http://www.aor.ca/assets/Research/pdf/fall_2005_article1.pdfPerhaps the most remarkable rise of a newly-identified
mineral in recent years has been lithium.81 Although most
people think of this mineral as a “drug” to used treat
bipolar disorder, lithium is a trace mineral found in “hard”
water and food: typical diets contain between 0.650 and
3.1 milligrams of lithium per day, coming mostly from
grains and vegetables.
Animal studies have shown that lithium is an essential
mineral in mammals. Lithium-deficient laboratory rodents
have impaired reproductive function and abnormal lipid
metabolism. When USDA scientists sat down to reformulate
the standard rodent chow used in laboratory experiments in
1997, one of the key changes to the diet was to fortify its
lithium content beyond the amount that occurs naturally in
the elements of the diet.81
Similarly, studies in goats show that lithium-deficient animals
suffer depressed immune systems, chronic inflammation,
splenic atrophy, excessive iron buildup in their tissues, and
calcium deposits in their blood vessels; moreover, the
activity of the enzymes involved in their mitochondrial
energy production is depressed, and they develop “benign”
tumors of the breast, salivary glands, and adrenal glands,
as well as ovarian cysts.81
But the most fascinating research on lithium’s role in health
has come from studies comparing the health of people
living in areas with higher and lower amounts of lithium in
the rain or tap water, and individuals with higher and lower
levels of the mineral in their hair, scalp, and urine. These
studies have found that people living in areas with low
lithium have higher rates of neurosis, schizophrenia,
psychosis, psychiatric ward admissions, homicide,
suicide, forcible sexual assault, burglary, and
runaways.81
Based on the amount of lithium found in typical diets, and
the amounts known to support brain health when consumed
in the diet and drinking water, nutrition researchers are
now suggesting an ‘RDA’ of lithium in the range of 0.400
to 1 milligram per day.81 Lithium supplements are now
becoming more readily available in the United States;
unfortunately, the Canadian authorities continue to insist that
even nutritional doses of organic lithium is a “drug,” and
threaten fines and imprisonment to anyone making it
available except by prescription.
