July 16, 2025 • 16 mins
There’s a supplement you might not have ever considered taking and I think it’s worth your time to learn about so you can decide what’s best for you and safeguarding your cellular health. It’s time you learned more about lithium.
come connect with me: www.healthcouragecollective.com
email me directly: healthcouragecollective@gmail.com
Take my Udemy Course about Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
$10 off EYE BUY DIRECT: https://www.eyebuydirect.com/referral/1615995
Lume Deoderant discount: http://lumedeodorant.refr.cc/christinahackett
$10 off coupon for your first order at Built Bar. To accept, use my referral link: http://i.refs.cc/ANZLBkC9?smile_ref=eyJzbWlsZV9zb3VyY2UiOiJzbWlsZV91aSIsInNta
In episode 211 of The Health Coach Collective Podcast, the surprising health benefits of lithium are explored. Initially, lithium was found beneficial in natural springs where the water was high in lithium, then it started being used in soda beverages noted for mood stabilization. Interestingly, lithium is found naturally in the environment and higher levels in drinking water correlate with improved mental health and longevity. Various studies suggest potential benefits of low-dose lithium for cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, metabolic, and cognitive health, while also addressing the risks associated with high dosages. The episode advises listeners to consider lithium supplementation for its potential health advantages and discusses practical ways to incorporate it into daily routines.
01:09 A Journey Back to 1860s 02:56 The Rise of Soda and Lithium in Medicine06:27 Lithium: From Mood Stabilizer to Potential Supplement07:40 The Science Behind Lithium's Benefits12:00 Considering Lithium as a Supplement14:38 Practical Tips for Taking Lithium
Are you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started? Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!
Come visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.com
email me: healthcouragecollective@gmail.com
come connect with me: www.healthcouragecollective.com
email me directly: healthcouragecollective@gmail.com
Take my Udemy Course about Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
$10 off EYE BUY DIRECT: https://www.eyebuydirect.com/referral/1615995
Lume Deoderant discount: http://lumedeodorant.refr.cc/christinahackett
$10 off coupon for your first order at Built Bar. To accept, use my referral link: http://i.refs.cc/ANZLBkC9?smile_ref=eyJzbWlsZV9zb3VyY2UiOiJzbWlsZV91aSIsInNta
In episode 211 of The Health Coach Collective Podcast, the surprising health benefits of lithium are explored. Initially, lithium was found beneficial in natural springs where the water was high in lithium, then it started being used in soda beverages noted for mood stabilization. Interestingly, lithium is found naturally in the environment and higher levels in drinking water correlate with improved mental health and longevity. Various studies suggest potential benefits of low-dose lithium for cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, metabolic, and cognitive health, while also addressing the risks associated with high dosages. The episode advises listeners to consider lithium supplementation for its potential health advantages and discusses practical ways to incorporate it into daily routines.
01:09 A Journey Back to 1860s 02:56 The Rise of Soda and Lithium in Medicine06:27 Lithium: From Mood Stabilizer to Potential Supplement07:40 The Science Behind Lithium's Benefits12:00 Considering Lithium as a Supplement14:38 Practical Tips for Taking Lithium
Are you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started? Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!
Come visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.com
email me: healthcouragecollective@gmail.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
There's a supplement you might not have ever considered taking,
and I think it's worth your time to learn about
so you can decide what's best for you and safeguarding
your cellular health. It's time you learned a little bit
more about lithium. You're listening to The Health Courage Collective Podcast,
Episode two hundred and eleven. Consider taking lithium.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome to the Health Courage Collective Podcast, the show for
women who are too busy to slog through hours of generalized, inapplicable,
and often contradictory health information, but too smart to ignore
that a few minutes of focused attention now can prevent
years of separate in the future. I'm your host, Christina Hackett,
a pharmacist who doesn't want you to live on prescriptions,
a certified coach specifically trained to maximize your potential, and
(00:46):
a compulsive learner obsessed with preventative, cutting edge, holistic and
integrated medicine. I'm on a mission to increase your physical
and mental resilience so you can fearlessly look forward to
your next forty plus limitless years. Your time is down,
Let's go, I would find and welcome to another episode.
