Does the Element Lithium Increase Longevity?

Many people are looking for ways to help live longer, happier lives - and there's little doubt that diet plays a role in longevity. Now scientists have discovered that the little understood trace element lithium could increase longevity.

The Element Lithium to Increase Longevity?

Most people don't realize it, but the element lithium is in water you drink from the tap. It's also in vegetables and grains, and people who eat a plant-based diet usually consume more lithium. The average adult consumes between 650 and 3100 micrograms of lithium a day through diet and water.

According to a study published in the European Journal of Nutrition, this little-understood element increases longevity both in the roundworm and, possibly, in humans too. After finding that low concentrations of lithium prolonged life in the less advanced roundworm, researchers turned their attention to humans.

By measuring mortality rates in different municipalities in Japan and correlating them with the amount of lithium in the tap water supply, they came to some interesting conclusions. Residents living in areas with higher amounts of the element lithium in their water supply had a lower mortality rate than people drinking tap water with less lithium.

Does Lithium Reduce the Risk of Suicide Too?

Lithium affects the brain since it helps people suffering from manic-depression. In a separate study carried out in Japan, Japanese researchers discovered the rate of suicide was lower in areas where lithium was present in greater amounts in the drinking water. Other studies show higher lithium levels in water are linked with lower crime and drug abuse rates. An intriguing correlation, to say the least.

Should the Element Lithium Be Added to Tap Water?

As one author of the study, Professor Ristow, points out, higher lithium intake through water and other sources is linked with lower rates of suicide and a greater sense of well-being. But before lithium is dumped into the water supply in larger amounts, more research is needed to clarify exactly how it increases longevity and what the side-effects would be.

References:

Medical News Today. "Lithium in Drinking Water May Reduce Suicide"

Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Volume 21, No. 1, 14-21. (2002)

Eurekalert.org. "Foundtain of Youth From the Tap"