Why is it that older people are much more prone to dying from viral infections than the young? One reason is that statistically, older people are more likely to have chronic diseases that impair the immune system. They are also more likely to be on immune-suppressive drugs.

But many older men and women that die from viral infections do not have chronic diseases and are not on any drugs. What would cause a healthy older person on no drugs to die from a viral infection? One completely overlooked factor is melatonin.

Melatonin production peaks in the early teens at about 130 pg/ml. By the time you reach 30 years, the levels are reduced to about 40 pg/ml. Then the levels really start to fall, such that at age 50 they are only 20 pg/ml. And by age 60, the levels have almost disappeared to less than 10 pg/ml. I’m not aware of any hormone that drops so rapidly and so profoundly with aging as does melatonin. And this is critical.

It’s critical because animal studies have consistently shown that virtually every chronic disease associated with aging from cancer to Parkinson’s to dying from viral infections can be prevented with melatonin supplementation.

The evidence that melatonin blocks many of the effects of acute viral infections has a longer history than most realize.

For example, in 1988 Italian researchers were able to show that giving melatonin to mice after they were infected with either the encephalomyocarditis virus or the Semliki Forest virus cut the death rate up to 50%. These are deadly viruses that cause severe inflammation of the central nervous system and the heart.

The same researchers also reported that mice infected with West Nile virus were also protected when pre-treated with melatonin supplementation. It reversed the immunosuppressive actions of the virus and prevented their death.

A group of South American scientists have been reporting on the effects of melatonin supplements against the Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus. This virus is a common mosquito-borne virus, which causes disease not only in horses but also in humans.

In three different studies, researchers have reported that melatonin supplements delay the development of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus disease. They were also able to show that it decreases the death rate and reduces the blood levels of the virus in both the central nervous system and in the blood.

Another group of researchers reported in 1997 on a viral disease called Aleutian mink virus disease. When they pre-treated minks with melatonin and then infected them with the virus, the death rate was significantly reduced.

One of the complications of some viral diseases is death from liver failure. An example of this is rabbit hemorrhagic disease. This viral disease commonly causes acute liver failure. In a series of elegant studies, researchers were able to conclusively show that pretreating rabbits with melatonin before infecting them with this virus prevented the liver failure seen in the untreated animals.

How does melatonin work these wonders? It’s not likely that melatonin by itself is anti-viral. However, all the studies show that melatonin is a potent immune stimulant, as well as a powerful reducer of inflammation. Melatonin also decreases the cytokine storms that commonly cause death from viral infections due to shock. And finally, melatonin is the single most effective antioxidant in the nervous system. And here’s the great thing about melatonin supplementation.

It’s completely safe in even extraordinarily high doses. In fact, although researchers have been trying to find a toxic dose of melatonin for 50 years, they have not been able to find one. And, unlike most other hormones, taking melatonin even in high doses does not decrease the body’s natural production.

I’ve been taking 180 mg of melatonin every night for the past seven years. Sure, I sleep like a teenager, but that’s not the reason I take and recommend such a high dose. It’s because I’m convinced that it will help to prevent virtually every disease I could get as I pile up candles on my birthday cake.

Am I crazy for doing that? Not really. This is the dose that most melatonin researchers are taking. And it’s the human equivalent of the doses that are so effective in these studies. Perfect Vitamin Products makes a 60 mg capsule that you can get online. I recommend taking 1 mg for every pound of body weight before bed.