Sleeping well is one of the most essential things we can do for optimal health, recovery, and overall well-being. Yet for many of us, a good night’s sleep can feel as far from reality as a dream.

Estimates show that 47 percent of people in the United States currently take something to help them with sleep. This is concerning, as sleep is our body’s most significant tool for recovery, mental clarity, and long-term health. Getting poor sleep is not just an inconvenience — it can wreck our health.

Not getting enough of the right kind of sleep can lead to cognitive impairment, mood issues, weakened immune function, fat gain, metabolic issues, increased cardiac risk, hormone issues, poor exercise recovery, and accelerated signs of aging. There is no such thing as optimal health without optimal sleep, no matter how dialed in your exercise and nutrition might be.

But because many of us struggle to get enough — whether in terms of quantity or quality or both — we may seek out tools for support. Many first turn to over-the-counter sleep aids, and while there is a time and place for those, I find many are unaware that these options typically work by sedating us. This doesn’t improve sleep physiology or optimize good sleep architecture, which are required to feel and perform at our best.

In addition to prioritizing good sleep hygiene practices (more on those below), there are a few supplement options that I frequently recommend to clients, including  one I’m particularly enthusiastic about — LTH Dream. This multi-magnesium sleep-support supplement can also be part of a nightly wind-down routine, another impactful habit experts tout for supporting sleep.

A Closer Look at LTH Dream

It Starts With Magnesium

The No. 1 nutrient many of us need to focus on for optimal sleep is magnesium. Magnesium deficiencies or suboptimal levels are highly prevalent, which can have a variety of health effects, including on insulin regulation.

When magnesium levels are suboptimal, your body can’t regulate blood sugar well. And if your body doesn’t regulate blood sugar well, the ups and downs you may experience during the night can impact the quality of your sleep.

Magnesium is crucial for physiological relaxation, too. It not only helps muscles and nerves function and relax, but it is also intimately involved in mental health and the ability to regulate and unwind.

Repleting magnesium alone can often be the ticket to sleeping better, though the form of the mineral you take is important. The most absorbable forms are chelated, meaning they’re wrapped in amino acids, and these can be significantly more beneficial for sleep than some of the cheaper forms of magnesium.

LTH Dream stands out with the inclusion of three different forms of magnesium:

• Magnesium taurate: Combines magnesium with taurine to help calm the nervous system, support GABA activity, and ease the transition into restful sleep.
• Magtein® magnesium L-threonate: A patented form of magnesium developed at MIT that’s uniquely able to cross the blood-brain barrier. It’s been shown in clinical studies to enhance deep sleep and REM sleep, reduce nighttime awakenings, and support mental clarity upon waking.
• Magnesium bisglycinate: A gentle, chelated form of magnesium paired with glycine to promote relaxation and help reduce sleep latency (the time it takes to fall asleep).

Note: All forms of magnesium used in LTH Dream — and the entire LTH supplement line — are chelated.

Targeted Ingredients Give it a Boost

LTH Dream is specifically formulated to promote deep rest and recovery for the brain and body, as well as to help build resilience, support a healthy cortisol rhythm, and optimize cognitive health. In addition to the multiple forms of magnesium in therapeutic doses, these other ingredients are also worth highlighting:

• Sensoril® ashwagandha: A standardized, clinically studied adaptogen (adaptogens are a category of ingredients that can support a healthier stress response). Sourcing for adaptogens is important, and this form is known to be both tested and trusted for quality. It helps reduce cortisol and support sleep onset and quality.
• L-theanine: A calming amino acid, L-theanine promotes alpha brain waves for mental relaxation without drowsiness. It can often work synergistically with magnesium to help reduce mental chatter, ease tension, and support better focus and stress resilience the next day.
• Phosphatidylserine: This is a vital phospholipid that is found in cell membranes of mammals and supports healthy brain cell communication; it plays a key role in memory, focus, and cognitive performance. For many, it can also act like a pump on the breaks for your HPA axis, or adrenal system, for stress.

LTH Dream is melatonin-free, non-habit forming, and is naturally flavored and sweetened; it’s available in mixed berry and piña colada flavors. Like all other LTH supplements, it undergoes extensive testing to ensure what’s on the label is what’s in the bottle.

