Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- Lithium is a natural alkali metal essential for reproductive health and overall wellness in humans and animals.
- Historically used for therapeutic purposes, lithium is studied for its neuroprotective and mood-stabilizing effects.
- Micro-dosing lithium through supplements like Lithium Orotate offers cognitive benefits such as mood balancing, promoting growth factors and neurogenesis, and brain protection.
- Adequate lithium intake from diet and water may help prevent mental and neurological diseases, while low levels can be associated with depression, anxiety, and memory decline.
- Lithium Orotate is a popular micro-dosing option that provides mood stabilization, neuroprotection, and cognitive enhancement without toxic side effects of higher doses.
Lithium is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal so reactive (it sparks when it touches water) that it’s not found in nature on its own. Instead, it’s found in mineral compounds and in mineral water.
Cosmologists believe that lithium was one of the 3 elements synthesized in the Big Bang.[i] So it’s been around for a long time.
Most of us associate prescription lithium with treating mental illnesses like bipolar disorder and mania (lithium carbonate). Or the lithium-ion battery in our phone. Which has a tendency to blow up occasionally.
Turns out that the anti-psychotic medication lithium isn’t even a drug. It’s actually a naturally occurring mineral. Lithium salts are part of the same family of minerals that include potassium and sodium.
As a nootropic, micro-dosing lithium provides some amazing anti-aging benefits. Recent research shows that low-dose lithium may also help slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
Low-dose lithium also helps neurogenesis and memory. And is a mood stabilizer.
Here we’ll investigate daily or frequent use of Lithium Orotate as a nootropic, and how it benefits cognitive health.
Lithium helps:
- Balance mood. Lithium calms mania (extreme highs and lows) by decreasing sensitivity of the post-synaptic norepinephrine receptor.[ii] And increases uptake of norepinephrine into synaptosomes. Preventing the release of this neurotransmitter. And lithium enhances the transport of Vitamin B12 and folate into brain cells.[iii] Affecting mood and aggression.
- Growth Factors. Lithium upregulates brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-3 (NT3) and their receptors. And lithium stimulates the proliferation of stem cells in the brain. All boosting neurogenesis and assisting in repair from all types of brain injury.[iv]
- Neuroprotection. Lithium increases brain gray matter, increases DNA replication for neurogenesis, prevents apoptosis, increases N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), inhibits beta-amyloid secretion and protects against damage once it’s formed, chelates aluminum, and protects against glutamate toxicity.
Overview
Lithium is an alkali mineral and one the trace elements considered essential for both animal and human reproductive health, and general health and wellness.
Discovered as a chemical element in 1817, lithium’s first recorded modern medical use was in 1871 for the treatment of mania.
But the use of lithium for therapeutic use goes back to ancient Greek and Roman times. People enjoyed soaking in alkali springs to help with physical and mental illness.
People have been using mineral springs for therapeutic use ever since. Lithia Springs in Douglas County, Georgia was so popular that people came for miles just to drink the water.
The Sweet Water hotel, a luxury 500-room resort was opened in 1887. And attracted famous authors, business people and prominent politicians who came for the spring’s health benefits. The name “Lithia” stems from water rich in lithium.
Studies from around the world have shown the critical health benefits of lithium. One study using data from 27 Texas counties from 1978 – 1987 found that rates of suicide, homicide and rape were significantly higher in counties whose drinking water contained little or no lithium.[v]
Another study of lithium levels in tap water in 18 municipalities in Japan showed standard mortality ratios lower in places with higher lithium levels.[vi]
Yet another study conducted in Texas in 2013 confirmed the original findings in that state. Drinking water samples from 226 counties found a correlation between lithium levels and suicide rates.[vii]
Researchers who conducted meta-analyses of lithium levels and public drinking water suggested “increasing lithium levels of drinking water could potentially reduce the risk of suicide, and justify administering lithium to tap water.”[viii]
An article in the Lancet in 1949 by John Cade is credited for the modern medical use of lithium as an effective treatment for manic psychosis.[ix]
The United States FDA approved high dose lithium carbonate and lithium citrate in 1970 for the treatment of bipolar disorder. Carbonic acid and citric acid are mineral carriers used to transport lithium throughout your body.
Doctors also prescribe lithium off-label for treating migraines, seizure disorders and psychosis usually after other treatments have failed.
But as we dig deeper into the most recently published research on lithium, we realize this trace element is essential for optimal health and brain function.
