Tag Archive for: brain function

Lithium: It’s The Amount That Matters

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I received a question from a long-time reader the other day. They asked, “What is the difference between lithium orotate and the lithium in batteries?” The short answer is simply that they are the same metal. Given the history of lithium batteries and their tendency to overheat and sometimes explode, I’ll go into a little more detail.

Lithium is the lightest metal on the Periodic Table. It is a soft, lustrous metal and, while it is found in quantity in mines, it is everywhere. As an element, it can be toxic. What makes it less so is that it can naturally bind to so many other elements. Depending on what it binds to, that can determine whether it’s safe to use.

Lithium orotate is an organic salt and far supersedes the efficacy of other organic salts and inorganic salts such as lithium carbonate. In batteries, the value of lithium is its ability to freely give up ions that can result in the production of energy, but there’s about 38.4 mcg of elemental lithium contained in 1 mg of lithium orotate. That’s at least 1,000 times less than found in a single AA lithium battery and without the toxic solvents necessary to make the battery work.

Another reader asked about the highest sources of lithium in the food supply. That’s something I would have included, but it all depends on the water supply and whether the soil has lithium in it. For now, there is no way to provide a list. Eat them all!

I hope that clarifies things. On Friday: why the way Riley eats pasta might just be best for gut health.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Lithium: A Hopeful Discovery

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You may recognize lithium as a treatment for some mental health issues such as bipolar disorder. That would require a pharmacological dose of 600–1,800 mg of lithium per day; levels that high can create severe side effects. But prior research showed that people who were treated with lithium had lower rates or delayed onset of cognitive impairment. The next step in the study was what form of lithium and what amount could help reverse the cognitive impairment and potentially be used to prevent mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.

Forms of Lithium

Researchers examined a variety of organic and inorganic salts to find the form which prevented or reduced the sequestration of lithium in amyloid plaque. Lithium carbonate, the inorganic salt form most used in pharmacological doses, did not prevent the pathology in low-dose supplemental form. An organic form called lithium orotate was successful in amounts consistent with dietary intake. Over a period of weeks, the mice drinking lithium orotate in their water reversed the cognitive impairment and other negative effects.

What’s Next?

The first thing you may be thinking is, “I gotta get me some of that!” Slow down. Remember, these were tested in mice—there are no human trials yet. While there are tests for assessing lithium levels, they’re generally reserved for patients with mental disorders. With such a small range found within the blood, testing requires medical interpretation, and we don’t really know what that level may be in someone with mild cognitive impairment.

Before this becomes a supplement you want to take, a couple of good human trials should be done to determine the proper dosage and any potential side effects. Tremors and nausea are routine side effects when lithium is used to treat mental conditions, but at normal food and water intake levels—1 to 3 mg per day—there should be none. There are many lithium orotate products in the marketplace that range from 1 to 5 mg, but let’s not get ahead of the science.

The Bottom Line

I think there are still questions to be answered before we all start supplementing with lithium orotate. While there is no RDA for lithium, there is a provisional target of 1 mg per day from diet. However, because the amount of lithium in water and food can be so variable, taking 1 to 5 mg per day of lithium orotate seems like a reasonable thing to do if you are over 50 years and are starting to experience memory issues beyond the normal where-are-my-keys problems.

It will take a while before we have the results of human trials. It would also help if you eat better, drink water, and get some exercise; those also help reduce the development of amyloid plaque. When I know more, so will you.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09335-x

Lithium and Brain Health

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The health field has been buzzing about a study that was recently published related to Alzheimer’s disease markers and the mineral lithium, a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Got lithium? You can use it in batteries, nuclear reactions, and many other industries; it’s also used in medications to stabilize mood.

Researchers decided to find out the relationship between markers for Alzheimer’s such as types of amyloid structures in the brain. There have been associations with reduced lithium intake and mild cognitive impairment in prior studies, so researchers decided to examine how mice on a reduced-lithium diet would respond. They measured several other minerals as well, but the only one associated with an increase in amyloid structures was lithium. It seems that when there’s not enough lithium in the diet, the brain cannot function as normal and sequesters the lithium in the amyloid bodies; brain function decreases further as lithium levels drop, including cognitive impairment.

The normal amount of lithium found in the diet suggests we get 0.6 to 3 mg per day, mostly from water and food. That amount is able to sustain the 7 mg typically found in an adult human. The next question would be how much it would take to reverse cognitive impairment. I’ll cover that on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09335-x