I hope you are having a great day. How's the
(01:08):
biggest threat to your long term health going? Did you
identify any tiny little things that might be paper cutting.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
You over and over and over. Cleaning those up can
make a bigger difference over time than some of the
things that you think of as more major. The aggregation
of marginal gains is where it's at all. Right, Let's
imagine that you are living in the eighteen sixties as
a woman in your forties. You'd probably have like seven
(01:38):
kids and a few grandkids by now. You'd most likely
have barely learned to read and then been taught domestic skills,
since that's all you'd ever be needed for. Your days
would be long and filled with a lot of hard work,
which you would do in your corset, petticoats, chimis, and
floor length hoop skirt. Healthcare would be pretty darn sketchy.
(02:00):
Your surgeon would also be a barber, and blood letting
would be one of his top rated procedures on yelp.
Pharmacies would be around with whatever unique concoctions they could
invent and source. The ingredients for soda fountains started becoming
a thing in the eighteen fifties and beyond as a
way for your local pharmacist to whip you up a
(02:21):
remedy for whatever ailed you. If you had a stomach ache, headache,
or fatigue, they'd treat you with a totally unique soda
of their own invention, made just for you. It probably
tasted disgusting, but I think that's so fun, and I
wish I could make people unique sodas. They might add
caffeine or cocaine or both, and when you felt really
(02:44):
good after drinking it, you'd feel like you were healthier
and recommend it to your friends. Some pharmacists came up
with their own secret recipes, which I think is pretty fun.
They eventually started offering milkshakes, which were carbonated water, sweetened milk,
and a raw egg. I assumed that that's what an
egg cream was, but apparently not egg creams have neither
(03:07):
eggs nor cream. Weird Sadly, fast forward to nineteen fourteen
and the Harrison Narcotics at Tax Act banned the use
of opium and cocaine in over the counter products like soda.
What Even still with prohibition and the end of legal
pubs and bars, soda fountains at pharmacies were popular places
(03:30):
to hang out even in the nineteen twenties. Coca Cola
was invented by pharmacist doctor John Pemberton in Atlanta in
eighteen eighty six. Pepsi was invented by pharmacist Caleb Radam
in North Carolina in eighteen ninety three. It was made
to cure dyspepsia, hence the name Pepsi. The oldest soda
(03:51):
still in existence was invented by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco,
Texas in eighteen eighty five, so a year big for coke.
The story is that he named it Doctor Pepper, after
the father of the girl that he loved. Eventually, as
it does, technology advanced and machines were created. The dispensed
(04:11):
soda and then eventually bottled soda even came along, killing
the need to visit the soda fountain at your local
pharmacy and eventually leading to the homogenization of drug stores
wah wah. During Prohibition, a non pharmacist named to Charles
Grigg from Missouri, who was born during the rise of
the spectacular drugstore soda fountain, was trying to break into
(04:36):
the orange soda market, but he just couldn't compete against
orange crush, which I can get behind because orange crush
is delicious. So in October of nineteen twenty nine, he
pivoted to a lemon lime flavored soda and he named
it BIB label Lithionated Lemon lime Soda. How'd you like
(04:57):
to go order that every day? Yes? Like a BIB
label lithionated Lemon lime soda. Please. It was eventually renamed
seven UP Lithionated Lemon Lime Soda, and in nineteen thirty
six became just seven UP. Lithium was in lots of
old tiny medicines for mood, and there were a few
(05:19):
natural springs that people would make pilgrimages to to improve
their mental health. Pretty cool, right, Mark Twain and at
least four US presidents and other public figures visited Lithia Springs,
Georgia to reap the benefits of lithium. And if you
remember your history better than I do, which you probably do,
(05:40):
because the last history class I ever took was in
high school in nineteen ninety eight. Black Tuesday, the day
of the Great stock market crash that started the Great Depression,
was in October of nineteen twenty nine, Right when BIB label.