The lithium we get from our diet prevents many neurological and psychiatric problems. Micro-dosing lithium as a nootropic with a supplement like Lithium Orotate can help make up for the what we don’t get from our food and water.
Lithium is naturally available from fish, processed meat, milk, dairy products, eggs, potatoes and vegetables. Your typical dietary intake of lithium can range from 2 – 600 mcg. Amounts vary depending on where the food is grown.
How does Lithium work in the brain?
Lithium helps brain health and function in several ways. But two in particular stand out.
- Lithium stabilizes mood. Recent research has discovered that lithium’s mood stabilization effects may be due to its ability to boost the production of new brain cells (neurogenesis).
Lithium inhibits the enzyme glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β). This inhibition upregulates brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) which stimulates neural stem cells to produce new neurons in the hippocampus.[x]
When neural stem cells produce new neurons in the hippocampus, mood and memory work as designed. But a breakdown in neurogenesis results in mood disorders.
Lithium has long been known to control mania and stabilize mood in bipolar patients. But it was not generally thought of as an antidepressant. Researchers in Tel Aviv provided the first evidence that inhibiting GSK-3β exerted a rapid antidepressant effect in mice.[xi]
Another team at Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Pennsylvania showed that feeding mice chow laced with low-dose lithium for 15 days produced a dose-dependent antidepressant effect.[xii]
Lithium induced gene transcription in the hippocampus, amygdala and hypothalamus. All areas implicated in depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, autism and schizophrenia.
- Lithium protects your brain. Your brain cells are at constant risk of damage from exposure to toxins you encounter every day from food, air, water and your environment. And the excitotoxins produced by ordinary brain cell metabolism.
Glutamate plays a major role in the synaptic plasticity needed for learning and memory.[xiii] But over-activity of glutamate on its NMDA receptors causes neuron death and is implicated in Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease. Lithium inhibits this overactivity.[xiv]
Lithium also increases the production of a neuroprotective protein called bcl-2.[xv] Researchers maintain that lithium is the only “medication” that has been demonstrated to significantly increase bcl-2 in several brain areas.
Lithium has also recently been evaluated in preventing and treating traumatic brain injury. In a study conducted in 2014, Dr. Peter Leeds stated that lithium had “demonstrated robust beneficial effects in experimental models of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). These include decreases in TBI-induced brain lesion, suppression of neuroinflammation, protection against blood-brain barrier disruption, normalization of behavioral deficits, and improvement of learning and memory, among others.”[xvi]
How things go bad
In 1985, the United States EPA estimated that dietary intake of lithium from food in the USA varied from 0.6 to 3.1 mg per day.[xvii] For comparison, people who live in the Andes in Northern Argentina consume 2 to 30 mg per day, with 2 – 3 mg just from drinking water.[xviii]
As your dietary sodium and caffeine increases, so does lithium excretion in urine which increases your requirement for this essential trace mineral.
Your exposure to stress and toxins from things like mercury, aspartame, MSG, Bisphenol A (BPA) and other excitotoxins also raise cortisol and other stress hormones. Increasing your need for more water-soluble nutrients like B-vitamins, magnesium, zinc and lithium.
Low lithium levels are associated with …
↑ Depression and anxiety increase
↓ Memory and learning ability decline
↑ Insomnia increases
↑ Sensitivity to stress and chronic pain increase
↓ Natural healing processes decline
Adequate daily intake of lithium could help prevent many mental and neurological diseases due to this trace minerals effects on nervous system metabolism. And it’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
Lithium Orotate benefits
The clinical research and studies on the neuroprotective benefits of lithium are so overwhelming, some scientists are beginning to ask “why isn’t everyone using lithium”?
Here’s a summary of how micro-dosing lithium using Lithium Orotate can benefit your brain.
- Inhibits apoptosis – lithium inhibits GSK-3 which has been linked to apoptotic cell death
- NMDA-receptors – lithium reduces glutamate induced toxicity mediated by NMDA-receptors which helps in mood disorders, Alzheimer’s, and other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases
- Neuroprotection – blocks the development of beta-amyloid tangles and plaque
- Neurogenesis – lithium promotes the increase of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) needed for synaptic plasticity in learning and memory. Lithium also boosts nerve growth factor and glial-derived neurotrophic factor affecting learning, memory, mood and overall brain health[xix]
- Neuronal stem cells – lithium stimulates the stem cells needed to produce new neurons (neurogenesis)
- Stabilizes mood – lithium is known for providing a calming effect in healthy people as well as those dealing with depression, bipolar disorder, and mania
- Suicide prevention – adequate levels of lithium has been shown to reduce suicide risk in multiple studies worldwide
- Depression – lithium helps with treatment-resistant depression. In fact, lithium has been shown to improve the effectiveness of antidepressant medications
- N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) – lithium increases NAA which has been associated with higher IQ scores[xx] (i.e. lithium will make you smarter!)
