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The Mood-Enhancing Mineral

By Jason E. Barker, ND
Depression and other mood disorders are some of the most common and debilitating
conditions experienced by patients. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 26.2 percent of
Americans suffer from mental disordersincluding depression and bipolar disorder.1
Applied to the 2004 United States Census, this equates to roughly 57.7 million
people.2 In other words, 1 in 4 people we encounter during the day (friends, family
members, co-workers) have some form of depression. Furthermore, nearly half of
those with mental disorders suffer from more than just one condition at any given
time.1
Some of the more prevalent mental disorders include conditions that are classified as
mood disorders, such as major depressive disorder (depression) and bipolar disorder.
Depression is considered the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for people aged 14
to 44,3 affecting a total of 14.8 million adults, or 6.7 percent of the adult (age 18 and
above) population in the U.S.1 The median age of onset for depression is 32,4 and is
more common in women than menhowever, it can develop at any time and can occur
in men as well.5
Table 1. Diagnostic Criteria for Major Depressive Disorder
Depression is characterized by the presence of altered mood
nearly every day, markedly diminished interest or pleasure in
most or all activities and three or more of the following:
Poor appetite or significant weight loss or increased
weight gain
Insomnia or excessive sleep
Psychomotor agitation or retardation (i.e. either
agitated or lethargic behavior)
Feelings of hopelessness
Loss of energy or fatigue
Feelings of worthlessness, self reproach, or excessive
or inappropriate guilt
Complaints or evidence of a diminished ability to
think or concentrate
Recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts or
attempted suicide
Reduced sex drive
Depression
Depression is a mental illness that affects both the mind and the body, influencing the
way a person eats, sleeps and how he or she views the world and themselves. It is not
simply an extended bad mood or a lack of personal or mental strength; nor is it
laziness. Left untreated, depression exerts a profound crippling effect and symptoms
can last a lifetime. Depression and other mental conditions are diagnosed based on the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV).6
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a condition that is punctuated by
wide changes in mood, thought, energy levels, and behavior. Although different from
clinical depression, the depressive episodes in bipolar disorder are similar. Bipolar
disorder affects roughly 5.7 million American adults, or about 2.6 percent of the adult
population1; the median age of onset is 25 years for this condition.4
People with bipolar disorder experience moods that can alternate between excessive

highs (mania) and excessive lows (depression). Changes can be apparent for as little
as a few hours to days, weeks, and even months. The cyclical or episodic occurrences
of depression and mania can be solitary in nature, and episodes of mixed mania and
depression can appear as well, becoming increasingly frequent leading to disruptions
in all aspects of the persons life.
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Another related condition to depression and bipolar disorder is Seasonal Affective
Disorder (SAD), which is generally caused by bodily rhythms that are out of synch
with the sun due to the late dawn and early dusk of wintertime. Symptoms of SAD are
similar to those of clinical depression, including lack of energy.7 In the U.S., it is
thought that SAD affects roughly 9 percent of the population in the Northern U.S. and
about 1.5 percent of the population in Florida.8 Additionally, a milder form of SAD
known as Subsyndromal SAD is thought to affect 14.3 percent (northern) to 6.4
percent (Southern) of the population in the U.S.9 The majority of people with SAD
will also experience depression, and up to 20 percent of people with SAD may also
suffer from bipolar disorder.9 Such people will be depressed in the winter and manic
in the summer.
Clinically, many patients present with these conditions that are often not extreme nor
frequent enough for them to have been officially diagnosed according to DSM-IV
standards. This population is perhaps at greater risk of not obtaining proper treatment,
as they may fall through the proverbial diagnostic criteria gap, resulting in their
symptoms either being downplayed or completely unaddressed as a result. In my
practice based in the Pacific Northwest, where sunlight is often scarce, I tend to see
many patients who did not receive proper treatment and happen to mention mood
symptoms. Other patients wait until they can no longer stand the emotional pain to
finally speak out about their condition. In these cases, if the patients symptoms are
worse in winter, I suspect SAD as a possible cause.
Lithiums Mood-Elevating Properties
The mineral lithium orotate is used by doctors to help stabilize and equilibrate mood
swings and is therefore of particular interest to people with mood disorders. It is
helpful in making the highs and lows of bipolar less dramatic, and for lifting
depressive symptoms. It also works to stop mood swings and depressive lows, as long
as it is taken regularly. The exact mechanism of action of lithium is not well
understood; it is thought to regulate how the brain communicates messages within
itself.
Lithium is available in several forms; most often it is prescribed in a form known as
lithium carbonate or lithium citrate. Both of these types of lithium have a very narrow
therapeutic range, meaning that the most effective dose is very close to a toxic dose as
well. However, because of the side effects that are often encountered due to the large
amounts typically prescribed, people taking lithium often suffer from several
medication side effects.
Prescription strength lithium must be used in high amounts to achieve therapeutic
efficacy, because the cells of the body generally poorly absorb it. Lithium and many
other drugs must be absorbed into the cells where they affect the internal cellular
chemistry to cause physiologic changes. Because lithium does not readily enter the
cells, patients must take very high doses to force lithium into the cells. At the same
time, these high doses are extremely close to toxic levels; prescription strength lithium
must be used with extreme caution, as the difference between therapeutic and toxic
levels are extremely small. Because of this, people taking lithium must maintain strict
dosing schedules and be diligent about obtaining blood tests every 3 months to ensure
they stay within optimal, non-toxic dose ranges. Symptoms of lithium overdose

