Lithium Lurking In The Water Supply: Good Or Bad Thing?

Lithium, a mood-altering drug, is present in the water supply.

"Although this fact has been largely ignored for over half a century, it appears to have important medical implications," Anna Fels, a psychiatrist and faculty member at Weill Cornell Medical College, recently wrote in an op-ed piece in the New York Times.

Should we be worried?

A naturally-occurring element, lithium is present at levels up to.170 milligrams per liter. "This amount is less than a thousandth of the minimum daily dose given for bipolar disorders and for depression that doesn’t respond to antidepressants," the report said.

Still, the presence of lithium could have an impact on health, potentially even a positive one.

"Although it seems strange that the microscopic amounts of lithium found in groundwater could have any substantial medical impact, the more scientists look for such effects, the more they seem to discover. Evidence is slowly accumulating that relatively tiny doses of lithium can have beneficial effects. They appear to decrease suicide rates significantly and may even promote brain health and improve mood," the report said.

The author was baffled that such findings have not gotten more attention in the medical community.

"Fels wrote that as a psychiatrist she has found the drug to be a 'hard sell' even to patients who would really benefit from its effects. She also speculated because it is cheap and relatively abundant that there has been little push because pharmaceuticals would not have much to gain from it," The Blaze reported.

Though it may be stigmatized today, lithium used to be included in drinks by a soda manufacturer.

"What put the 'Up' in the original 7-Up?" Take Part reported. "It was on the basis of lithium’s salubrious reputation that it was added to Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda—or what would become 7-Up. The fizzy beverage would contain lithium citrate until 1950."

http://www.wateronline.com/doc/lithium-lurking-in-the-water-supply-good-or-bad-thing-0001