Melanin and Blood
Now we’ve talked a bit about melanin and how melanin is not just a substance that protects the body from a narrow spectrum of ultraviolet light, but rather it’s a substance that helps our bodies absorb, understand, and convert energy into a form that our cells can use. So next, we have to talk a bit about blood as a substance that colors the skin. Melanin definitely plays a role in the color of our skin, but blood also affects skin color in interesting ways. Jaundice, also known as “icterus”, for example, is a liver problem that involves a yellowing of the skin and eyes due to high levels of bilirubin. One of the major reasons why bilirubin builds up in the tissues is because of an abnormal metabolism of the heme molecule in hemoglobin.
Both blood and melanin are substances in the body that naturally capture and reflect light. Both of these substances are made from vibrantly colorful nutrients. And a deficiency of these nutrients can lead to health problems related to blood production or melanin production. We’ll talk more about blood as a light-capturing substance later in this discussion.
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Autoimmune Diseases That Involve Skin Color Changes
Below, we list autoimmune diseases that involve skin pigmentation caused either by abnormalities in blood or abnormalities in melanin production. Note that the list below is not exhaustive, but rather just meant to demonstrate the point that immune system dysregulation and pigmentation are related concepts:- Autism
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- Autistic children often have hypopigmentation as well as hearing challenges that are related to problems with melanin in both the skin and the ears. It is also likely that neuromelanin production is altered in the brain as well. Click here to read more about melanin, mercury, and autism.
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- Vitiligo
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- The primary symptoms of vitiligo is hypopigmentation of the skin.
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- Addison’s Disease
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- Though there is a form of Addison’s known as “White Addison’s” in which there is no hyperpigmentation of the skin that occurs, in most individuals with Addison’s disease, darkening of the skin and of the mouth tissues and vaginal tissues is a major feature of this disease.
- In Addison’s Disease, while patchy areas of hypopigmentation of the skin may begin to look similar to that of a patient with vitiligo, the mucous membranes of the mouth, lips, vagina, and rectum may become bluish black.
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- Psoriasis
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- Psoriatic plaques, which have altered pigmentation, are the hallmark of this disease.
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- SAPHO Syndrome
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- This disease involves pustular eruptions and skin redness.
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- Sjogren’s Syndrome
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- In Sjogren’s syndrome, dry skin is a diagnostic feature.
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- Livedo Reticularis
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- Livedo reticularis involves a mottled vascular appearance to the skin with lacey purplish discoloration.
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- Behcet’s Disease
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- Skin pigmentation changes can take various forms, but they are often red and they include ulcerations.
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- Autoimmune Hepatitis
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- This disease often includes yellowing of the skin due to blood-related issues.
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- Lupus
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- Cutaneous forms of lupus generally involve some form of hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation.
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Melanin, and Autoimmunity
In addition to their presence in humans and in animals, there are other organisms that contain melanin. Bacteria, fungi, and helminths also contain melanins.Though humans are taught that melanization of the skin (also known as “tanning”) is bad, and that sunscreen is good, research into fungi, bacteria, and parasites has a decidedly opposite conclusion that’s worth considering.
Melanin in Fungi
Melanin is regarded as a sort of “fungal armor” that protects microorganisms against a number of toxic insults. And the production of melanin in fungi is associated with increased virulence of these pathogens. In other words, melanin makes infectious fungi stronger and harder to treat. Melanin production by Cryptococcus neoformans or Histoplasma capsulatum yeast cells, for example can bind amphotericin B and caspofungin, two medications that can kill non-melanized Cryptococcus neoformans and Histoplasma capsulatum. In other words, the melanization of Cryptococcus neoformans and Histoplasma capsulatum protects these two fungi from disease by binding toxic substances (medications) that otherwise would kill them.
Recall that we spent quite a lot of time exploring the topic of drug-induced autoimmune disease and we provided readers with a very long list of autoimmune diseases that can be caused, in turn, by a very long list of medications prescribed by doctors (as well as over-the-counter drugs). So melanin’s ability to protect fungi from the toxic effects of a deadly medication might also mean that melanin can protect humans from the toxic effects of medications too. Perhaps humans with lower levels of melanin are more susceptible to developing drug-induced autoimmune disease symptoms, for example. This is not purely speculative given the way melanin interacts with medications in fungi.
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Histoplasma capsulatum and the fungus Paracoccidiodes brasilensis both produce melanin when they produce infection in the body. Indeed, melanin taken from melanized Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergilllus niger can activate human immune system “complement” which changes how the human immune system responds to these fungal infections. Stated another way, melanin gives these infectious pathogens power over the human immune system. Melanin makes fungi stronger and more virulent. But in people, we might assume that our human melanin would make us stronger too. Indeed, though fungi that are “melanized” have certain powers over human immune system function, humans that are melanized likely have more power to overcome infectious fungi as long as our bodies are properly charged with the necessary nutrients to produce healthy melanin in the first place.Studies into Cryptococcus neoformans have also shown, interestingly, that melanization or “tanning” of this fungi reduces its vulnerability to heavy metal exposures. Scientists have speculated that melanization may also protect Cryptococcus neoformans against other toxic insults in the environment, essentially enhancing this fungi’s ability to survive and thrive even after it is exposed to poisons or other pathogens. What if melanization in humans is also a key factor that protects our bodies from being taken over by toxins and pathogens?
