Top row: In a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, lithium deficiency (right) dramatically increased amyloid beta deposits in the brain compared with mice that had normal physiological levels of lithium (left). Bottom row: The same was true for the Alzheimer’s neurofibrillary tangle protein tau. Images: Yankner Lab
By Jo Nova
A bit of a blockbuster…
Wow. A major new study this month suggests for the first time, finally, what might be a causal link between a deficiency in lithium and Alzheimer’s. The team at Harvard asks: Could Lithium Explain — and Treat — Alzheimer’s Disease?
A few weeks ago, they released a big paper in Nature. They had analyzed brain tissue from people who had died, and found that lithium levels declined dramatically in people with mild cognitive decline, in other words, in the earliest stages, before Alzheimer’s was diagnosed. When they deprived mice of lithium, the mice showed accelerated brain pathology and their memory declined. But when they fed deprived mice lithium, they were able to restore their memory. It’s quite remarkable. There is hope.
We’ve known for years lithium might be essential
For a century or more there have been hints that lithium is an essential element for our health, and especially for our brains. In 1949 an Australian, John Cade, discovered he could treat people with bipolar disorder with lithium. By 1990 researchers knew that low levels of lithium in drinking water were associated with higher levels of suicide suggesting that lithium might be essential for a healthy brain. Studies in the 1970s and 1980s showed rats and goats had higher mortality rates if they were deprived of lithium.
In 2011, researchers showed that in area of Japan with higher levels of lithium in the water, people actually lived longer. In 2017 a group in Texas found that in counties with higher lithium levels, people died less often of Alzheimer’s. In 2018 lithium was shown to enhance the clearance of amyloid-β (Aβ) which is commonly found in people with Alzheimer’s. And yet, there is no RDA for lithium. Like so many things that can’t be patented and sold for profit, our government agencies are slow to get interested in cheap treatments. Imagine if the cure was cents a day instead of $56,000 a year? (Big Pharma will hate it).
But long ago, in the 1860s there was a health craze to bathe and drink bottled water from lithium enriched springs, which maybe wasn’t so crazy.
Lithium deficiency looks like a cause of the build-up of the infamous amyloid plaques?
Their research fills a big gap — we know amyloid plaques are associated with Alzheimer’s, but they are not definitive. There are people with high levels of amyloid who don’t suffer memory loss, and people who do have cognitive decline who don’t seem to have much in the way of plaques. And we’ve spent twenty years, and billions of dollars, trying to treat dementia by reducing the plaques, yet been unable to show any improvement in cognitive abilities.
This study is the first to show that amyloid plaques seem to sequester lithium. In effect, the lithium concentrates in the plaques, but this starves the rest of the brain, and we now know lithium protects brains in several ways. So the real issue appears to be the lack of lithium, not so much the plaques.
The researchers looked at brain tissue from people who were cognitively healthy when they died and compared it to people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). They compared levels of 20 different micronutrients and minerals across the three types of tissue and the one that stood out was lithium. Levels fell in the cortex of people with mild cognitive impairment before they developed Alzheimer’s,
See the graph below, by crikey. It’s rare the medical world to see such a stark difference. The graphs show that lithium, and only lithium is declining in brain tissue compared to blood in people with some form of cognitive impairment. (NCI means no cognitive impairment).
Figure 1: a,b, Volcano plots showing changes in metal cortex-to-serum ratios in the PFC of MCI versus NCI (a) and AD versus NCI (b) cases, along with their statistical significance, determined by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey’s post-hoc test, followed by the Benjamini–Hochberg correction for the number of metals assessed. (Aron et al 2025: )
Lithium stands alone. No other mineral showed such a dramatic decline in the cortex in association with cognitive impairment. They looked at half the periodic table (nearly) including sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt, nickel, chromium, molybdenum, lead, aluminum, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, lithium, strontium, barium, rubidium, boron, and selenium.
There is talk of lithium being used as an early indicator now, used as a way to diagnose (and hopefully prevent) dementia. Though blood levels of lithium are not that useful — it’s the amount in the brain that matters — which is hard to test. (Who wants a brain biopsy?)
If lithium really is the key to Alzheimer’s, or even just one of the main causes, it could explain why some people with no plaques could still suffer memory loss if they were deprived of lithium some other way. Likewise, people with plaques who had a high intake of lithium, could perhaps keep their abilities intact. More studies need to be done to find out.
