If you have this type of job, you should take this supplement: it repairs your DNA and can prevent certain types of cancer
A study from the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that night shift workers can help to counteract DNA damage.
Researchers may have discovered a simple tip to maintain good health in night shift workers, helping the body to repair DNA damage and potentially reduce the risk of cancer.
A study entitled ‘Melatonin supplementation and oxidative DNA damage repair capacity among night shift workers: a randomised placebo-controlled trial’ found that a melatonin supplement can help the body to recover by improving the quality of the following day’s sleep. Researchers found that study participants who took a 3mg melatonin pill daily for four consecutive weeks recorded substantially higher levels of 8-0HdG in their urine.
The chemical compound 8-0HdG is a signifier of DNA damage repair capacity and those who took the melanin pill averaged an 80% higher level during their daytime sleep, suggesting that their bodies were working more effectively to repair DNA during their period of sleep.
The findings were published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine, a peer-reviewed medical journal covering occupational and environmental medicine. Researchers have been quick to point out that this was a small-scale study, with only 40 people included in the trial. But given the impressive nature of the findings there is hope that similar results would be replicated in a bigger study.
The paper explains: “Our findings warrant future larger-scale studies that examine varying doses of melatonin supplements and longer-term impacts of melatonin use. Pending the outcome of such studies, melatonin supplementation may prove to be a viable intervention strategy to reduce the burden of cancer among night shift workers.”
It continues: “Assessing long-term efficacy is critical since those who work night shifts for many years would need to consistently consume melatonin supplements over that time frame to maximize the potential cancer prevention benefits.”
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