Lithionated lemon lime soda came on the scene and grig
us its mood boosting benefits as its selling point until
(06:04):
nineteen forty eight when the government banned the use of
lithium and soft drinks. Those kill joys just kidding. Tons
of different companies have owned seven up over the years,
and it just keeps on keeping on. I feel like
I would be good at making a compelling case about
the dangers of seven up to your long term health.
I could use cold hard evidence to prove it beyond
(06:27):
a reasonable doubt in a court of law. But what
about lithium. I still dispense prescriptions for lithium, and one
of the main things that sticks in my little pharmacy
student brain about lithium is that it has a narrow
therapeutic index, meaning you have to get the dose just
right like goldilocks. If you undershoot, it doesn't work, and
if you overshoot, the patient could die. So that doesn't
(06:50):
seem good. Just as a quick background, lithium is used
as a mood stabilizer, usually for bipolar disorder, and it's
especially helpful at controlling the mannic side of the disorder.
It's usually dosed around one thousand to eighteen hundred milligrams
a day, divided up throughout the day, usually three to
six hundred milligrams per dose. It's not safe to take
(07:12):
if you're pregnant, and signs of overdose other than death
are muscle weakness or twitching, ringing in your ears, irregular heartbeats, confusion, hallucinations,
loss of bladder or bowel control, increased pressure inside the skull,
slur speech, trouble breathing, and seizures. WHOA, So, why are
(07:35):
we talking about this? Because I think you might like
to take some for real? So, Lithium is a natural
mineral element that you can find on the periodic table
and in rocks and soil and groundwater. Some areas just
naturally have more lithium in their drinking water than others,
usually as places with like arid alkaline soils. And the
(07:57):
crazy thing is that if you have a map, like
a geographical representation of good mental health, and a map
of areas where there is naturally more lithium in the
drinking water, they're shockingly similar. The US Geological Survey, reported
in June of twenty twenty four, shows that the states
(08:18):
with higher lithium levels include Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona,
New Mexico, and Texas. Studies show that there are lower
suicide rates where lithium levels are higher across the US,
and also in a study done in Austria. A study
(08:39):
done in Scotland showed lower rates of dementia where lithium
levels are higher, and a US study specifically in teenagers
showed less depression and interpersonal violence in areas where lithium
levels are higher. Two small studies showed that people where
lithium levels are higher live longer. They're just a quick
(09:00):
interruption to say, I think the jury's still kind of
out on how bad and in what way it's really
bad to put aluminium on your skin, But it doesn't
seem great, and I figured why not avoid it? Well,
because all of the aluminum free deodorants I ever tried
didn't work until I tried lou May. This is the
first aluminum free deodorant I ever tried that actually worked.
(09:21):
I was instantly converted. Then over time I discovered that
the answer to my whole family's itchy skin after every
shower problem is lou May's acidified body wash. It's awesome,
and their acidified body butter keeps our skin soft and hydrated.
They even have a laundry product that makes your clothes
smell grate. I can't say enough good about lou May. Plus,
their commercials are hilarious. You should watch one on YouTube
(09:43):
if you haven't seen one yet. If you want to
give lou May a try, there's a link in the
show notes that will give you five dollars off your order.
My favorite is the Pink peone body wash. It smells
like washing yourself with bubblegum, which I wouldn't recommend, but
I do recommend lou May. Okay, back to the show.