The benefits of supplementing with lithium go far beyond just optimizing cognitive health. Lithium also helps decrease insulin resistance, helps in treatment of alcoholism and other addictions, supports bone health, balances your circadian rhythm and more.
How does Lithium Orotate feel?
My personal experience with Lithium Orotate has made me a believer in micro-dosing lithium. I’m Adult ADD and deal with mood swings from time to time.
If I’m going around the bend because something upset me, I take 5 mg of Lithium Orotate. Within 15 minutes my mood stabilizes and I feel normal again. Consistent use puts me in a happy mood.
Many others report you’ll feel the results taking a low dose of lithium quickly. But for some, the full effect can take anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks. Micro-dosing 5 – 10 mg of lithium daily results in consistent results within a month or two for some. I’ve experienced great results within a couple of days.
So if you lash out at people in anger, and don’t fully understand why you get so angry – it could be your lithium levels are low.
Many neurohackers with depression and anger issues notice results quickly. Within the first couple of days you should feel more calm, relaxed, and experience less stress.
Keep in mind that lithium at any dose is not for everyone. But if you get adequate lithium from your diet and water, and still experience some of the mood swings talked about in this review, you could be dealing with other issues. You should know within a couple of hours of supplementing with low-dose lithium if this supplement is for you.
For some, Lithium Orotate means feeling excited about life for the first time in a long time. Anxiety and social anxiety are no longer a problem. Life is more fun and enjoyable.
Some say Lithium Orotate works better than any prescription that they’ve ever tried to treat severe depression. It provides a nice, smooth mood balance without all the toxicity associated with mega-doses of lithium carbonate.
If you’re dealing with PTSD or mild insomnia, you may want to try Lithium Orotate. Focus could improve, racing thoughts diminish and motivation levels could increase. You’ll have more coping ability.
Lithium Orotate Clinical Research
Lithium Improves Memory
A study at McMaster University in Canada set out to determine the effects on hippocampus volume in 14 bipolar patients who received lithium therapy.
The researchers examined the effects of lithium on hippocampal volumes and memory performance and recall over 2 – 4 years. The patients had not received any type of medication prior to using lithium.
The study found increases in hippocampus volume over time. And evidence of improvement of verbal memory performance over the 4-year measurement period.
The researchers concluded that the results of the study were consistent with the literature stating the neuroprotective effects of lithium. And that long-term lithium treatment is associated with preservation of memory and recall due to increased hippocampus size.[xxi]
Lithium Increases Mood in Recovering Addicts
24 adults recovering from heroin or methamphetamine addiction participated in a study in San Diego. Group A received 400 mcg per day of lithium taken orally for 4 weeks. The placebo Group B naturally took a non-active placebo.
Subjects completed a mood test questionnaire containing questions about their ability to think, work, mood and emotions. For the lithium group, mood test scores increased steadily and significantly during the 4 week period.
The lithium group also reported significantly increased levels of happiness, friendliness and energy. Group B showed no improvement during the same period.
The researchers concluded that low-dose lithium provided a mood-improving and stabilizing effect.[xxii]
Lithium Orotate in the Treatment of Alcoholism
In this study, 42 alcoholic patients were treated with Lithium Orotate during alcohol rehabilitation in a private clinical setting for six months. The data was collected from clinical practice records for the 10 years following the initial study.
The patients received 150 mg of Lithium Orotate daily for six months along with calcium orotate, magnesium orotate, bromelain and essential phospholipids.
Ten of the patients had no relapse from 3 – 10 years. 13 patients stayed sober from 1 – 3 years. The remaining patients relapsed between 6 – 12 months.
The researchers concluded that Lithium Orotate therapy was safe in treating addiction with minor adverse side effects.[xxiii]
Lithium Orotate Recommended Dosage
Lithium retains a grim and undeserved reputation. Likely because it was originally associated with serious mental illness. And like most medications, lithium can produce serious side effects if not monitored properly.
