Lithium is a highly reactive, light metal naturally found in very low levels throughout the body. It is available as a dietary supplement and is commonly found in drinking water and in many foods, including grains, vegetables, mustard, kelp, pistachios, dairy, fish, and meat.
What are some natural sources of lithium?
The main sources of Li in the diet are cereals, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, and some mineral waters [44]. It may also be found in some spices such as nutmeg, coriander seeds, or cumin; however, their share in the total supply of this element is negligible in many geographic regions [49].
Do people have lithium naturally?
Lithium is a naturally occurring alkali metal, which living organisms ingest from dietary sources and which is also present in trace amounts in the human body. In much higher concentrations, lithium is effective as a medication for mania and mood swings including manic depressive disorders.
What are the benefits of taking lithium?
Results
- Lithium prevents depressions as well as manias.
- Acute and prophylactic effects in unipolar depression.
- Lithium has antisuicide effects, even in minute levels in the drinking water.
- Lithium may reduce risk of dementia.
- Lithium has neurotropic and neuroprotective effects.
- Lithium increases telomere length.
Do we need lithium in our bodies?
Lithium helps reduce the severity and frequency of mania. It may also help relieve or prevent bipolar depression. Studies show that lithium can significantly reduce suicide risk. Lithium also helps prevent future manic and depressive episodes.
How can I increase my lithium levels naturally?
If you’re looking to add the foods high in lithium to your diet to improve your lithium levels, the authors of the review in Biological Trace Element Research note that cereals, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage and some mineral waters are the best sources of the metal.
What is a substitute for lithium?
Second generation mood stabilizing anticonvulsants carbamazepine and valproate are now widely used as alternatives or adjuncts to lithium.
What are the symptoms of lithium deficiency?
(2) Low levels of lithium have been associated with a number of disorders associated with the central nervous system (CNS), including depression, impulse control disorder, mood disorders, violent behavior, drug dependency, reduced fertility, and learning disorders.
Does lithium repair the brain?
Nonetheless, researchers have recently found that lithium could be something close to a psychiatric wonder drug. It has two remarkable powers in the brains of mentally ill patients: protecting neurons from damage and death and alleviating existing damage by spurring new nerve cell growth.
Is there lithium in lemons?
As a rule, fruits contain less lithium than vegetative parts of plants (vegetables). Lemons and apples contained significantly more lithium, with about 1.4 mg kg−1 dry matter, than peas and beans, which, like the different kinds of cereals grains, are extremely lithium-poor as seeds.
What are the dangers of taking lithium?
The most common side effects of lithium are feeling or being sick, diarrhoea, a dry mouth and a metallic taste in the mouth. Your doctor will carry out regular blood tests to check how much lithium is in your blood. The results will be recorded in your lithium record book.
Does lithium make you happy?
It is not known how lithium works to stabilize a person’s mood. However, it does act on the central nervous system. It helps you to have more control over your emotions and helps you cope better with the problems of living.
Does lithium help with anxiety?
In fact, some patients start feeling less anxious, irritable, and depressed just days after taking low-dose lithium. Despite the evidence supporting the benefits of low-dose lithium, it is still underused as a supplement in psychiatry.
Which bottled waters contain lithium?
Lithia Spring Water (also called Lithia) is an American brand of high mineral content lithia water that naturally contains lithium carbonate.
Lithia (water brand)
| Country | USA |
|---|---|
| pH | 7.3 – 8 |
| Bromine (Br) | 450 mcg |
| Calcium (Ca) | 130 mg |
| Lithium (Li) | 500 mcg |
Is lithium in the water?
Lithium is a naturally occurring element and is found in variable amounts in vegetables, grains, spices and drinking water. It is present in trace amounts in virtually all rocks, and is mobilised by weathering into soils, ground and standing water, and thus into the public water supply.
What happens if you take lithium but don’t need it?
Bipolar disorder requires long-term treatment. Do not stop taking lithium, even when you feel better. With input from you, your health care provider will assess how long you will need to take the medicine. Missing doses of lithium may increase your risk for a relapse in your mood symptoms.
What causes low lithium?
Dehydration, other medications, and other conditions including kidney problems, can affect how your body handles lithium. Over time, these factors can cause lithium to slowly build up in your body.
Does sugar make bipolar worse?
3. Sugar. Eating a diet high in sugar can make it harder to control weight and obesity — and related belly fat — and make some bipolar disorder drug treatments less effective, according to the results of a multicenter study published in June 2015 in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.
What is the best food for bipolar?
Eating a balance of protective, nutrient-dense foods. These foods include fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, lean meats, cold-water fish, eggs, low-fat dairy, soy products, and nuts and seeds. These foods provide the levels of nutrients necessary to maintain good health and prevent disease, in general.
Will zinc replace lithium?
This is why the zinc-ion battery, which meets all these requirements, has such strong potential to replace lithium-ion in stationary energy storage.
What are good mood stabilizers?
What are some examples of mood stabilizers?
- carbamazepine (Equetro, Tegretol)
- divalproex (Depakote)
- lamotrigine (Lamictal)
- lithium (Lithobid)
Contents