The paradox is that lithium is concentrated in amyloid plaques, and yet getting more lithium into the brain might be the solution, both to overcome the deficiency, and prevent more plaques forming. The irony is that a lithium deficiency may increase the rate of the plaque formation, but the plaques then hoard the lithium. It’s a nasty spiral.
In Alzheimers, lithium was concentrated in the amyloid plaques.
Lithium acts in several ways that protect the brain
What impresses me is that there are now so many mechanisms. This is not just another study of some loose correlation or association. Lithium inhibits an enzyme called GSK3β — which is normally elevated in Alzheimer’s. GSK3β is involved in building both plaques and tau tangles, so it’s a good thing that lithium puts a brake on this process.
When lithium is low, genes involved in synaptic signaling and structure were broadly down-regulated, and lithium-deficient mice had thinner myelin sheaths around neuronal axons, which can’t be good. (Myelin is like insulation for our nerves). Many of the genes that were up-regulated were risky genes that are also up-regulated in Alzheimer’s.
How much lithium do we need?
Dr Bruce Yanker (the lead researcher at Harvard) obviously tells people we need more studies before he could recommend anyone take lithium.
For those who don’t want to wait another ten years, or who are at risk now, it might be prudent to look up the lithium levels in your water and food (which is easy in the US where most wells have been assayed, but harder in Australia, though I found one map). People who are concerned can take a small over-the-counter supplement to make sure they are not deprived. It seems safe to take doses of lithium that are at the same low level that some people naturally get from food and water.
Lithium is found in leafy greens, legumes, eggs, potatoes and milk but at very low levels, especially in areas where the soil doesn’t have much lithium. Some forms of mineral water have higher levels of lithium too. Or you could move to Portugal or Argentina.
The natural intake of lithium is between 0.5mg to 1mg per day, but in some parts of the world it reaches up to 5mg a day. Doses used to treat bipolar disorder are vastly higher — as much as 100 to 200mg a day of elemental lithium for years on end. This is via a prescription for something like 1,000mg of lithium carbonate. There are sometimes side effects at these high doses that need monitoring (talk to your doctor, etc).
The form of lithium that seemed most useful in this study was Lithium Orotate which is available over the counter in many countries, or at least by mail order from Australia.
Lithium is a favourite of mine, and I’ll be writing more soon. I might start a campaign.
h/t to Michael Rae (20 years ago) and hello to Maurice and Charles who share an interest.
Related posts: One in six dementia cases might be avoided with Vitamin D
ABBREVIATIONS
- NCI: no cognitive impairment,
- MCI: Mild Cognitive impairment
- AD: Alzheimer’s Disease
- GSK3β — Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta
REFERENCES
Aron, L., Ngian, Z.K., Qiu, C. et al. Lithium deficiency and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09335-x
Ohgami, H, Terao, T, Shiotsuki, I, Ishii, N, Iwata, N. Lithium levels in drinking water and risk of suicide. Br J Psychiatry 2009; 194: 464–5.
Schrauzer, GN, Shrestha, KP. Lithium in drinking water and the incidences of crimes, suicides, and arrests related to drug addictions. Biol Trace El Res 1990; 25: 105–13.
I wonder if table salt, or salted peanuts contain sufficient??
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David, sadly there doesn’t seem to be much data on Australian food or water regarding lithium. The US has been much more dedicated about analyzing water wells, but the Australian government has seemingly only looked at soils in relation to mining it. Please let me know if anyone finds any.
And if (sorry to be macabre) if dementia rates are a proxy for lithium deficiency in any way, then Australian foods are obviously not that rich.
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Another factor in a complex and horrible disease -possibly- stopped or prevented by a simple inexpensive supplement.
Don’t expect any involvement from Big Pharma or their agents at government regulatory agencies such as TGA in Australia, not so much FDA under the TRUMP Administration, or research funding, or any medical doctors daring to suggest such supplementation.
Unfortunately the disease itself is not reversible but it might be preventable or further progression might be stopped.
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That’s the thing that is so exciting David. They did treat the mice and their memory did improve.
It is not always the case that restoration of a deficiency can rewind the damage, but it isn’t impossible.
If Lithium can restore GSK3beta levels perhaps we can not only stop further amyloid and tau but reduce some.