Other pre clinical studies show that lithium seems to prevent
cognitive decline and slow the aging process. One study in
(10:06):
roundworms and fruit flies showed that feeding them lithium increased
their lifespan by forty six percent. Apparently, lithium inhibits a
cellular enzyme called GSK three. GSK three is an age
accelerating enzyme that increases incidents of Alzheimer's type two diabetes,
some cancers, and some mood disorders. Lithium also seems to
(10:30):
protect telomere's, those little end caps on the ends of
your chromosomes, and it also seems to prevent cell senescence.
We talked about cell sinesence in episode fifty five Zombies
Inside You. People on lithium prescriptions for bipolar disorder tend
to die less from cardiovascular disease than people on different
medications for bipolar disorder. What's good for your heart is
(10:54):
usually always good for your brain too, and that seems
to be the case with lithium. In addition to reducing
the gs K three enzyme, lithium seems to reduce the
build up of beta amyloid, which are what make up
the plaques that build up in the brains of people
with Alzheimer's disease. It might also increase the all natural
(11:14):
brain miracle grow called BDNF. Side note, the most effective
way to increase your BDNF on your own is with exercise. Okay, so,
there is also a study that showed lithium treatment resulted
in thicker cerebral cortex, increasing gray matter density, and enlargement
of the hippocampus. So lithium literally can help beef up
(11:38):
your brain physically. There's also some speculation that lithium helps
regulate circadian rhythm and adrenal hormone production. It's pretty wild.
I'll put a link in the show notes if you're
interested in an article in the Journal of Current Neuropharmacology
that goes through the evidence from a bunch of different
studies showing that low dose lithium may be beneficial for cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, metabolic,
(12:05):
and cognitive function, plus reducing the inflammatory and oxidant processes
of aging bodies. Low dose lithium's potential benefits in preventing
or lessening the effects of age related to the diseases
including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, sarcopenia which is like osteoporosis of
(12:25):
your muscles, do absolutely everything you can to avoid it, obesity,
type two diabetes, Alzheimer's, and chronic low grade inflammation. This
is in addition to lithium's potential to protect the brain
in general and help maintain a steady mood. As wonderful
as all of this sounds, this is all preclinical stuff,
(12:48):
fruit fly and roundworm stuff and correlations that don't necessarily
prove causation. As always, I want you to choose what
you think is best, and I hope it's you useful
to you to hear what I think is a jumping
off point to decide whether you think I'm wrong or
I'm right, or somewhere in between. It's totally possible that
(13:08):
we just don't have enough information to guess well yet,
but I don't think so. I definitely don't believe that
we have enough information to definitively prove that everyone should
be on lithium replacement therapy. But I do think that
there's enough correlative data to say that you should consider
taking lithium. There are a whole lot of aging related
(13:30):
things that lithium might improve. Is it the biggest thing
you can do to reduce your risk of Alzheimer's in
heart attack? Not hardly. It's not the highest leverage thing
you can do, but it could help a little bit.
And it's super duper easy to get a lithium supplement,
and if you're good and remember to take it every day,
it will probably cost you around forty dollars a year.
(13:51):
I think as long as you remember that it's not
the most important thing you can do for your health,
and it shouldn't be the only thing you do for
your future, you should consider a lithium supplement. That doesn't
mean you have to do it. Just ponder whether it's
worth your time and money and bandwidth to have to
remember to take it. Oh, and I almost forgot maybe
the most important part. Remember the side effects of death, hallucinations,
(14:13):
and loss of bowel control. Those are usually overdoses, and
people who already take around two thousand milligrams a day.
That's how much some people need to get good control
of manic episodes of bipolar disorder. But most of the
correlative studies on things that promote longevity are around three
hundred to one thousand micrograms a day, so we're talking
(14:36):
one third to one milligram daily. Most supplements are one miligram.
I think that's a good dose. There are some that
are five milligrams. I think that's fine too. We don't
really know. I don't think five miligrams is harmful at all.