How to Use LTH Dream

LTH Dream was designed to support those who have trouble staying asleep, don’t feel rested upon waking, prioritize their athletic performance and repair, or have interrupted sleep they can’t control (such as if you have young kids, are a caregiver, or do shift work). Since it’s not artificially sedating and instead supports healthier physiological sleep patterns, most can still rouse if and when they need to.

LTH Dream comes in a powder form. Mix one level scoop into 10 to 12 ounces of water — we recommend whisking, shaking, or using a frother — within an hour or so before going to bed. To make it feel like a nighttime mocktail experience, I like to pour mine into a fancy glass and garnish with a piece of fruit.

We always recommend checking with your physician before starting any type of new supplementation; LTH Dream may not be suitable for children, those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, or those taking certain medications (such as sleep medications, antibiotics, sedatives, or Alzheimer’s medications).

What Are Some Helpful Steps in a Nightly Sleep Routine?

These are some simple habits I recommend that can make a difference in your body’s readiness for bedtime:

• Start in the morning. Your body’s circadian clock runs on 24-hour cycles, and if you’re able to prioritize getting at least 10 minutes of sunshine first thing in the morning, it can go a long way toward helping your body know when “daytime” starts in order to better understand “nighttime.”
• Keep a regular schedule. Pick a bedtime and waketime you can be consistent with across weekdays and weekends. Ideally, these times will allow you to get seven to nine hours of rest per night.
• Stop caffeine intake 10 to 12 hours before bed. The half-life of caffeine in healthy adults is up to seven hours. This means that if you drink a cup of coffee at 3 p.m., 50 percent of it could be in your system at 10 p.m.
• Shut off electronics one to two hours before bed. Limit exposure to the blue light that emits from your devices. Their light mimics sunlight and the stimulation it can cause.
• Implement a nightly ritual. Having consistent bedtime routine can signal to your body that it’s to wind down. For instance, LTH Dream can serve as a night cap. Pair it with washing your face, brushing your teeth, and changing into your pajamas and you’ve got a simple ritual that can help you prepare for sleep.

(To hear more from Samantha McKinney on how to safely supplement to support sleep, listen to her Life Time Talks podcast episode, “Why Supplementation for Sleep?”)

The molecule of darkness. The hormone of rest and rejuvenation. The ultimate multitasker. These are just some of the ways nutrition scientist Deanna Minich, PhD, CNS, IFMCP, describes melatonin.

“When most people think of melatonin, they think of sleep,” says Minich. “They are unaware of its many other functions.”

Melatonin is a crucial part of the sleep cycle, but its role does not end there, she notes. “It’s a potent antioxidant, it regulates the mitochondria, it can stimulate the immune system, and it’s a circadian signal.”

And there’s more. Melatonin helps control temperature, blood pressure, and the gut microbiome. It also supports neurogenesis and protects nerve cells, which help repair and detoxify the brain.

“Melatonin is called nature’s most versatile biological signal,” Minich says.

Melatonin is a hormone found throughout nature, made by plants, animals, fungi, and even bacteria. In humans, most circulating melatonin is produced in the pineal gland from the amino acid tryptophan. The pineal gland responds to evening darkness by releasing melatonin into the bloodstream, telling the body it’s time for sleep.

On average, the pineal gland generates between 0.1 and 0.9 milligrams of melatonin per day. The gut mucosa contains about 400 times more, but most of it stays within the gastrointestinal tract. There it helps protect the gut lining, reduce inflammation, and regulate gut motility and the microbiome.

Melatonin is also synthesized in the eyes, skin, and various other glands and organs. At these sites, it helps modulate the immune system, repair tissue, and prevent oxidative stress and inflammation.

Our bodies start producing melatonin when we’re about 3 months old, with levels ramping up from infancy to adolescence and peaking ­before puberty. Production then declines and can drop significantly by the time we reach our 50s.

“This is when we find ourselves in ‘melatonipause’ — a term I love because it syncs up with the decline of so many other hormones,” Minich says.

In addition to aging, melatonin production is influenced by illness, diet, and environmental factors such as exposure to artificial blue light at night. Some medications and a lack of exposure to sunlight can also impact levels.

There’s a lot to know about this crucial molecule and the many ways it supports our health. Let’s explore some of melatonin’s more unexpected roles.