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Jo,
having seen a number of friends die quickly from Alzheimers – what stood out was the quickness of the decline as their bodies shut down and their minds were unable to support the person’s body
As my Wife is concerned re Alzheimers, as her father developed it at 87, and with Son’s Father-in-law currently suffering from it,
Can you or any other contributors recommend a Lithium Supplement?
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Lithium orotate seems popular OO. Just did a quick look on ebay- you can buy tabs, powder, drops etc. Both overseas and local Australian sources. Chemists/ pharmacies- looks like they supply lithium carbonate.
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Thanks Ross,
Found and ordered 2 x
https://au.iherb.com/pr/nutricost-lithium-orotate-5-mg-120-capsules/135520?gad_campaignid=1632803189&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlOTw1bmsjwMVEqlmAh3BRCKKEAQYASABEgJRW_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
one for me and one for My Wife
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35236261/
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Jo, be careful about claims of “improvement”. Once dead a brain cell is as dead as a Monty Python parrot. I have a near 60 yr old daughter still living with me, brain damaged from birth, consistent with having the umbilical cut too soon, and things that were impossible once are just as impossible today.
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Thanks, Jo, for presenting this.
Even though a since retracted “study” about amyloid plaques misdirected billions of dollars of research, researchers independently discovered factors related to dementia. Below the mention of the retraction are two examples of areas for preventing/treating dementia.
“For years, billions of dollars in research funding and drug development have focused on amyloid plaques as the primary cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Drug companies designed treatments to target these plaques, yet clinical trials failed to produce meaningful results — and a recent discovery may explain why.
“A landmark Alzheimer’s study that shaped nearly two decades of research has been retracted due to manipulated images, calling into question the foundation of one of the most dominant theories in Alzheimer’s research. The study introduced a specific form of amyloid beta protein as a major driver of memory loss. However, the images that “proved” this protein’s existence were altered — and now, the entire claim is unraveling.”
https://www.onedaymd.com/2025/03/landmark-alzheimers-study-retracted.html
“In this paradigm shifting book, Dale Bredesen, MD, offers real hope to anyone looking to prevent and even reverse Alzheimer’s Disease and cognitive decline. Revealing that AD is not one condition, as it is currently treated, but three, The End of Alzheimer’s outlines 36 metabolic factors (micronutrients, hormone levels, sleep) that can trigger “downsizing” in the brain. The protocol shows us how to rebalance these factors using lifestyle modifications like taking B12, eliminating gluten, or improving oral hygiene.”
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/551532/the-end-of-alzheimers-by-dale-e-bredesen-md/
Dr. John Campbell interviewed the founder of Food for the Brain charity which aims to reduce dementia risk, and introduces examples of accomplishing that:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dr+john+campbell+food+for+the+brain&t=h_&ia=videos&iax=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DcXX4iMuwaVQ
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People with bipolar disorder take lithium.
I wonder if there’s any evidence that they have lower rates of Alzheimer’s?
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Great question David. Yes there is. The article was too long already, but people with bipolar have a high risk of dementia, and yet lithium reduces that back to a normal risk.
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Just wondering if a dash more lithium in the water supply to Canberra would result in an increase in common sense in Government. Particularly in the office of the energy minister?
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Whatever you do, don’t drop lithicarb in the water dispenser bottles!
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You are on a roll Jo
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This is not the same molecule given to my mother-in-law back in the 1970s*. The key word here is “orotate”.
The disorder was called “manic depression” then.
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John, Lithium is a metal, it explodes on contacting water (which is us) What we really mean is the Lithium ion- Li+ which has one positive charge – which is balanced with a anion (negatively charged) that can be orotate or carbonate. It is the second smallest positive ion (to Hydrogen aka acid). The combination is by definition a “Salt”.
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The study does not suggest you eat the battery in your EV.
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Just licking it will do.
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A quick search of the net turned this up:
“It has long been known that lithium has toxic effects on the thyroid gland and the kidneys. The thyroid toxicity, caused primarily by lithium’s interference with thyroid hormones’ release from the gland affects up to 19% of treated patients.”
In complex systems, which this undoubtedly is, it’s important to pull back to explore the full process.
The antidepressant medications built on the SSRI concepts is an example of why we need to tread carefully.
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Another recent confusing bit of “science” has surfaced: many years ago drinking water levels of fluoride were linked to tooth decay and so fluoride was added to drinking water and toothpaste.