I don't know that it's any better either. The longevity
benefits seem to be in very small doses For something
(14:59):
so easy to find, take, absorb, and pay for. I
think it's a good one that might help, and it's
very unlikely too harm. I took capsules of it for
a long time, but I didn't always remember to take it,
which I actually also think is fine. But then I
found a powder that has another supplement I love, called
spermidine in the powder along with lithium and the amino
(15:21):
acid taurine. So I was all in and I love
taking it that way. It works better for me just
because I add a little bit to my protein shakes mostly,
and it's convenient for me that it's a powder that
I already mix up in a blender bottle, and if
I'm putting electrolytes in my drink sometimes I'll throw a
little bit in there too. It's called Healthy Aging Powder
from Life Extension Foundation. I don't get anything out of
(15:41):
telling you that I just like it that way. Lithium
it can be a good thing that I think most
people don't really hear recommended as a supplement too often,
but I think it's better than a lot of supplements
you do hear about a lot, like ris veritrol. You've
got the knowledge. Now it's up to you to decide
what we want to do with it. You are smart
(16:02):
and armed with intelligence. Next week we're going to talk
about making your life better by becoming paranoid. Oops, I
mean reverse paranoid. Until then, protect your future with tiny
doses of lithium and don't be normal. Thank you so
much for tuning into the Health Courage collective podcast. I
am truly honored that you have paid me the enormous
(16:23):
compliment of your time and attention. I would be so
grateful if you would share this podcast with someone you
know and subscribe so you never miss an episode. This
podcast is for entertainment and information purposes only. Statements and
views on this podcast are not medical advice. This podcast,
including Christina Hackett and producers, disclaim responsibility for any possible
adverse events by use of information contained here it. If
(16:46):
you think you have a medical problem, consult a licensed
Posisions
There's a supplement you might not have ever considered taking,
and I think it's worth your time to learn about
so you can decide what's best for you and safeguarding
your cellular health. It's time you learned a little bit
more about lithium. You're listening to The Health Courage Collective Podcast,
Episode two hundred and eleven. Consider taking lithium.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome to the Health Courage Collective Podcast, the show for
women who are too busy to slog through hours of generalized, inapplicable,
and often contradictory health information, but too smart to ignore
that a few minutes of focused attention now can prevent
years of separate in the future. I'm your host, Christina Hackett,
a pharmacist who doesn't want you to live on prescriptions,
a certified coach specifically trained to maximize your potential, and
(00:46):
a compulsive learner obsessed with preventative, cutting edge, holistic and
integrated medicine. I'm on a mission to increase your physical
and mental resilience so you can fearlessly look forward to
your next forty plus limitless years. Your time is down,
Let's go, I would find and welcome to another episode.
I hope you are having a great day. How's the
(01:08):
biggest threat to your long term health going? Did you
identify any tiny little things that might be paper cutting.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
You over and over and over. Cleaning those up can
make a bigger difference over time than some of the
things that you think of as more major. The aggregation
of marginal gains is where it's at all. Right, Let's
imagine that you are living in the eighteen sixties as
a woman in your forties. You'd probably have like seven
(01:38):
kids and a few grandkids by now. You'd most likely
have barely learned to read and then been taught domestic skills,
since that's all you'd ever be needed for. Your days
would be long and filled with a lot of hard work,
which you would do in your corset, petticoats, chimis, and
floor length hoop skirt. Healthcare would be pretty darn sketchy.
(02:00):
Your surgeon would also be a barber, and blood letting
would be one of his top rated procedures on yelp.
Pharmacies would be around with whatever unique concoctions they could
invent and source. The ingredients for soda fountains started becoming
a thing in the eighteen fifties and beyond as a
way for your local pharmacist to whip you up a
(02:21):
remedy for whatever ailed you. If you had a stomach ache, headache,
or fatigue, they'd treat you with a totally unique soda
of their own invention, made just for you. It probably
tasted disgusting, but I think that's so fun, and I
wish I could make people unique sodas. They might add
caffeine or cocaine or both, and when you felt really
(02:44):
good after drinking it, you'd feel like you were healthier
and recommend it to your friends. Some pharmacists came up
with their own secret recipes, which I think is pretty fun.