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If melanization or tanning of the skin actually enhances human health by boosting our own “virulence” (read more here about the use of testicular tanning to promote hormone production), improving our ability to fight infection and resist the negative health effects of toxin exposure, then the use of sunscreen would be decidedly contraindicated for everyone. If melanization in humans functions the same way that melanization in fungi functions to enhance health and virulence, then melanization of the body through the consumption of a diet high in melanizing nutritional elements and a reasonable amount of daily sun exposure would be a focal point for overcoming autoimmune disease.In summary, when fungi get “tan” or when they have a darker pigmentation or rather, when they become melanized, they become much stronger and more virulent. Fungi that produce melanin are healthier than fungi that don’t produce melanin. The same seems to be true for humans and for animals.
Below are some of the fungi that have been studied in regard to their production of melanin as a virulence-enhancing factor:
- Candida albicans
- Cladosporium carrionii
- Hormocornis resinae
- Sporothrix schenckii
- Cryptococcus neoformans
- Aspergillus spp.
- Paracoccidiodes
- Coccidiodes
- Histoplasma capsulatum
Melanin in Humans and Animals
You might be tempted to think that melanin in fungi is different than melanin in humans, but you’d be wrong. Melanin in fungi and melanin in humans are both produced from either L-Tyrosine (a large amino acid) or L-Dopa (a smaller amino acid that’s derived from L-Tyrosine). Essentially, fungal melanin and human melanin is the same stuff though each person and each animal’s (or fungi’s) specific melanin “fingerprint” is very different. So while Big Pharma and the Sunscreen Syndicate all want us to believe that sun exposure and melanization of the skin is bad, there are compelling scientific facts that point to a very different perspective on the matter. While fungi are using melanin to enhance their own health and survival, humans are falling prey to fungal infection, autoimmmune disease, cancer, autism, and other serious diseases due to their unwillingness to expose the skin to natural full-spectrum sunlight.
The Origami of Autism: Transforming 2-Dimensional Thinking about ASD into 3-Dimensional Solutions - BUY HERE!To better understand melanin in humans, let’s talk just a bit more about fungi…
The melanin in fungi like Cryptococcus neoformans has some extremely valuable effects on its ability to survive and thrive despite the odds. Here are some advantages conferred to different types of fungi by the presence of higher levels of melanin:
- Though Cryptococcus neoformans lives in the soil, melanin is still able to absorb the light and energy from the environment, allowing this fungi to survive extreme changes in temperature.
- Melanin allows mold to survive inside nuclear reactors. The melanin protects the mold from toxic radiation and also allows the fungus to absorb high-energy radiation for growth, health, and renewal. As such, scientists have classified fungi as “limited autotrophs which means that they can produce food from nothing but sunlight exposure, water, and carbon dioxide. Is it possible that the human body can do the same thing and produce food and fuel from exposure to sunlight? Watch the documentary Eat the Sun, and decide for yourself. Perhaps humans are also “limited autotrophs”.
Melanin: Protector Against Toxicity, and Infection
Autoimmune disease has, time and again, been linked back to three things in the scientific literature:- Pathogenic colonization of weakened tissues in the body.
- Toxic overload caused by exposure to medications, insecticides, and other environmental poisons.
- Overactive immune system response.
Interestingly, melanin has been scientifically studied for its ability to protect fungi from precisely these things. Melanins efficiently shield fungi from pathogens and toxins and it does so because it is an extremely stable molecule with broad optical absorption, paramagnetic properties, and charge transport abilities. Melanin allows electron resonance to occur and it also allows energy transfer reactions to happen inside cells. This is a powerful molecule that’s found in a wide range of living things to do some of the most magical things known to man. For example, an octopus is able to use melanin to change its color and camouflage itself using a specialized system of spherical melanized bodies that are surrounded by muscles that give extreme control over this pigment to even produce a sort of “power of invisibility”. In humans and most other animals, melanin is regulated through a different system, but this system should not be underestimated in terms of the results it can produce in terms of health and physical protection, particularly in individuals who combine their knowledge of melanin with an intentional diet to rebuild their melanin health.
In humans, melanin has demonstrated anti-microbial effects after sunlight exposure to the skin.
Cells that contain melanin are structurally stronger than cells that do not contain melanin both in fungi and in humans. In fungi, melanized cells are less likely to be weakened or degraded. Indeed, the chemical groups embodied within the humble melanin molecule (which include carboxyl, hydroxyl, phenolic, and amino groups) are able to bind to heavy metals to remove them safely from cells. Melanin is also able to alter the way that drugs act inside cells, reducing their toxicity and sometimes their overall potency. In patients with autoimmune disease and health problems like autism, toxin removal is a priority which means that melanin production and maintenance deserves some focus and attention. Both short term and long term sun exposure causes natural immunosuppression which can be a valuable thing for those who are suffering from autoimmunity and an exaggerated immune system response. Melanin has been shown to have immunomodulatory effects after sunlight exposure in humans.
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