Try This: 3 Big Shares for the Week

Try This community, I have some super helpful and fascinating shares for you this week. 

High level: 

1. Can this powerful sleep aid protect us from radiation? 

2. Struggling with ADHD? Get this in check. 

3. A doctor shares his virus-fighting protocol. 

Let’s get into it.

Number 1: Can This Protect Us from Radiation?

Here’s a wild fact: Melatonin isn’t just for sleep. It may also help protect your DNA from radiation damage.

This small study, published in the Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics, looked at whether melatonin could help protect our cells from radiation-induced DNA damage—specifically, the tiny breaks in our DNA called double-strand breaks, which are one of the most serious forms of cellular damage.

Researchers recruited five healthy men in their late 20s to early 30s who didn’t smoke and weren’t athletes. Each person came into the lab in the morning and took a single 100 mg dose of melatonin at 9:00 a.m. (Just to note, that’s much higher than what people usually take for sleep, so this was very much an experimental dose.) 

The researchers drew blood right before the melatonin was taken, then again one hour and two hours later. They isolated the white blood cells (specifically the lymphocytes) and exposed some of them to two different levels of gamma radiation in the lab. Other cells were kept as nonirradiated controls.

After that, they measured DNA damage. When people had melatonin in their system (whether it was one or two hours in), their cells showed significantly less DNA damage after radiation.

In other words, melatonin seemed to act like a protective shield, reducing the number of DNA breaks the radiation caused. Taking it one versus two hours before didn’t make much of a difference.

Another important point: None of the participants experienced side effects from this one-time high dose, at least in the short window they were monitored.

Overall, the study suggests melatonin may have radioprotective effects, meaning it could help stabilize DNA or reduce oxidative stress when the body is exposed to something damaging. But it’s also a very small study with a very high dose, so more research would be needed before drawing big conclusions.

But this could be a good case for supporting our melatonin daily to protect our DNA and cells. How do we do this? 

We honor our natural circadian rhythms by getting sunlight in the morning, keeping our homes dim in the evenings, avoiding screens before bed (or using blue-light blockers), eating foods rich in melatonin, like tart cherries, almonds, walnuts, and oats, and possibly supplementing if needed! 

This is fascinating stuff. I genuinely wonder if in the future this would be a recommended tool before people go in to get scans or maybe even do things like fly! I hope they do follow up studies on this pilot work!

Number 2: Struggling with ADHD? Read this.

Two of my go-to experts (Dr. Nicholas Fabiano and Dr. Brandon Luu) just published a fascinating paper on the role of circadian rhythm in ADHD. 

In their article, Nicholas and Brandon share that for many people with Attention‑Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the root of part of the problem isn’t just attention or impulsivity; it’s a shifted internal clock. 

People with ADHD tend to have later circadian rhythms, meaning their biological sleep‑wake timing runs about 90 minutes later than typical. That shows up not just in restless nights and delayed sleep onset, but also in melatonin rhythms, core body-temperature cycles, and other biological markers tied to the body’s internal clock.

This “evening chronotype” isn’t just sleep inconvenience; it’s linked with worse focus. 

The good news? The review highlights that circadian timing can be nudged. Behavioral strategies like fixed wake‑up times, morning bright light exposure, reducing evening light/screens, consistent daily rhythms, and sometimes low‑dose melatonin all help shift the internal clock earlier and improve sleep quality. 

Some early data even hint that shifting circadian timing can lessen ADHD symptoms when done consistently.

If ADHD comes with late sleep and groggy mornings, treating it as a circadian rhythm issue (and not just a “focus disorder”) might unlock huge benefits in sleep, energy, and daily function.

If you or anyone you know struggles with ADHD, you might want to consider working on your circadian rhythm. If it were me, I would set a consistent wake time, soak up morning light, dim lights early, go for a walk at sunset, and cut off screen time earlier in the evening. Regardless of whether or not you have ADHD, these are good practices! 

Number 3: An Expert Shares His Virus-Prevention Protocol.

‘Tis the season! I’ve been hearing from friends and family, especially those with young kids, that viruses have been brutal this year. Dr. Roger Seheult, a quadruple-board-certified doctor (and recent podcast guest), shared his virus treatment and prevention protocol, and I thought it could be helpful for anyone wanting to be prepared this season.

Pretty straightforward here: 600 mg of NAC twice a day, sunlight, and 23 mg zinc! I personally don’t know how the dosages or the NAC translate to kids, but it’s definitely interesting information to have. I will for sure be trying it the next time I’m fighting off a virus! 

That’s it for this week. Wishing everyone a safe and healthy holiday season.

Much love,
Dhru Purohit 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.