General Informations
Because of its high reactivity, lithium never occurs freely in nature, and instead, only appears in compounds, which are usually ionic. Lithium occurs in a number of pegmatitic minerals, but due to its solubility as an ion is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines and clays.
Because of its relative nuclear instability, lithium is less common in the solar system than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements even though the nuclei are very light in atomic weight.
For related reasons, lithium has important links to nuclear physics. The transmutation of lithium atoms to helium in 1932 was the first fully man-made nuclear reaction, and lithium-6 deuteride serves as a fusion fuel in staged thermonuclear weapons.
Trace amounts of lithium are present in all organisms. The element serves no apparent vital biological function, since animals and plants survive in good health without it. Non-vital functions have not been ruled out. The lithium ion Li+ administered as any of several lithium salts has proved to be useful as a mood-stabilizing drug in the treatment of bipolar disorder, due to neurological effects of the ion in the human body.
Functions:
Several research studies have confirmed that link between high levels of lithium in tap water and low incidences of suicides, admissions to mental hospitals, murders and rapes.
A study from the University of Oita in Japan found that low lithium levels were associated with increases in rates of suicide and depression. The researchers examined the natural lithium levels in the tap water of 18 communities south of Japan. They then examined the suicide rates in the 18 communities. They found that suicide rates were lowest in those areas with the highest concentrations of lithium in their tap water.
A high lithium water content translates to about 2mg of lithium a day. Pharmacologic psychiatric doses typically start at 300mg daily.
Lithium compounds are used as a psychiatric medication. A number of salts of lithium are used as mood-stabilizing drugs, primarily in the treatment of bipolar disorder, where they have a role in the treatment of depression and particularly of mania, both acutely and in the long term. As a mood stabilizer, lithium is probably more effective in preventing mania than in preventing depression, and reduces the risk of suicide in people with bipolar disorder.
Back in 1989, Schrauzer and Shrestha published a paper called "Lithium in Drinking Water and the Incidences of Crimes, Suicides, and Arrests Related to Drug Addictions." They took information about the lithium level in the water of 27 counties in Texas. Seems that counties with higher lithium levels in the water had a statistically significant decrease in the incidence of homicide, suicide, arrests for opiates and cocaine, and violent criminal behavior.
From the 1989 paper:
" Lithium has previously been used to control episodic outbreaks of rage among prisoners and in the management of drug abusers. Animal experiments have demonstrated that lithium suppresses cocaine-induced super sensitivity...the kindling phenomenon following the chronic application of...a central nervous system stimulant, and head-twitching in response to the administration of mescaline. Furthermore, lithium has been found to [improve] distractibility... and produce improvement of selective attention to stimuli... it prevents behavioral alterations owing to social isolation, lowers [aggressive behavior] owing to confinement...and causes a normalization of spontaneous motor activity."
That's a lot for one little trace mineral. But what happens outside of Texas? Observational studies from Japan seem to correlate - back in 2009, researchers there noted that suicide rates decreased with higher amounts of lithium in the water. In Japan, rates of suicide have been distressingly high for the past 15 years.
What food lithium is found in:
Lithium is in fact everywhere. Lithium exists in our soil, in varying degrees around the world, and in our water supply.
Our water absorbs lithium when it comes into contact with lithium-rich soil in river beds, streams and underground aquifers. Because our food is grown in soil and uses water to grow, lithium also occurs naturally in our food supply.
Grain and vegetable consumption accounts for approximately 66 to 90 percent of your total lithium intake, according to the "Journal of the American College of Nutrition." Trace amounts of lithium are present in all grains, as grains absorb water and nutrients from the soil.
However, some wheat may absorb greater amounts of lithium than others. For example, yeast absorbs limited amounts of lithium, while emmer and spelt grains, known as hulled wheat, tend to absorb greater amounts of lithium, according to the "International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition."
Mustards of all kinds, particularly organic mustard, kelp, sardines, other fish and sea products are good sources.
Blue corn, but only the blue corn, not other varieties of corn to the same degree.
Raw or roasted pistachio nuts are also a good source of lithium.
Cooked vegetables, sugarcane and seaweed have been shown to contain lithium.
What ymptoms and disorders deficiency may cause:
Deficiency of lithium is not really known. The theory that a deficiency of lithium can cause an increase in depression has not been adequately proved.
Jim Adams found that in an evaluation of hair samples from children with autism that lithium values were significantly lower in young children of autism and their mothers.
The Great Plains Laboratory has made similar observations on many children with autism tested through.
The lithium values of some children with autism are in the lowest one percentile.
Ironically, the use of highly purified water to prevent ingestion of toxic chemicals may have deprived pregnant women of a trace amount of lithium found in tap water needed for normal brain development and this deficiency appears to be a significant autism risk factor.
This switch to purified bottled water has taken place in the past 20 years during the same time as the surge in the autism epidemic.
The tenfold increase in bottled water consumption coincides nearly exactly with an approximate ten-fold increase in autism incidence over the same time period. It is possible that this factor might in fact be equal in importance to mercury exposure as an autism risk factor.
Problems related to excessive doses:
Swedish researchers tested thyroid effects of trace lithium in the water in some villages in the Peruvian Andes. Some of these villages had some 10-20X the natural lithium in the food and water of the Japanese subjects, up to a maximum of 30mg daily (which is, of course, within an order of magnitude of the pharmacologic dose of 300mg).
They found that lithium in the water seemed to decrease active thyroid hormone levels and increase thyroid stimulating levels—lithium as a medicine will tend to cause hypothyroidism.
Heart and kidney disease can induce lithium toxity which can cause dehydratation and sodium depletion.
Symptoms of lithium toxicity include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, thirst, increased urination, tremors, drowsiness, confusion, delirium, and muscle weakness. Skin eruptions may also occur. With further toxicity, staggering, seizures, kidney damage, coma, and even death may occur.
Recommended doses for people in the UK:
There is no specific RDA for lithium, nor is it known how much, if any, we need. Dietary studies estimate that we get about 2 mg. daily. A therapeutic intake can vary from 500-1,500 mg. daily, though usually 300 mg. of lithium carbonate three times daily will provide the blood levels needed to treat manic disorders, which may require long-term therapy.