I am taking Lithium for its general longevity benefits. I think that the mechanism is GSK3 inhibition
I am not aware of any sodium issues below about 0.6mmol/L serum levels. My assumption is to get say 10mcmol/L intracellular concentration I will need slightly higher in serum to enable a diffusion gradients though into the cytosol. I am not aware of any published research that indicates dosage through to serum level through to cellular level and then inhibition level.
This paper used really low levels.
This is one of a number of papers looking at longevity
Lithium has quite a long history of being associated with longevity at low concentrations. What is unclear is the minimum concentration and as I need to aim for some concentration I am aiming for around or under the 50 micromolar level.
That as far as I can tell has no reported negative effects. Whether it is too high or too low to have positive effects is also not that clear, but it seems a reasonable level.
Normal longevity doses are in the 1mg-20mg range. It looks to me now that I should be going for 2.5mg on average daily (elemental lithium in the form of orotate or aspartate).
Possible negatives from Lithium are effects on the kidneys and arguable potentially some hair loss. As I am still gradually regrowing hair even though I am taking lithium I am finding my current serum level of 100 micromolar having a negative effect and I have explained the kidney situation.
So that says 5mg or less. I do think the optimal range is the 1-5mg range. My own experence is a serum level of 0.1mmol/L for 5mg per day and I think that is really a bit high as a serum level. Hence I am reducing to about 2.5mg per day.
I have to put on my Psychiatrist hat here and just mention that; 1. These are individuals with serious mental health conditions, and those conditions carry an increased probability of having a metabolic syndrome (increased lipids, obesity, etc.) (even if these individuals are untreated). 2. The “Other antipsychotic drug users” are likely on what we call “typical or atypical antipsychotics (risperidone, olanzapine, etc.),” which carry a markedly increased likelihood of metabolic syndrome and early death.
Lithium, by itself, for bipolar disorder, does not typically increase the risk of metabolic syndrome. So, in summary, I am saying that showing an increased lifespan in these subjects only on lithium compared to subjects taking typical or atypical antipsychotics cannot necessarily be generalized to adult subjects without one of these psychiatric conditions, if that makes sense.
I have a question. Why hasn’t lithium orotate, which seems a much more benign form of lithium than lithium carbonate, been prescribed more by psychiatrists?
It is not that the orate is more benign; if you take enough, you can get tremors, thyroid problems, kidney problems, etc., just as severely as with the carbonate form. Lithium daily dosage for bipolar disorder can range from 450 to 900+ mg (much higher than the supplement doses). You are aiming for a small target blood level. Both could be used as medications, but physicians have much more experience using the carbonate form.
The longevity doses tend to be orotate or aspartate. I have no good information as to which is best. I have in part been driven by the availability in the dosing quantity that I want. I started at 1mg, found my serum levels were too low to be measured (below 50 micro) moved to 5mg (got about 100 micro) and have just moved to 2 1/7 (5mg three times a week). In a while I will test the serum levels. (probably about a month).
Sourced from the notes to Paul and Shou Ching Jaminet’s book Perfect Health Diet:
Analyzing overall mortality data from 1,206,174 individuals in Oita prefecture of Japan regarding their possible correlation with drinking water Li+ concentrations, we find that tap water Li+ levels in the 18 municipalities within the Oita prefecture are inversely associated with overall mortality rates adjusted for gender and age (β = −0.661, p = 0.003) (Fig. 1a). We additionally adjusted for suicide rates in this prefecture, since these have been previously shown to be negatively associated with tap water Li+ levels in this particular cohort [8]. After additional adjustment for suicide, overall mortality was still inversely associated with tap water Li+ levels (β = −0.580, p = 0.037) (data not depicted). This inverse correlation suggests that Li+ exposure may contribute toreduced overall mortality in humans independent of suicide risk…
The difference is in how much of the Lithium ion there is.
Lithium has an atomic weight of 6.941 Lithium Orotate has a molar weight of 162.03g. For this purpose, therefore, to get a milligram of Lithium you need 162.03/6.941=23.34 milligrams of Lithium Orotate.
Labelling is not always that clear, but you are probably taking 23.34 milligrams (give or take a few milligrams) in each capsule.
