Melatonin is a hormone produced in the pineal gland at the base of the brain. We can also get it in supplements. When light hits our eyes, we shut down melatonin production; when it’s dark out, we start making it again. Melatonin synchronizes our wake-sleep cycles to the cycles of light and dark/night and day. It tells us when to sleep.
Melatonin is what biologists call “highly conserved,” meaning that even as species have evolved, the gene for melatonin has not.
I love to feed people, but like you, don’t have time to fuss in the kitchen. I got so many rave reviews about Dinner with a Friend (my March 2009 newsletter recipe) and pleas for more easy dinners to make in a flash. So have fun with this meal. Again, it’s nothing fancy, but is yummy, colorful and healthy too.
You can make good food fast. You can have homemade on the table in 30 minutes.
This month, we’re playing a guessing game. And if you guess right, you get a free Jennie’s macaroon. Really: just come in and say you got it – we’ll believe you – and we’ll hand you your macaroon.
So here’s how it’s going to work. I’m going to give you the description of a medicinal plant from www.LiveStrong.com (a health website affiliated with Lance Armstrong, but owned by social networking giant Demand Media). You just have to guess what the plant is. And here’s the big hint: you already know this one. Chances are, you’ve ingested it. Many times. Although you probably thought of it as a food, rather than a medicine. (Here’s the other big hint: it gets an honorable mention next month on my list of the “Ten Healthiest Foods.”)
I’ll quote the LiveStrong entry in its entirety, editing out only two give-away sentences about where it grows, and how it’s used as a food. Good luck.
