The magazine 60 million consumers denounces a lack of information on the use of food supplements based on melatonin.
- Only food supplements containing less than 2 mg of melatonin are available without a prescription.
- Each year, more than one million boxes of melatonin-based food supplements are sold in France.
- They are marketed in pharmacies and parapharmacies, in supermarkets and supermarkets, in organic stores but also on the Internet.
70% of French people suffer from sleep disorders according to the CoviPrev study by Public Health France. The figure is up twenty points from the pre-pandemic period. To avoid sleeping pills, some people use dietary supplements. Their active ingredient is melatonin, a hormone naturally produced by the body during the night. Sold in self-service, these products are not without danger. This is the observation made by the magazine 60 million consumers, who lead a study of 16 melatonin-based dietary supplements.
Food supplements not recommended for certain audiences
“Taking melatonin, even at 1 mg, is not innocent“, says Professor Hervé Vespignani, neurologist and medical director of the BioSerenity sleep centers in Nancy to the magazine. For some people, these food supplements are even contraindicated. And on this subject, the advice for use present on the boxes does not are not always explicit.”No product specifies that melatonin is not recommended for people with epilepsy, asthma, suffering from mood, behavior or personality disorders, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases“, Explain 60 million consumers. All of them specify, however, that medical advice is necessary for pregnant and breastfeeding women and for children.
A lack of information
According to Catherine Bennetau-Pelissero, professor at the University of Bordeaux and responsible for a diploma on food supplements, interviewed by the magazine, everyone should seek the advice of a health professional before taking this type of tablet. Especially since the instructions are not very precise on the moment of taking: it can be “before bedtime” Where “half an hour to an hour before“.”This hormone is only effective on falling asleep if you take it 1 hour 30 minutes before going to bed, otherwise you advance or reverse your sleep phases.“, emphasizes Professor Hervé Vespignani to 60 million consumers.
It is also important to limit the duration of use of these food supplements: one to three months maximum, even fifteen days for certain products. But some packaging can mislead the consumer: “the box of Superdiet Melatonin contains 120 capsules, while the labeling indicates a maximum consecutive intake of four weeks, ie… 28 capsules! Certainly, there is no limit for a non-consecutive take. But such conditioning encourages consumption and facilitates misuse.“The risk of prolonged intake is to disrupt the natural secretion of melatonin, and thus to prolong sleep disorders after stopping.
A first alert from ANSES in 2018
In April 2018, the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety published a communicated on food supplements based on melatonin. 90 cases of adverse effects were previously reported to him: headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, irritability, tremors, nausea or even abdominal pain. After analyzing these cases, ANSES recommends using these supplements only occasionally and seeking advice from a health professional before using them.
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