They eventually started offering milkshakes, which were carbonated water, sweetened milk,
and a raw egg. I assumed that that's what an
egg cream was, but apparently not egg creams have neither
(03:07):
eggs nor cream. Weird Sadly, fast forward to nineteen fourteen
and the Harrison Narcotics at Tax Act banned the use
of opium and cocaine in over the counter products like soda.
What Even still with prohibition and the end of legal
pubs and bars, soda fountains at pharmacies were popular places
(03:30):
to hang out even in the nineteen twenties. Coca Cola
was invented by pharmacist doctor John Pemberton in Atlanta in
eighteen eighty six. Pepsi was invented by pharmacist Caleb Radam
in North Carolina in eighteen ninety three. It was made
to cure dyspepsia, hence the name Pepsi. The oldest soda
(03:51):
still in existence was invented by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco,
Texas in eighteen eighty five, so a year big for coke.
The story is that he named it Doctor Pepper, after
the father of the girl that he loved. Eventually, as
it does, technology advanced and machines were created. The dispensed
(04:11):
soda and then eventually bottled soda even came along, killing
the need to visit the soda fountain at your local
pharmacy and eventually leading to the homogenization of drug stores
wah wah. During Prohibition, a non pharmacist named to Charles
Grigg from Missouri, who was born during the rise of
the spectacular drugstore soda fountain, was trying to break into
(04:36):
the orange soda market, but he just couldn't compete against
orange crush, which I can get behind because orange crush
is delicious. So in October of nineteen twenty nine, he
pivoted to a lemon lime flavored soda and he named
it BIB label Lithionated Lemon lime Soda. How'd you like
(04:57):
to go order that every day? Yes? Like a BIB
label lithionated Lemon lime soda. Please. It was eventually renamed
seven UP Lithionated Lemon Lime Soda, and in nineteen thirty
six became just seven UP. Lithium was in lots of
old tiny medicines for mood, and there were a few
(05:19):
natural springs that people would make pilgrimages to to improve
their mental health. Pretty cool, right, Mark Twain and at
least four US presidents and other public figures visited Lithia Springs,
Georgia to reap the benefits of lithium. And if you
remember your history better than I do, which you probably do,
(05:40):
because the last history class I ever took was in
high school in nineteen ninety eight. Black Tuesday, the day
of the Great stock market crash that started the Great Depression,
was in October of nineteen twenty nine, Right when BIB label.
Lithionated lemon lime soda came on the scene and grig
us its mood boosting benefits as its selling point until
(06:04):
nineteen forty eight when the government banned the use of
lithium and soft drinks. Those kill joys just kidding. Tons
of different companies have owned seven up over the years,
and it just keeps on keeping on. I feel like
I would be good at making a compelling case about
the dangers of seven up to your long term health.
I could use cold hard evidence to prove it beyond
(06:27):
a reasonable doubt in a court of law. But what
about lithium. I still dispense prescriptions for lithium, and one
of the main things that sticks in my little pharmacy
student brain about lithium is that it has a narrow
therapeutic index, meaning you have to get the dose just
right like goldilocks. If you undershoot, it doesn't work, and
if you overshoot, the patient could die. So that doesn't
(06:50):
seem good. Just as a quick background, lithium is used
as a mood stabilizer, usually for bipolar disorder, and it's
especially helpful at controlling the mannic side of the disorder.