There has recently been some questioning of its usefulness.
What’s the truth?
Can lithium and fluoride coexist?
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Lithiumfluoride is a mineral. I find it interesting that the SSRI’s contain fluorine in the molecule and the real question is fluoridation reducing mentation (IQ). If so is this deliberate? A hint is found in the toothpaste isle- children’s toothpaste. Dentists are pretty passionate about all this. Weston-Price did very valuable anthropology studying dentition about the world. Is it the diet that decays teeth rather than “fluoride deficiency”
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Buy the kids an electric tooth brush with a small head. That way they can only put a little paste on the brush.
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Apart from lithium deficiency, low levels of that magical hormone Vitamin D are also associated with Alzheimer’s as has been reported on these pages previously. Vitamin D deficiency is also extremely common but most medical doctors don’t have a clue and Australia’s TGA even warns of its toxicity (in ridiculous doses).
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Vit D deficiency cannot be the sole cause. I have been giving Mrs H useful quantities of Vit D for ages, ever since her osteoporosis diagnosis.
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That’s good, but have you included the cofactors? And also K2 and zinc?
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Hi,
Need to add magnesium as it helps electrolyte levels essential for circulation and to metabolize D3.
Low magnesium levels can affect the heart function and have even been linked to the cause death by heat attack.
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Studies have proved that lack of Vit D3 was one reason so many people died from COVID especially if they were old, had dark skin, poor diet and lived in cold climates where they did not get enough natural sun on their skin to get D3 naturally.
So, it seems race/skin pigment and poor diet was a factor.
Not to mention that drugs they banned could have helped support the immune system. Increasing the T-Cell supply a good thing not a bad thing.
T cells, or T lymphocytes, are a type of white blood cell that plays a crucial role in the immune system by recognizing and responding to specific foreign substances, such as viruses and bacteria.
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Podcast:
Should lithium be added to drinking water?
https://qbi.uq.edu.au/podcast-lithium-water-lowers-dementia-risk
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NO!
Imagine the problems of allowing firstly politicians to dictate what you must be medicated.
And the danger of bureaucrats deciding what levels are necessary.
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No from me too. Not even sure about fluoride any more. This comes up everytime there is a “breakthrough” in medical research. Lost count. A few years ago some idiots even wanted to add statins to the water supply. Just FO.
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Ross,
comparing my Teeth non-fluoride ridden with fillings etc, with my kids teeth with fluoride no problems whatsover, I totally support Fluoride in the Water, and other than riddled with Cancer, alive and bouncing along Health wise at 80, and also other than lousy knees.
Non Covid Vaccinated.
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Afraid this is the way pollies think. They either restrict sale of a substance, or make it compulsory.
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Poor John Cade, his theory was actually Uric acid and he chose the Lithium Urate
in his trial. Story goes, if he correctly attributed Lithium he would be in line
for a Nobel Prize.
Whatever you do- do NOT ingest lithium batteries!!!
(For the window lickers out there).
Micronutrients are an obvious starting point to look at many “Diseases of modern living”
that are flourishing.
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I’m certain Lithium was the panacea of choice for imbibers of excessive marijuana use too!
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My Wife was treated for years with Lithium for BiPolar, but occasionally (and for no explicable reason) she suffered toxicity. She had to go on to other meds.
But your point Jo regarding the “no money to be made” hits a poignant note for me. I used to suffer (BADLY) from gout. I went through all the standard accusations from Medico’s and every other “expert” (my Grandma always said…) that I drank too much (possible) and had a crap diet (rubbish). Rheumatologist said the old wives’ tales were rubbish and put me on a cheap ‘n’ easy drug called Allopurinol (that GP’s don’t seem to even know about) which has had me gout free for 15+ years.
So on to my point: my Chiropractor took one look at me when I walked in with my LAST EVER gout attack, said “I see you have gout” (he could tell by looking at me???) and said “one teaspoon of carb soda with each meal will fix that. The attack was gone in 24 hours instead of a month. Big Pharma didn’t make a cent. I told my Doctor and she shrugged, didn’t have a clue.
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So those old car batteries might be worth something after all….??