How Does Melatonin Fight Free-Radicals?

Free radicals are highly reactive molecules. They’re a natural byproduct of metabolism, but the body also produces them in response to nutritional deficiencies as well as ­exposure to ultraviolet radiation, pollution, certain medications, and toxins. There are ­always free radicals circulating in our bodies, but an excess of them can lead to cellular damage, chronic diseases, and accelerated aging.

Antioxidants neutralize harmful free radicals. Some, such as vitamins C and E, come exclusively from dietary sources. Others, such as glutathione, are mostly produced in the body (the superhero antioxidant, glutathione, battles toxicity, chronic disease, and premature aging. Find out what makes it so powerful at “8 Ways to Boost Glutathione.”)

Melatonin is an antioxidant that’s both produced in the body and ­derived from dietary sources — though we make more than we can get from food.

“Melatonin is a direct scavenger. It gobbles up free radicals like Pac-Man.”

“Melatonin is a direct scavenger. It gobbles up free radicals like Pac-Man,” says Russel Reiter, PhD, one of the world’s leading melatonin experts. “Vitamin E and vitamin C are go-to antioxidants, but they don’t compare to melatonin.”

Several factors make melatonin a potent antioxidant. First, unlike vitamins C and E, it’s both water- and fat-soluble, so it can move freely through all types of cells and tissues, offering protection throughout the body.

Second, because melatonin is produced within our ­cellular ­mitochondria, where free radicals are created, it can quickly neutralize troublemakers ­before they have a chance to do damage.

Finally, melatonin and its meta­bolites can scavenge up to 10 free radicals, while most antioxidants can vanquish only one.

Minich compares melatonin to a set of Russian nesting dolls. “When melatonin gets one free radical, it changes into the next doll down, which gets another free radical, et cetera. All of a sudden, 10 dolls later, it’s cleaned up quite a number of bad things in the body.”

Does Taking Melatonin Affect Circadian Rhythm?

Many of us mistake melatonin for a seda­tive, but it doesn’t induce sleep directly. Instead, it more broadly supports sleep by helping regulate our body’s internal clocks — the circadian rhythms.

In addition to the sleep–wake cycle, these rhythms govern hormone production, ­metabolism, immune function, and body temperature.

“Melatonin helps open the ‘sleep gate’ by lowering our core body temperature and preparing the brain for synchronizing with the peripheral clocks throughout the body,” Minich explains. “As it becomes dimmer and darker at night, our melatonin goes up, our core body temperature comes down, and we get this signal to head for bed.”

While melatonin supplements won’t knock you out on their own, they can assist if you struggle to fall asleep, especially if your internal clocks are dysregulated by shift work or travel. A ­Cochrane review published in 2002 concluded that 0.5 to 5 mg of melatonin is “remarkably ­effective in preventing or reduc­ing jet lag,” particularly for those traveling east.

Timing matters. If melatonin is taken early in the day, the review authors note, it can cause sleepiness too early and further confuse the body’s internal clock.

Some studies suggest that supplement­ing with 3 mg of melatonin can help ­menopausal women who struggle with nighttime hot ­flashes regulate their body temperature.

Does Melatonin Help Reduce Inflammation?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, melatonin received heightened attention for its capacity to both help fight infections and reduce inflammation. A paper published in Clinical Nutrition ESPEN in 2021 listed it among the key preventive and therapeutic nutraceuticals for COVID, along with zinc, selenium, and vitamins C and D.

Melatonin can stimulate cytokine production to help the body fight off invading viruses, bacteria, or other pathogens, notes John ­Lieurance, ND, DC, in his book Melatonin: Miracle ­Molecule. It can also help slow down cyto­kine production when the body needs to reverse or prevent potential inflammatory damage.

“Being chronically underslept will increase the likelihood of illness and chronic inflammation.”

“It is this dual action of melatonin on the immune system that has been of particularly great interest to scientists,” Lieurance writes. It makes melatonin especially valuable in treating conditions like COVID, where the potential overreaction of the ­immune system — known as a cytokine storm — can be as damaging as the infection itself.

Because inflammation is managed in part by optimal sleep, melatonin’s role in promoting sleep is key, says Samantha McKinney, RD, who helps lead nutrition education at Life Time. “Being chronically underslept will increase the likelihood of illness and chronic inflammation.”