Lithium carbonate or lithium chloride salts are typically prescribed for long-term control and to treat bipolar disorder at 900 – 1200 mg per day. The major problem with such high doses of lithium are some very serious and debilitating side effects.
For nootropic use, I suggest Lithium Orotate which typically contains only 5 mg of elemental lithium. Lithium Orotate is orotic acid combined with lithium.
Orotic acid reportedly makes the lithium more bioavailable than lithium carbonate. The lithium is released once it crosses the blood-brain barrier. So you’ll get the benefits of lithium supplementation while avoiding the toxic side effects of high doses.[xxiv]
Lithium Orotate supplements recommended dose is 5 mg two or three times per day. See “Where to buy Lithium Orotate” for more on lithium amounts in nootropic supplements.
Many neurohackers use Lithium Orotate only as needed. For example, when feeling anxious or in the middle of a mood swing.
For someone with bipolar disorder or manic disorders, increasing to two 5 mg tablets up to 3-times per day may be more effective.
Naturopathic doctors suggest stacking 1,000 mg of Omega-3 and 400 UI of Vitamin E (as mixed tocopherols) each day you’re using Lithium Orotate.
Lithium Orotate Side Effects
Do not confuse Lithium Orotate with lithium carbonate. The carbonate version of lithium is only available by prescription and comes with a host of side effects.
Prescription lithium used in excess has been shown to have adverse effects on thyroid and kidney function. This is NOT a problem when supplementing with Lithium Orotate when used at recommended dosages.
Lithium Orotate at low doses is non-toxic and lab tests are not required to monitor your lithium levels because it does not show up in blood samples.
Lithium Orotate should not be used if you are dealing with significant renal or cardiovascular disease, severe dehydration or sodium depletion, or if you’re taking diuretics or ACE inhibitors.
Do not use Lithium Orotate if you are pregnant or breast-feeding.
You should check with your doctor if you are on any medication before using Lithium Orotate.
Where to Buy Lithium Orotate
Mother Nature has already put the antipsychotic “drug” lithium in drinking water. And you get some lithium from food depending on where it’s grown.
Supplemental Lithium Orotate typically comes in 120 or 130 mg capsules or tablets containing 5 mg of elemental lithium.
I recommend and use Lithium Orotate by Advanced Research (Amazon) which was formulated by Dr. Hans Nieper.
Nootropics Expert Recommendation
Lithium Orotate 5 mg 2 or 3 times per day.
I recommend using Lithium Orotate as a nootropic supplement if you’re feeling anxious or depressed. Or experiencing mood swings.
Your body does not make lithium on its own. So you must get this essential trace mineral from your diet, or a supplement like Lithium Orotate.
Lithium combined with orotic acid makes Lithium Orotate which readily crosses the blood-brain barrier, and you should feel its effects within 15 – 20 minutes of taking it.
Lithium Orotate is especially effective if you’re feeling stressed, or mentally overworked. Your brain uses lithium faster and it needs to be replaced. Which you can do by using Lithium Orotate.
Lithium Orotate is great if you are ADHD because lithium calms the hyperactivity in your brain.
Lithium supplements do not change your state of consciousness. It simply helps bring you back to feeling normal and happy.
I suggest trying Lithium Orotate as a nootropic supplement with your first dose at 5 mg and see how you react. If you experience no negative reaction, try another 5 mg in a few hours. Up to 3 – 5 mg doses per day.
You’ll likely experience the full benefits of Lithium Orotate within a week of consistent use.
I recommend and use Lithium Orotate by Advanced Research (Amazon).
Join The Discussion - 824 comments
Ann W
May 10, 2021
Hi David,
I’ve been using nootropics since December of last year to correct brain imbalances caused by years of chronic stress, depression, panic attacks and to correct damage caused by a brief period of amphetamine use. Thanks to your advice, I’ve been drug free for almost 6 months and feel like I’ve been mostly successful in stabilizing my mood. One thing I’m still struggling with is low motivation and ruminating/racing panic thoughts. I’m going through a divorce and major life transition, so these symptoms are not surprising.
I started off using 1000mg of l-tyrosine daily, 500mg morning and noon (along with rhodiola, high quality b complex, phosphatidyl serine, vit c, lion mane, l-theanine, omega 3 during the day and l-tryptophan, mag, zinc, vit d at night); my brain seemed to happily drink up that dose of tyrosine back in December. But I’ve had to cut back to 250mg tyrosine 1 or 2 times per day because it started making me feel jittery and agitated.