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Been wondering why my X feed has recently had ads for Lithium rotate. Now I know why. As I recall the whole alzheimers research field was dominated by a French researcher. Where the plaque theory came from. Recently, some of the original research work was re-examined and evidence had been falsified. Hence, I think the whole plaque/ alzheimers interaction is not fully proven. But like most science it’s complicated or as Mencken would say ” “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong”. So, more likely a combination of factors with perhaps Lithium being a major variable.
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French researchers in Alzheimer’s include Sylvain Lesné, a neuroscientist whose image manipulation in a 2006 paper was investigated.
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Attempts have been made to measure lithium in-vivo, in the brain, with 3T MRI.
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Thanks good article also note the comment on lithium toxicity.
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I have an interest here, Mrs H being a sufferer. So a couple of questions if I may:
If on a “standard” diet where does one get Li?
We have been a couple for over 60 yrs dining at the same table. Unless Li is in beer it is hard to see how there could a marked difference in our intake. In fact I don’t see cases where both partners fall victim of Az which should happen if the cause of Az is dietary.
Keep up the good work, Az is more devastating and longer lasting than cancer.
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Not all dementia is Alzheimer’s- although Alzheimer’s is used as a synonym for dementia. I guess looking into simple things such as a daily walk in the sun given as health promotion advice may improve things at the population level. There will still be individuals at risk.
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Mrs H HAS Az, diagnosed with a scan.
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It’s hard to get lithium in food Hanrahan. The best food source is mineral water from springs that are high in lithium. I don’t know if there are any that have measured that in Australia, but I’d be interested to find out. Given the severity of getting this wrong, it seems to me that spending a few dollars on a lithium orotate supplement is basic insurance. There appear to be no toxic effects at 5mg a day and if it’s a waste of money, it’s nothing compared to the cost of dementia, as you know.
Usually food sources are better than supplements (EG there are eight different forms of Vitamin E in food), but minerals seem to be the hardest to get in food. And with factory farming we may be eating less trace minerals than many did 100 years ago.
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There’s quite a list of sources I got from a search using ” nutritional sources of lithium” into DDG. Two in particular appealed to me: tomatoes and potatoes. I think I’ll go for fish and chips, well salted in the hope my question at #1 above has an affirmative answer.
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Lithium will feature in beer and wine but not in particularly high levels. Mineral waters sourced from certain regions seem to have high levels. There’s a graph in the link below.
https://lithium.org/lithium-water-and-you/
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Jo mentioned mineral waters from Portugal in her post. Probably no surprise that a Portuguese source of water topped the graph with the highest lithium content.
Curiously, you could buy lithium coke and lithium beer in the US in the early 20th century.
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Nowadays, I’m mostly careful using lithium grease on my trucks and machinery not to get it on my hands so I don a pair of nitrile gloves. I knew about Lithium carbonate for moderating bipolar and I thought too much exposure to the Li in the grease might upset the Li balance in my brain. In my younger days I didn’t worry too much about greasy hands. But anyway, long story short, my brain is on the top line. Happily, after reading Jo’s article I speculate that the Li may have kept the Alzheimers at bay. Thank you Jo for a timely article. Now I can rule out Alzheimers as I stay one step ahead of the old age truck.
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Has anyone read my posts on this topic?
/am I wasting my time? 😎
Lithium, like all micronutrients, plays its part in overall health, but let’s not jump on the bandwagon of hope and miracle supplements.
I’ve seen enough in my time.
I drink around 2l of mineral water a day (Waterfords flavoured varieties) and eat a lot of beef too, which is high in Lithium (shame Jo, shame) at 5mg/kg.
Eggs, most meats, fish are high in it too.
Liver and kidneys are just as good if you like that sort of thing.
There was a test among London cabbies a while ago, who suffer from severe stress and depression, where they ate fish every day to see the effect, and it was profound.
I like Sardines, as they cover all the bases, are cheap, low in Mercury (unlike bigger fish) and taste better than Tuna.
Heh.
Sorry people, no miracle cures today.
Quality nutrition and gut health are the top 2 things though, and gut health is shaping up to be mega important.
Maybe you can try edible insects…
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Maybe they should can krill. They are at the bottom of the food chain and come from the clean southern oceans so no mercury. The penguins would vote against that I ‘spose.
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John, High quality mineral water is one of the only reasonable sources of lithium, which I did mention. But lithium content varies by 1000. In Germany the best is 1700micrograms per L. So 1.7mg. But the worst is 1/1000th of that. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31051049/. How do you know what’s in the Waterford? I could not find any analysis.
