Regarding GERD, I’m wondering about using melatonin before bed to manage symptoms for gastroesophageal reflux. I was a patient of Dr. Wright from Tahoma Clinic years ago, and he was using six drops of melatonin before bed to help with acid reflux, but I felt like it didn’t treat the root cause.

Dr. Amy Nett: Yeah, great question. I think Chris has written about the use of melatonin in gastroesophageal reflux previously. I think if you google “Chris Kresser” and probably “GERD” and also throw “melatonin” in that search, you may also be able to pull up some additional information. Yeah, melatonin does seem to improve function of the lower esophageal sphincter. Exactly as you’re saying, it can be helpful to manage symptoms, but also agreed that it probably doesn’t treat the root cause. If you’re looking to treat the root cause, again, you’re going to be looking for things like SIBO, gut dysbiosis. Do you have adequate stomach acid? Are you digesting food well enough? Is there some cause of inflammation that’s leading to this?

I think you can try the melatonin for symptom management while you’re trying to address the root cause.