It’s a catch 22 because I want to nourish the dopamine pathway to drive motivation (which I really need more of right now!) but I have to temper those norepinephrine/adrenaline spikes (which I’m assuming is contributing to the panic and agitation). Do you think that taking low dose lithium orotate with my daily dose of l-tyrosine might help? Any other advice?
Thank you!
David Tomen
May 10, 2021
Ann, Lithium Orotate is certainly one option.
You could also be L-Glutamine (https://nootropicsexpert.com/l-glutamine/) deficient which results in racing thoughts.
Other nootropics shown to help reduce racing thoughts include: Cat’s Claw (https://nootropicsexpert.com/cats-claw/) and Lemon Balm (https://nootropicsexpert.com/lemon-balm/).
Rick
May 9, 2021
Hi David,
I want to try Lithium Orotate for anxiety, depression and mood swings but i am little concerned about it’s safety. Is this compound really safe to take? I don’t want a Lithium toxicity.
Also how about interactions? Can i use this with Olanzapine?
David Tomen
May 10, 2021
Rick, you can use this drug interaction checker to see if Lithium is safe to use with Olanzapine: https://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.html
I haven’t checked but if it does warn about using those two together make sure you read the full reason why. Because with Lithium Orotate you are essentially micro-dosing lithium. The dose is so low it doesn’t even show up on blood tests.
Consider that psychiatrists prescribe lithium as Lithium Carbonate and the like in doses from 400 – 900 mg per day. Here we’re talking about 5 mg. So no, you don’t need to worry about lithium toxicity.
Rick
May 12, 2021
Thanks for your reply David!
What about Lithium Orotate and St. John’s Wort, can i take these together? That’s what i want to know as well.
David Tomen
May 13, 2021
Rick, they are not contraindicated. But it is difficult to predict what will happen when combining just about anything with St. John’s wort
Rick
May 14, 2021
Thanks again for your quick answer. I looked on http://www.drugs.com for interactions between Lithium Orotate and Olanzapine but since only the Carbonate form can be used to check for different interactions i did go with that. When i searched for interactions between the 2, there seems to be a moderate interaction, but because i only take 5 mg of Lithium Orotate once a day i think it should be totally fine. Also even the Lithium Carbonate form on Drugs.com with Olanzapine had not that severe side effects. So again i think i’m totally safe with this combo. Same story for Lithium Carbonate and St. John’s Wort – no major interaction there also. So the Orotate form then must be totally fine and safe i think.
Only problem and i think was a bit weird in some sense because i never heard of it. According to Drugs.com St. Johns Wort can have some dangerous interactions with certain foods high in tyramine – that can raise your blood pressure to dangerous levels. Then it says that this can cause life threatening symptoms such as sudden and severe headache, confusion, blurred vision, problems with speech or balance, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, seizure (convulsions), and sudden numbness or weakness (especially on one side of the body). If this supplement is so dangerous why the hell is it OTC instead of a prescription? Or are they talking here about the prescribtion of St. John’s Wort?
David Tomen
May 14, 2021
Rick, they are talking about the natural herbal supplement. And yes, St. John’s wort is likely the most powerful or near the top of powerful natural supplements.
It’s OTC because you can’t patent a herb. If you could we would not have a supplement industry nor a vitamin shop to buy this stuff. We would need prescriptions for everything we wanted to use.
Big pharmaceuticals are doing their best to change this. Vinpocetine, Phenibut and NAC are recent examples. So be careful what you wish for.
Jeannie
April 25, 2021
I have read that Lithium Orotate can help for sleep. Especially waking between 2-4. What are your thoughts and recommended dosage. Thank You!
David Tomen
April 26, 2021
Jeannie, to test it try 5 mg Lithium Orotate which is a standard dose. You can safely double that if you need to. Try it and see if it helps you.
Dan
April 24, 2021
Firstly, thank you David for running your Youtube and web channels. Your channel has been so helpful.
I’m an adult, and deal with mild depression, mood swings, brain fog and racing thoughts. Over the year, I have tried at different times NAC, SAMe + B complex, mucuna dopa, lion’s mane, St. John’s wort, Mg and etc. With every step, I can feel myself improving, and regaining confidence to be better in my life.
