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Hello everyone,

There was a news article recently that talked about some research that points to great benefits of the mineral Lithium for brain health.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School were able to reverse Alzheimer’s in mice using lithium.

Here is the link:

​https://hms.harvard.edu/news/could-lithium-explain-treat-alzheimers-disease​

We have been learning about the benefits of small amounts of nutritional lithium in my functional psychiatry fellowship. In fact, it seems like Lithium has the potential to help just about any disorder having to do with the brain, including anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, addiction, and perhaps even Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

There’s more than 25 years of research on lithium, a mineral that we very rarely hear about. People know about it as a treatment for bipolar. We’re not talking about that here—bipolar treatment is very high-dose pharmaceutical lithium. I’m talking about lithium in much smaller doses that I will refer to as “nutritional lithium”.

Interestingly, in an observational study, bipolar patients who had been treated with lithium carbonate (the pharmaceutical form) had a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease than bipolar patients who had not been treated with lithium. And here is a randomized controlled trial that showed promise for lithium for preventing dementia.

It seems like our brains need a small amount of Lithium to function optimally.

· Lithium increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is like the “weed and feed” of the brain, helping the brain to grow new nerve cells and nerve cell connections.

· Lithium decreases inflammation in the brain

· Lithium levels in drinking water are inversely related to suicide rates and mortality ratios

· People’s need for lithium seems to be variable, and possibly genetically determined

Check out this water (they carry it at Target), from a spring in Texas that is rich in lithium! The name is based on a story of an insane woman who traveled to Texas and was cured there by drinking from a spring where the water was rich in Lithium.

I have used lithium now with my patients only for a few months. So far, I have seen benefits for promoting stable mood, irritability, OCD, and anxiety. You have to get the dose correct to see any changes. The rule is to start with a very low dose and increase slowly.

Nutritional lithium is completely safe and not toxic like its pharmaceutical counterpart.

Did you notice in the article I referenced at the top that the scientist said that Lithium is “dirt cheap”? Be on the lookout for pharma companies to patent interesting low-dose lithium formulations (they can charge much more for that), or maybe even just brush it under the rug.

We will not be brushing lithium under the rug. We intend to use this wonderful mineral (the third element on the periodic table!) for our patients whenever it helps them.

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Sincerely yours,

Laura Sheehan

P.S. Did you know that doing a sauna has comparable benefits for the body as exercise? Regular sauna sessions can help preserve muscle mass and prevent chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease. Dr. Sheehan had a patient this week who injured her knee and was not able to exercise. Sauna is a great alternative! We have a portable zip-up sauna like this one. A few sessions of 15-20 minutes a week are great…we recommend you try it!

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