Emerging research suggests that symptoms associated with inflammatory autoimmune conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, may be eased with melatonin supplementation. This is most likely due to the hormone’s anti-­inflammatory properties and its ability to reduce oxidative stress and regulate the gut microbiome.

How Does Melatonin Affect Mitochondria?

The pineal gland produces most of the melatonin that circulates through the body and regulates circadian rhythms. Another type of melatonin is produced inside our cells, by mitochondria. “Melatonin and mitochondria go together,” says Minich.

Known as the power­houses of our cells, mito­chondria produce energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate, which fuels virtually everything our cells do (learn more about these essential molecules and how to keep yours healthy at “The Care and Feeding of Your Mitochondria.”)

Because of their role in energy production and cellular health, mitochondria also influence how we age. Dysfunctional mitochondria can contribute to cellular senescence — the loss of a cell’s ability to divide and function properly. Senescent cells release inflammatory signals, driving much of the chronic inflammation and tissue damage associated with age-related decline.

Mitochondrial dysfunc­tion has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases like dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis. Poor mitochondrial health can also contribute to type 2 diabetes, cardio­vascular disease, and psychiatric disorders.

The presence of melatonin and other antioxidants in mitochondria is key to preventing such dysfunction and damage. “Now we know that melatonin is synthesized in the mitochondria, and it seems to be very efficient at protecting mitochondria from damage,” Reiter says.

How Does Melatonin Affect Your Immune System?

The body’s immune system protects us from harmful viruses and bacteria. It also identifies and destroys mutated human cells that can ­develop into cancer. Melatonin ­increases the level of circulating natural killer cells, which bolsters the immune system’s ability to ward off diseases ­including colds and cancer.

As of 2024, more than a hundred studies on PubMed pointed to the potential of melatonin in supporting treatment for a range of cancers, ­including breast, prostate, and bladder. ­Melatonin supplementation, which has been used for decades in ­patients under­going chemotherapy, “seemed to sensitize the cancer cells to the treatment,” Minich says.

Is Melatonin Healthy for the Brain?

Thanks in part to its sleep-supportive properties, melatonin plays a critical role in brain health.

“One of the main ways sleep protects the brain is by supporting the glymphatic system, which helps detoxify the brain nightly,” McKinney explains. As we sleep, this system flushes out metabolic waste products that contribute to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Melatonin is an important molecule in this “brainwashing” process, as Reiter calls it. As a sleep-regulating hormone, it enhances deep, restorative sleep — when the glymphatic system is most active.

Melatonin’s antioxidant powers protect brain cells from oxidative stress and inflammation, both of which accelerate cognitive decline. Because it’s both ­water- and fat-soluble, it can cross the blood-brain barrier and directly neutralize harmful free radicals in the brain.

Melatonin’s presence in the brain can lead to cognitive benefits, especially for people with neurodegenerative conditions like ­Parkinson’s. It may even help with neuropathic pain and depression risk, Minich says.

She sometimes calls melatonin the ­“molecule of consciousness” because it can enhance the vividness of dreams, and she notes that long-term meditators have been found to have higher levels of melatonin compared with nonmeditators.

Given melatonin’s many positive roles, it’s only natural to wonder about your own levels. Melatonin can be measured in the blood, saliva, and urine, but Reiter says these metrics are of limited utility.

“It’s very difficult to find your own melatonin levels, because you have to get the nighttime values,” he explains. “If you go to your physician and ask to be tested, we’ll all have low melatonin because daytime levels are always low.”

“It’s very difficult to find your own melatonin levels, because you have to get the nighttime values. If you go to your physician and ask to be tested, we’ll all have low melatonin because daytime levels are always low.”

Our levels can also vary day to day, month to month, and season to season.

“It’s better to look at symptoms,” Minich says. Some indicators of insufficient melatonin include:

• abnormal fatigue
• inflammatory conditions
• chronic stress
• gut dysbiosis
• frequent colds or infections
• disrupted sleep patterns

You can also review your cur­rent circumstances. Stress, inconsis­tent sleep patterns, and nighttime light exposure can all suppress melatonin production.

And age matters: Around 40, natural production of the hormone begins to decline more steeply.