It's usually dosed around one thousand to eighteen hundred milligrams
a day, divided up throughout the day, usually three to
six hundred milligrams per dose. It's not safe to take
(07:12):
if you're pregnant, and signs of overdose other than death
are muscle weakness or twitching, ringing in your ears, irregular heartbeats, confusion, hallucinations,
loss of bladder or bowel control, increased pressure inside the skull,
slur speech, trouble breathing, and seizures. WHOA, So, why are
(07:35):
we talking about this? Because I think you might like
to take some for real? So, Lithium is a natural
mineral element that you can find on the periodic table
and in rocks and soil and groundwater. Some areas just
naturally have more lithium in their drinking water than others,
usually as places with like arid alkaline soils. And the
(07:57):
crazy thing is that if you have a map, like
a geographical representation of good mental health, and a map
of areas where there is naturally more lithium in the
drinking water, they're shockingly similar. The US Geological Survey, reported
in June of twenty twenty four, shows that the states
(08:18):
with higher lithium levels include Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona,
New Mexico, and Texas. Studies show that there are lower
suicide rates where lithium levels are higher across the US,
and also in a study done in Austria. A study
(08:39):
done in Scotland showed lower rates of dementia where lithium
levels are higher, and a US study specifically in teenagers
showed less depression and interpersonal violence in areas where lithium
levels are higher. Two small studies showed that people where
lithium levels are higher live longer. They're just a quick
(09:00):
interruption to say, I think the jury's still kind of
out on how bad and in what way it's really
bad to put aluminium on your skin, But it doesn't
seem great, and I figured why not avoid it? Well,
because all of the aluminum free deodorants I ever tried
didn't work until I tried lou May. This is the
first aluminum free deodorant I ever tried that actually worked.
(09:21):
I was instantly converted. Then over time I discovered that
the answer to my whole family's itchy skin after every
shower problem is lou May's acidified body wash. It's awesome,
and their acidified body butter keeps our skin soft and hydrated.
They even have a laundry product that makes your clothes
smell grate. I can't say enough good about lou May. Plus,
their commercials are hilarious. You should watch one on YouTube
(09:43):
if you haven't seen one yet. If you want to
give lou May a try, there's a link in the
show notes that will give you five dollars off your order.
My favorite is the Pink peone body wash. It smells
like washing yourself with bubblegum, which I wouldn't recommend, but
I do recommend lou May. Okay, back to the show.
Other pre clinical studies show that lithium seems to prevent
cognitive decline and slow the aging process. One study in
(10:06):
roundworms and fruit flies showed that feeding them lithium increased
their lifespan by forty six percent. Apparently, lithium inhibits a
cellular enzyme called GSK three. GSK three is an age
accelerating enzyme that increases incidents of Alzheimer's type two diabetes,
some cancers, and some mood disorders. Lithium also seems to
(10:30):
protect telomere's, those little end caps on the ends of
your chromosomes, and it also seems to prevent cell senescence.
We talked about cell sinesence in episode fifty five Zombies
Inside You. People on lithium prescriptions for bipolar disorder tend
to die less from cardiovascular disease than people on different
medications for bipolar disorder. What's good for your heart is
(10:54):
usually always good for your brain too, and that seems
to be the case with lithium. In addition to reducing
the gs K three enzyme, lithium seems to reduce the
build up of beta amyloid, which are what make up
the plaques that build up in the brains of people
with Alzheimer's disease. It might also increase the all natural
(11:14):
brain miracle grow called BDNF. Side note, the most effective
way to increase your BDNF on your own is with exercise. Okay, so,
there is also a study that showed lithium treatment resulted
in thicker cerebral cortex, increasing gray matter density, and enlargement
of the hippocampus. So lithium literally can help beef up
(11:38):
your brain physically. There's also some speculation that lithium helps
regulate circadian rhythm and adrenal hormone production. It's pretty wild.