I just stumbled upon your video for Lithium Orotate just recently, ordered it and tried it. I was glad it calmed my hyperactive mind. My brain fog cleared and racing thoughts faded away within about 30 minutes, my mood stabilised and I feel a veil was lifted, and felt much more normal again. I take 5mg only. With this, I am able to experience the “the now moment” and have better clarity and energy to finish my tasks.
Am really pleasantly surprised with Lithium Orotate, and will take it on a need-basis or when my mood is getting off track.
Will stack this with my daily intake of NAC, B Complex, Magnesium, Lion’s mane.
Thanks David! any other nootropic to include, pls advise too.
David Tomen
April 24, 2021
Dan, congrats and the only other suggestion for now may be L-Tyrosine and Alpha GPC.
But it sounds like you are on the right track. And stayed with it until you found the key that worked.
Dan
April 30, 2021
Thanks David. I will order them.
Dan
June 1, 2021
Hi David
by the way, when will you release your 2nd edition book? want to support your work by buying your books.
David Tomen
June 1, 2021
Dan, I hesitate to put a date on it because the release date keeps getting pushed back. And it’s all my fault because I’m having a hard time keeping up with the growth of Nootropics Expert and finding the extra couple of hours per day to finish the 2nd Edition of Head First.
But it must be done. Today is June 1 and note to self. Finish the book already!
Line
April 20, 2021
Hi
I just purchased your new book head first. I am just curious as to why gou did not include Lithium in it?
David Tomen
April 20, 2021
Line, Lithium Orotate along with another 20 – 25 nootropics will be added to the 2nd Edition of Head First. And that will be published when I get finished writing it. Which my publisher was hoping to happen last month. But it looks like it will be later this year. Hopefully not too much later.
Jessica
April 15, 2021
Thank you for so much info! I’ve been taking it for 3 years. I had previously been on almost every single antipsych med, antidepressant, and mood stabilizer out there. All of them caused horrendous side effects either short term or long term. I even developed tardive dyskinesia. I finally found a different dr and he put me on the lithium orotate. It was like magic! My previous psych dr was stunned. She said she hadn’t thought it would be strong enough. (I was very sick)
David Tomen
April 15, 2021
Thanks Jessica. I get this from a lot of people. Glad you managed to find the right thing after all that time. Good for you.
Tarik
March 29, 2021
Thank you David.
You mentioned, “Lithium does enhance the transport of Vitamin B12 and folate into brain cells.” Only into brain cells?
There is one Dr. Amy Yasko who is supposedly well known for her research on Methylation Pathways. She says that if your body is low in lithium then raise it up with Lithium Orotate supplement before adding B12 supplement, because she explains, since lithium is a transporter of B12(and your body needs B12) then taking more B12 will simply deplete lithium further….I asked you about this to verify. Please comment on this again. Thanks.
Tarik
David Tomen
March 29, 2021
Tank, there seems to be some logic behind what she is saying. But she is the only person in the world saying it. So my point is not to worry about it. For even more comfort use a high quality B-Complex (https://amzn.to/3dldB0m) to make sure you’re getting enough B12 every day.
Tarik
March 28, 2021
Hi David. Thanks for the great article. I would be grateful if you would kindly respond to the following questions.
Is it safe to give 5mg/day of Lithium Orotate to a 12 year old boy (83 lbs) who appears to have ADHD like symptoms? Is Lithium really a transporter of B12? Is it true that giving B12 without sufficient presence of Lithium in the body depletes the body of Lithium further? Is it addictive in any way?
Since lithium is a trace mineral, do you expect Lithium Rotate to be widely available for another 50 years?
Thanks.
Tarik
David Tomen
March 29, 2021
Tank, I am no qualified to make a recommendation for your child. I suggest checking with his doctor about this. But Lithium is safely prescribed for children: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6262083/
Lithium does enhance the transport of Vitamin B12 and folate into brain cells.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6996457
“Is it true that giving B12 without sufficient presence of Lithium in the body depletes the body of Lithium further?” Comment: that doesn’t make any sense. Think about that logically Tank and come to your own conclusion.
Please scroll back to the top of this article and carefully read it all the way through. Then decide if you think Lithium could be addictive.
And I cannot predict what will happen in 50 years. But if the planet is still habitable I imagine Lithium Orotate will still be available. Although medical advances may be to the point where no one will need to supplement with anything including Lithium.