Dear Dr. Roach: I am a 69-year-old male in good health. At night I fall asleep quickly, but wake up several times during the night. Sometimes I am awake for up to two hours. If I chew a 1.5 mg gummy of melatonin, I sleep soundly and go back to sleep quickly if I do wake up. Is there any reason to be concerned about the frequent use of melatonin? — C.S.
Answer: Melatonin is a commonly used sleep aid that is generally considered safe. At the low dose you are taking, it is unlikely to have significant adverse effects. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work for everyone, but if it is working for you, it seems to be pretty safe.
Studies have shown that 1-3 mg is (surprisingly) more effective than higher doses.
Dear Dr. Roach: Several years ago, a friend gave me a recipe to lower blood sugar. He said his mother used it, and it helped her. I want to know if it is for real or an old folk remedy that was passed through the generations.
You mix apple cider vinegar with apple and grape juices, and drink two ounces in the morning and two ounces in the evening. I made a batch but halved it because it seemed like a lot to start. My blood sugar dropped seven points since I started taking it two days ago. — R.C.
Answer: Some old folk remedies do work, and it has taken years for scientists to try to find out which ones are really useful and, if so, why. In the case of apple cider vinegar, there is a small study showing that 20 grams of apple cider vinegar did lower blood sugar when volunteers with diabetes were given a meal of a bagel with butter and orange juice. The magnitude of the effect is small —usually not enough to be an effective treatment by itself. I also am concerned about the effect of vinegar on the teeth.
Adding fruit juice to the vinegar doesn’t seem to be necessary (fruit juice wasn’t used in the study) and it adds sugar, which is generally not a good idea in people with diabetes.