Paying attention to your symptoms and circumstances — and supporting melatonin production by maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, limiting blue-light expo­sure at night, and spending time in natural daylight — can help you reap melatonin’s many benefits.

Strategies for Supplementing With Melatonin

Melatonin is widely available as a supplement, with doses usually far exceeding what our bodies make naturally ­— even when production is at its peak. Circumstances such as cancer treatment warrant taking high doses under a physician’s care, but for most of us, less is more, says Deanna Minich, PhD, CNS, IFMCP.

“We produce less melatonin as we get older, so I think a physiological dose of 0.3 to 1 milligram is reasonable to ‘patch the gap,’” she says.

Research supports her suggestion. An older MIT study determined that 0.3 mg of melatonin was more effective at treating insomnia than the typical drugstore dose of 3 mg. It also found that the higher dose elevated circulating melatonin levels during the day, causing a hangover effect.

For jet lag, however, the reverse is true. Studies suggest that a dose of 5 mg helps people fall asleep faster and sleep better than 0.5 mg but that more than 5 mg had no additional benefit.

For daily use, Minich recommends starting with 0.3 mg, taken about 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime. If you feel groggy in the morning, you may need to take it earlier, about two to three hours before bed.

She also recommends opting for plant melatonin over synthetic versions. A study published in Molecules in 2021 found the plant-derived molecule in the brand Herbatonin to be more anti-inflammatory and better at free-radical scavenging. (Minich is the chief science officer for Symphony Natural Health, which produces Herbatonin and whose cofounder helped author the study.)

Melatonin supplements aren’t for everyone. They can interact with medications, including blood thinners, blood-pressure drugs, and immunosuppressants. And anyone who is pregnant, breastfeeding, or managing a hormone-related or autoimmune disorder should speak with their healthcare provider before use.

This article originally appeared as “Melatonin’s Many Wonders” in the July/August 2025 issue of Experience Life.

If you’re pregnant or nursing, you’ll need more iodine to support the health and ­development of your child. Iodine deficiency in ­pregnancy can result in ­maternal and fetal hypothyroidism, as well as in miscarriage and preterm birth.

Insufficient ­iodine intake is considered the most common preventable cause of delayed brain development. “It’s fundamental to a healthy baby,” says April Lind, MD, a board-certified internal-medicine, pediatrics, and functional-medicine physician.

A developing baby’s thyroid gland doesn’t start making thyroid hormones until the second trimester of pregnancy. During pregnancy, your free T4 thyroid hormones contribute to the baby’s total thyroid hormone levels. Further, babies are born with little stored iodine and “rely on breast milk or infant formula to meet their iodine needs to continue making T4,” writes Malini Ghoshal, RPh, MS, in The Iodine Balancing Handbook.

To accommodate these requirements, the RDA for iodine increases to 220 mcg per day during pregnancy and 290 mcg per day while nursing.

Anyone who’s pregnant, planning to get pregnant, or lactating should supplement their diet with 150 mcg per day of iodine in the form of potassium iodide to ensure they meet these minimum levels.

Anyone who’s pregnant, planning to get pregnant, or lactating should supplement their diet with 150 mcg per day of iodine in the form of potassium iodide to ensure they meet these minimum levels, according to the American Thyroid Association, the Endocrine Society, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Still, because the window of tolerance is so small, many experts suggest talking with your doctor before adding supplemental iodine to your diet.

“Pregnant women are also more sensitive to big shifts in iodine,” writes Ghoshal, ­referencing a study suggesting that “women who consumed more iodine-rich foods and who took an­ ­iodine-containing multi­vitamin had higher urine iodine levels and higher incidences of thyroid disorder than those with low or even more than adequate iodine levels.”

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of iodine for adults who are not pregnant or breastfeeding is a mere 150 micrograms. The upper intake level — the maximum daily amount considered safe — is 1,100 mcg, or just over 1 milligram.

“It’s been called the Goldilocks mineral,” says Christianson. “For most nutrients, you have a much bigger buffer zone than that.”

The iodine you consume in food and drink is absorbed in your gut and circulated through your blood. If your iodine intake is sufficient, only 10 percent of circulating iodine is brought into your thyroid; the rest is excreted in your urine within 24 to 48 hours.

