gland also produces serotonin and stores it as well; in fact, it contains the most serotonin-rich tissue in the human body.

Within the pineal gland, serotonin is acetylated and then methylated to yield melatonin.

But, what if we are deficient in methyl donors because we are not making sufficient stomach acid?

HCL is monumental in making our methyl groups.

Melatonin is a derivative of serotonin (serotonin + one methyl molecule).

Melatonin is acting to reduce the proton production in the cells which, in actuality, is down-regulating pro-oxidant enzymes so, in essence, the body is slowing down, but this is the time the cells should be restocking.

So, failure to produce efficient melatonin will block the movement of nutrient ions from the blood into the cells, acting like a channelopathy.

The take-home message is that nutrient uptake at night is facilitated by melatonin which comes back to my main point about sleep being the most essential nutrient in mineral balancing.

Then when the day crew comes on as a result of adrenal activity kicking in, as the baton of consciousness is handed over from melatonin to the adrenals, it is the longevity hormone DHEA which is responsible for telling the liver to dump the garbage.

Melatonin is allowing the body to restock and DHEA is responsible for getting this toxic load out.

But if we are not sleeping well, which is most of the population, then the production of DHEA goes down along with your health.

As we know, DHEA is modulated by melatonin which explains sleep times with longevity.

Hence the term the "longevity hormone DHEA!"

Low DHEA can also show on an HTMA as low excretion of the toxic metals that you may call a poor eliminator pattern, whereas DHEA is an out-bound channel facilitator to move the metals and toxins out of the cells.

So maybe supplementing with melatonin could be wise when seeing a four low pattern and a poor eliminator pattern.

But, I would be remiss without talking about copper and its relationship to poor sleep and depression.

High estrogen and high copper decrease DHEA which will increase fatigue while increasing insulin, therefore, increasing fat gain, further accelerating more estrogens, therefore, more copper.

Too much copper increases dopamine, decreasing epinephrine.

Excess dopamine has been notoriously implicated in the etiology of psychotic behavior and schizophrenia for well over 40 years, in the literature.

For the average copper toxic person, it will contribute to the overstimulated brain that is wired, anxious, paranoid and nervous with poor sleep patterns just to name a few of the copper toxic symptoms.

Now coming back to melatonin and as we remember melatonin is a derivative of serotonin (serotonin + one methyl molecule).

Many of the inhibitory pathways of melatonin synthesis and secretion use GABA as the neurotransmitter.

Hence medications that affect GABA receptors, such as the benzodiazepines, can reduce melatonin secretion at night.

Also, calcium blockers and beta-blockers, and prostaglandin inhibitor medications affect the GABA receptors which can profoundly reduce melatonin levels as well.

So, in closing, if sleep is not at the top of your health list priorities, then you will never balance your minerals to the optimal levels of health and longevity.