I'll put a link in the show notes if you're
interested in an article in the Journal of Current Neuropharmacology
that goes through the evidence from a bunch of different
studies showing that low dose lithium may be beneficial for cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, metabolic,
(12:05):
and cognitive function, plus reducing the inflammatory and oxidant processes
of aging bodies. Low dose lithium's potential benefits in preventing
or lessening the effects of age related to the diseases
including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, sarcopenia which is like osteoporosis of
(12:25):
your muscles, do absolutely everything you can to avoid it, obesity,
type two diabetes, Alzheimer's, and chronic low grade inflammation. This
is in addition to lithium's potential to protect the brain
in general and help maintain a steady mood. As wonderful
as all of this sounds, this is all preclinical stuff,
(12:48):
fruit fly and roundworm stuff and correlations that don't necessarily
prove causation. As always, I want you to choose what
you think is best, and I hope it's you useful
to you to hear what I think is a jumping
off point to decide whether you think I'm wrong or
I'm right, or somewhere in between. It's totally possible that
(13:08):
we just don't have enough information to guess well yet,
but I don't think so. I definitely don't believe that
we have enough information to definitively prove that everyone should
be on lithium replacement therapy. But I do think that
there's enough correlative data to say that you should consider
taking lithium. There are a whole lot of aging related
(13:30):
things that lithium might improve. Is it the biggest thing
you can do to reduce your risk of Alzheimer's in
heart attack? Not hardly. It's not the highest leverage thing
you can do, but it could help a little bit.
And it's super duper easy to get a lithium supplement,
and if you're good and remember to take it every day,
it will probably cost you around forty dollars a year.
(13:51):
I think as long as you remember that it's not
the most important thing you can do for your health,
and it shouldn't be the only thing you do for
your future, you should consider a lithium supplement. That doesn't
mean you have to do it. Just ponder whether it's
worth your time and money and bandwidth to have to
remember to take it. Oh, and I almost forgot maybe
the most important part. Remember the side effects of death, hallucinations,
(14:13):
and loss of bowel control. Those are usually overdoses, and
people who already take around two thousand milligrams a day.
That's how much some people need to get good control
of manic episodes of bipolar disorder. But most of the
correlative studies on things that promote longevity are around three
hundred to one thousand micrograms a day, so we're talking
(14:36):
one third to one milligram daily. Most supplements are one miligram.
I think that's a good dose. There are some that
are five milligrams. I think that's fine too. We don't
really know. I don't think five miligrams is harmful at all.
I don't know that it's any better either. The longevity
benefits seem to be in very small doses For something
(14:59):
so easy to find, take, absorb, and pay for. I
think it's a good one that might help, and it's
very unlikely too harm. I took capsules of it for
a long time, but I didn't always remember to take it,
which I actually also think is fine. But then I
found a powder that has another supplement I love, called
spermidine in the powder along with lithium and the amino
(15:21):
acid taurine. So I was all in and I love
taking it that way. It works better for me just
because I add a little bit to my protein shakes mostly,
and it's convenient for me that it's a powder that
I already mix up in a blender bottle, and if
I'm putting electrolytes in my drink sometimes I'll throw a
little bit in there too. It's called Healthy Aging Powder
from Life Extension Foundation. I don't get anything out of
(15:41):
telling you that I just like it that way. Lithium
it can be a good thing that I think most
people don't really hear recommended as a supplement too often,
but I think it's better than a lot of supplements
you do hear about a lot, like ris veritrol. You've
got the knowledge. Now it's up to you to decide
what we want to do with it. You are smart
(16:02):
and armed with intelligence. Next week we're going to talk
about making your life better by becoming paranoid. Oops, I
mean reverse paranoid. Until then, protect your future with tiny
doses of lithium and don't be normal. Thank you so
much for tuning into the Health Courage collective podcast. I
am truly honored that you have paid me the enormous
(16:23):
compliment of your time and attention. I would be so
grateful if you would share this podcast with someone you
know and subscribe so you never miss an episode. This
podcast is for entertainment and information purposes only. Statements and
views on this podcast are not medical advice. This podcast,
including Christina Hackett and producers, disclaim responsibility for any possible
adverse events by use of information contained here it. If
(16:46):
you think you have a medical problem, consult a licensed
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