In healthy adults, the thyroid concentrates and stores enough iodine to meet your body’s requirements for two to three months. It sends out a tiny amount of iodine per day, about 80 mcg, to make thyroid hormones.

If you routinely fall short on iodine, your thyroid gradually stops producing enough thyroid hormone to support your health.

If you experience symptoms of thyroid disease, your practitioner may assess your iodine levels. But unless you ­receive a full thyroid workup, getting an accurate ­measurement of your own iodine level can be tricky.

“There are many tests available for iodine, but none of them are perfect … because there’s so much variability from reading to reading,” says Alan Christianson, NMD, author of The Thyroid Reset Diet.

Some tests, such as spot urine iodine elimination tests, are good for providing a snapshot of population health, but they’re not accurate for assessing individual iodine levels. Other urine iodine tests can be used for individuals but are often burdensome and expensive.

“The best way of understanding somebody’s iodine status is a dietary ­history,” says Lind.

Some integrative-health practitioners see the recent rise in thyroid-related diseases — including hypothyroidism and thyroid cancer — as evidence that we need more ­iodine than public health guidelines suggest.

“Many feel the current adult RDA of 150 mcg per day was provided as a baseline to prevent goiter and is not an appropriate level for ideal iodine balance to allow for its full range of benefits,” explains Malini Ghoshal, RPh, MS.

Some also argue that our increased exposure to the iodine-blocking effects of halogens (including chlorine) and halides (such as fluoride) may require us to consume dramatically more iodine in order to push out these blockers and free up iodine-receptor sites.

But an approach like this can pose dangers, especially to people with hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, or autoimmune thyroid conditions such as Graves’ disease.

“If you have a preexisting thyroid condition or have experienced iodine deficiency in the past, you may be more vulnerable to thyroid disorders … if you take in too much iodine,” explains Ghoshal. “This may happen even with small increases in iodine intake, but it’s particularly risky if you’re exposed to high levels of iodine for a long time or experience an iodine overdose.”

This increased vulnerability may be due to something called the Wolff-Chaikoff effect. “Basically, your thyroid has a safety switch,” explains Alan Christianson, NMD, author of The Thyroid Reset Diet, in a blog post. “If too much iodine comes in, rather than make lethal amounts of thyroid hormone, your thyroid shuts off. It is a great example of homeostasis and has been used … to slow the thyroid when it is overactive.”

For most people, the Wolff-Chaikoff effect reverses once iodine levels normalize, but for people with thyroid problems, it can be permanent.

Christianson recommends that people avoid iodine supplements, and he views universal iodization to prevent goiter as an overcorrection. He points to research that suggests universal salt iodization has increased hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, and autoimmune thyroiditis in susceptible populations.

“The paradox is that populations that run on the low side of iodine have the lowest rates of autoimmune thyroid disease,” he states.

“The benefits and the harms of iodine are a U-shaped curve,” adds April Lind, MD, a board-certified internal-medicine, pediatrics, and functional-medicine physician.. “If you have too little, it’s a problem; and if you have too much, it’s a problem.”

Iodine is an essential micronutrient — “essential” in that it’s required for your body to function, but your body doesn’t make it, so you can get it only through your diet. Iodine supports virtually every aspect of health, primarily by helping create thyroid hormones. Iodine also has antioxidant, anti-infection, and potential anticancer properties.

A trace mineral, iodine is found in seawater as well as in certain rock formations and soil. Erosion and flooding have depleted soil iodine in many areas of the world, which has led to widespread iodine deficiencies and helps explain why iodine levels in food are so inconsistent (more on this later).

If you look at the periodic table of elements, you’ll see iodine is a halogen, a category that also includes bromine, chlorine, and fluorine. Halogens and halogen-based compounds, called halides, are often used in commercial cleaning products, as well as in pharmaceuticals and food additives. ­Research has found that exposure to some of these halogen-containing compounds can block the absorption of iodine in the thyroid. However, experts disagree about how much everyday exposure may threaten thyroid health — and what to do about it.

“Iodine is unusual in a lot of ways,” says Alan Christianson, NMD, author of The Thyroid Reset Diet. “It’s a high-energy atom. It’s further down on the periodic table than anything else we use nutritionally, so it’s chemically reactive. It has the capacity to trigger a great number of chemical reactions in the body.”