LITHIUM

Facts

• The lightest of all minerals, lithium (Li) has a density half that of water. It is distributed throughout the Earth's crust. It can vary between 1.2 parts per million (ppm) in light organic soils to 98 ppm in alluvial soils.1
• Although not proven essential yet, there is growing evidence that lithium plays a number of roles within the human body.
• The average daily intake of Li has been estimated to vary between 10 mcg to 2 mg per day. The average output in humans per day is estimated in the range of 200 to 800 mcg.

Functions

• Involved in the respiration of nuclear membranes at the intracellular level, uptake of glucose into cells, improved fertility, aids in treating sodium imbalances in atherosclerosis, hypertension, mental disorders and aggression.
• According to Alexander Schauss, Ph.D.,"Other evidence finds that Li is incorporated into bone at a rate directly proportional to the rate of bone growth, probably owing to the physicochemical similarities between Li, calcium and magnesium."1

Requirements

No Recommended Daily Allowance has been set. for Lithium.

Signs of Deficiency

In animal studies, specifically female goats, inducing a lithium deficiency led to diminished fertility and increased postpartum mortalities.1

Signs of Toxicity

Not available.

Current Research

Sodium Imbalances
According to Schauss, in the mid-1970's, it was advanced that Li may confer a protective effect in treating sodium imbalance that contributes to atherosclerotic heart disease in humans. Other trials have shown that supplementing lithium chloride for sodium chloride reduced hypertension in persons with high blood pressure. Notes Schauss, "Recently researchers have found that Li's beneficial effect on salt imbalances may be due to the way in which Li is metabolised differently in the body than Na [sodium] and K [potassium]."1

Mental Disorders
Researchers in Texas have noted since the 1970's that lithium, contained in the drinking water, was inversely associated with the incidence of admissions and readmission of patients for psychoses, neuroses, and personality disorders in 27 Texas state mental hospitals.1 Two years later the same study was repeated, with the results confirming the original's study's conclusion and that homicide rates were inversely related to lithium levels in water.

1 Schauss, A. Minerals and human health: the rationale for optimal and balanced trace element levels. Life Sciences Press, 1995: pp 35-38.