Cows that live on low lithium soils can’t create lithium, unless they have a nuclear reactor, and in any case — even the cows that do eat lithium don’t put it in their muscle meat. Beef-steak is a poor source of lithium. Dry weight is ~0.012 mg per kg (depending on soils). So a 200g steak has 0.0025mg or 1/500th of the suggested 1mg provisional RDA. Organ meats and bone will be higher, but eating even 100g of liver or bone is uncommon.
PS: Regarding bandwagons — I have read maybe a couple of thousand papers in the last 25 years on micronutrient intake, and rank this one in the top 10. Some of their claims are a little overblown, in the sense that they aren’t the first to find a link with lithium, they are building on many papers all pointing the same way. But they are quite conservative in their conclusions. Many papers show mental health and longevity is better in counties with higher lithium in the water and we’ve known that for years.
According to Biological Trace Element Research, natural sources of lithium include:
Nuts: 8.8 micrograms per gram of dry weight
Cereals: 4.4 micrograms per gram of dry weight
Fish: 3.1 micrograms per gram of dry weight
Vegetables: 2.3 micrograms per gram of dry weight
Mushrooms: 0.19 microgram per gram of dry weight
Dairy: 0.5 microgram per gram of dry weight
Meats: 0.012 microgram per gram of dry weight
https://www.livestrong.com/article/519437-what-foods-contain-lithium
Be careful with the units. Note that we are hoping to get at least 1,000 micrograms a day (1mg). Li-orotate supplements are usually 5,000 mcg a day of elemental lithium (5mg). It’s really hard to get that from food in most parts of the world.
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Almost like I don’t trust what you write JC
The results show that Li had a decreasing mean concentration in the food samples as follows: vegetables leafy > bulbous > fructose > leguminous > egg whites > root vegetables > milk products > egg yolks > meats.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10888284/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6443601/table/Tab2/
Are you wasting your time? Probably not as you seem to enjoy it. On the other hand, is it a waste of ours?
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https://michaelnehls.substack.com/p/lithium-the-essential-trace-element
Read Michael Nehls and all your questions are answered.
Then buy this
https://www.betterlife.com/product/lithium-orotate-120-mg/advanced-research-nci-dr-hans-nieper/62531
Dr Hans Nieper “invented” lithium orotate in 1968
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It appears putting Lithium in batteries is a misdirection.
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I’ve scratched out a minimalist living in the fitness world for nearly 40 years.
I’ve seen lifestyle and diet trends go around the circle.
Fat was bad now good.
Weight lifting made you slow.
Now makes you faster.
I’m personally not expecting to live as long as my parents, though they both smoked cigarettes their entire adult lives.
People who take good care of themselves often do well, then sometimes not.
Some who think about such things very little, are very healthy.
I watched a roofer, with the appearance of life long substance abuse, possibly 50ish are older, throw a fifty pound roll of tar paper over his shoulder and climb a 25 foot ladder one handed a dozen times as if it was nothing. I’m pretty sure he didn’t have a gym membership.
Ozzie made it to 76.
Keith still lives. (The singer that did 2 hours of aerobic exercise at every gig had to get the heart surgery.)
It may be like life on the planet, and the weather.
A throw of dice.
Maybe the old ash covered loin cloth unscientific gurus aren’t so dumb.
You can’t live, you can only be lived.
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Interesting that in my early GP days, nearly 40 years ago, Li was the first line treatment for bipolar disorder and seemed to work well.
When the newer, expensive antipsychotics arrived, Li all but disappeared.
One thing you can say about Big Pharma – they know how to market!
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In my post above, https://www.joannenova.com.au/2025/08/is-lithium-an-essential-nutrient-for-brains-preventing-and-treating-alzheimers/#comment-2866406
I mentioned SSRIs because of the exploration of Li being added to those “antidepressants” and the resulting changes in outcome. If Li could be added to those antis and the changes stand out it says something about the base item being used.
I’ve commented before on the basic mode of operation of the Seratonin thing and this new Li info seems to confirm my previous remarks.
Perhaps Li on its own would be just as effective.
