Melatonin for healing gastritis
I accidentally stumbled across a recent study on the effects of melatonin on the digestive system. I had started taking melatonin at night to combat my nighttime nausea. Whenever I would even begin to get horizontal for the evening, the nausea and burning would commence, and I would try to get comfortable without reaching for the medication in my nightstand. PPIs and antacids would bring me temporary relief, but I was trying to avoid becoming dependent on any medication to avoid the long-term side effects.
That’s when I tried melatonin - these gummies, to be exact. I was hoping that they would just help me fall asleep and ignore my symptoms, but it turns out they could actually be healing my gastritis.
I’m very sensitive to melatonin, so I only take 1/2 a gummy, but I found that that is often enough to soothe my stomach, subdue my symptoms, and give me a peaceful night of rest.
I was so happy that melatonin brought me relief from my GI symptoms, and I was curious to learn more.
That’s when I found this study.
It found that 3mg of melatonin per day resulted in similar effects as 40mg of omeprazole, a common PPI. (If you want to know more about PPIs and why I avoid them, read my post here.)
Here’s a brief summary detailing how this works:
Melatonin comes from the pineal gland but is also produced in the gastrointestinal tract itself. Melatonin can help prevent damage caused by acid in the GI system, as it:
increases esophageal blood flow
and downregulates pro-inflammatory cytokines.
In my opinion, this particular study alone is not a strong enough case to suggest you should throw away your PPIs in exchange for melatonin, but it does open the door to continued research.
Other reasons why melatonin can improve gastritis/GERD:
Melatonin increases blood flow to the stomach, which is essential for tissue repair.
Melatonin stimulates the production of protective mucus and bicarbonate, which are both naturally occurring in the stomach and help protect it from acid.
Melatonin helps balance acid secretion, stabilizes blood flow, and limits stress-induced gastric lesions.
The takeaways
While human studies are still limited, there is promising evidence that melatonin can be helpful in healing gastritis and GERD.
Start small with melatonin dosage; a little goes a long way. I only take 0.5mg per night. The gummies I referenced earlier are 1mg each.
You don’t have to take PPIs to heal your GI issues. In fact, PPIs could worsen your issues in the long term. You deserve to heal, actually heal. PPIs are short-term, band-aid solutions. And they come with a slew of side effects for which you’ll probably need more medication to manage down the road.
If you’re serious about healing your gastritis or GERD the holistic way, feel free to reach out to me to schedule a free consultation.
Take care,
Sarah