Lithium is a mineral that has a bit of a reputation. If you ask "Dr. Google" about lithium, you will find that it is used for the treatment of bipolar disorder, and that it has a litany of alarming side effects.
I recommend lithium for some patients, but in much lower dosages than used for the treatment of bipolar disorder. I have found it very helpful for patients with depression and anxiety. I believe that it works by toning down an overactive sympathetic nervous system, because clinically I have found it helpful for patients who fall into that category.
Lithium is generally neutral or sometimes counterproductive for those I would label as having an overactive parasympathetic system. My patients who find lithium helpful say it helps them be less reactive, more easy-going; those who do not find it helpful report it is sedating.
For a brief review of the autonomic nervous system and its two parts, the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems,
click here to read my Foreword to Dr. Gonzalez' book
Nutrition and the Autonomic Nervous System;
click here to buy the book. I may at some point write an article about the use of lithium, including my perspective on how it affects autonomic physiology.
In the meantime, two excellent summaries, with references, on the use of low dose lithium are available. One, in the
Townsend Letter, discusses its use in mood disorders.
The doses mentioned are in the 5-10 mg/day range. (As a comparison, when used to treat bipolar disorder, the dose ranges from 600-1800 mg/day.)
Another, in
Life Extension Magazine, reports on lithium's effect on longevity and slowing of neural degeneration. The doses in the Life Extension article are even lower, in the 0.3-1 mg range, and it may be that all patients would
tolerate and benefit from this small amount.