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More sources via Amazon US. The first choice wont send to Aus, but the rest will. My younger sister is being ravaged. She may be too far gone. Isn’t Aus renowned for lacking trace elements? I have a feeling at least parts of NZ were too?
https://bestfornutrition.com/best-lithium-orotate-supplements/
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Chris Exley has been studying Aluminium for over 40 years & was eventually thrown out of his professorship for daring to even ask questions.
Have a look at this post on his substack – https://drchristopherexley.substack.com/p/metals-amyloid-beta-and-alzheimers
I can strongly recommend his book because it can be read at several levels & is extremely well referenced. “Imagine You Are An Aluminum Atom: Discussions With Mr. Aluminum”. Amazingly, it is still available on Amazon.
The link between Al & autism is strong. His book also contains a table showing his opinion on the likely probability of a link to other diseases, such as MS etc..
If we think pharma’s lobbying ability is strong, the Al industry makes them look like beginners.
Chris has been recommending ‘Fiji water’ for years – mineral water containing a high silicic acid content. This appears to bind with Al in the blood and so reduce the body burden of Al.
He did describe in one post how he performed a small study in cooperation with a nursing home. It showed remarkable improvements in Alzheimer patients in a very short period of time. Then he was sacked & everything stopped. He has also posted brain scan images on his substack . . . all worth a read in conjunction with the paper above.
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Thanks for your very a interesting article. I noticed a few recent kindles on this topic:
The Promise of Lithium: How an Over-the-Counter Supplement May Prevent and Slow Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease
https://amzn.asia/d/acpNydZ
Nutritional Lithium: A Cinderella Story: The Untold Tale of a Mineral That Transforms Lives and Heals the Brain
https://amzn.asia/d/0IWpb4p
The Lithium Complot: The Case for an Essential Trace Element
https://amzn.asia/d/aGxV7SU
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All very interesting, Jo, but one thing is missing … epidemiology.
I don’t know of any correlation between Alzheimer’s incidence and particular locations or populations. If this was a significant cause of the disease, I would expect it to show up geographically, somewhere – unless environmental levels of Li are sufficient pretty much everywhere (in which case dietary supplements would be useless).. .. We might then look at some deficiency in the metabolism of Li as a proximal cause of a lack of it in Alzheimer’s, and that MIGHT show up in familial tendencies and in particular racial or ethnological segments. This must have been looked at, but I haven’t seen anything. Maybe some of your commenters are knowledgeable about this.
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A fair question mothcatcher, and there is some evidence. Bear in mind epidemiology is usually one of the early hints or clues in medical research, and often the weakest, due to all the confounding factors. In the case of lithium, there is little testing, and we often don’t know how much lithium people are getting unless they are treated for bipolar disease (which itself has a high risk of dementia). Unlike other vitamins or minerals we rarely get tested, and often the food supply is not tested either.
But not only do we see that people with bipolar who use lithium reduce the risk of dementia (compared to people with bipolar who don’t), there is evidence from the few places that test their water, like Denmark. In 2017 they published research looking at 733,000 people, and 73,000 with dementia. They estimated their lithium intake from their address (they had a big database of lithium content in the water supply). They did show that people overall had lower rates of dementia, in areas with higher lithium in the water supply.
https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/news/study-finds-lithium-link-dementia-risk/
But the signal was complicated. Even knowing their address (and following them as they moved) and the content of Lithium in the water, it’s not a linear dose dependent response. The risk of dementia seemed to be worst in the second lowest lithium intake group and not in the lowest. But dementia rates then fell as lithium intake rose in the third highest and moreso in the very highest intake.
Confounding it all, people may drink more or less water, live in one spot and work or visit another, use bottled or filtered water, eat foods from regions where lithium is high or low, and there may be other reasons for dementia as well.
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Another study in Japan found a significant association but only in women, not in men. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36073313/
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FWIW – from comments at Chiefio
“@another ian — Looked it up, and nuts & beans, especially walnuts, have alot of lithium. But peanuts, my favorite, apparently don’t have much.”
“Himalayan Pink Salt has some lithium in it (along with just about every other mineral too), so I ordered some from Amazon. (they also sell tablets of lithium stuff)… https://themeadow.com/pages/minerals-in-himalayan-pink-salt-spectral-analysis“
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Nicotine appears to have a protective influence. This study looked at smokers back in 2000 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10942038/
Since then there have even been studies suggesting the use of nicotine as a treatment such as this one in 2023 https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/alz.064697
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