include tremors, diarrhea, thirst and frequent urination, nausea and a feeling of
detachedness.
Lithium in any of its forms is not a pharmaceutical drug in the strictest sense; rather
the different forms are simply minerals (very similar to salt) with significant effects on
conditions of the mind. Lithium occurs naturally in the environment and it is found in
very small amounts in the food and water supply.
Lithium Orotate The Safe Lithium
Another form of lithium, known as lithium orotate, is much safer than its prescription
strength counterparts yet at the same time it maintains a similar degree of efficacy.
Because of this, much lower doses can be used, and toxic side effects are avoided, but
clinical improvements are similar.
Lithium orotate differs chiefly from prescription strength lithium based on the ion it is
bound to. This seemingly insignificant change makes all the difference in the world in
the realm of safety. The original scientific study looking at lithium orotate theorized
that this form of lithium was specifically released within cells at the critical sites
where cellular transmission occurs, and that this form of lithium is able to cross the
blood brain barrier with greater efficacy than standard lithium.10
It is theorized that the cells can absorb lithium orotate more effectively than the
prescription form.11 This study looked at lithium orotate absorption in animals and
showed that the brain and blood serum concentrations of lithium orotate remained
stable in the serum up to 24 hours post-administration, and brain concentrations were
3 times higher than that found with prescription lithium carbonate leading to greater
therapeutic efficacy.
Other Uses of Lithium
People with mood disorders (especially depression) are at a much higher risk of
suicide than the general population.12 Lithium has been shown to lessen the incidence
of suicide in patients with depression who are taking it compared to those who do not.
And, suicide is also lower among those taking lithium compared to other types of
antidepressant medications.13-14 Lithium has been used with success in a variety of
conditions other than mood disorders, including alcoholism, anemia, migraine and
cluster headache15, as well as nearsightedness and glaucoma.10
Conclusion
Lithium orotate is a simple mineral available as a safe nutritional preparation that has
significant effects on conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, and Seasonal
Affective Disorder. Lithium orotate is available as a safer alternative to prescription
strength lithium, which has a high risk of several dangerous side effects. Lithium
orotate is uniquely designed to provide the same positive effects on mood as
prescription lithium, but at a much lower and thus safer dose. Lithium can be used in
clinically diagnosed mood disorders as well as for subclinical mood conditions that
are not always readily diagnosed by clinicians. Lithium orotate should always be used
under the discretion of a physician.
References
1. Kessler RC, Chiu WT, Demler O, Walters EE. Prevalence, severity, and
comorbidity of twelve-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey
Replication (NCS-R). Archives of General Psychiatry. 2005 Jun;62(6):617-27.
2. U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates by Demographic Characteristics. Table
2: Annual Estimates of the Population by Selected Age Groups and Sex for the United
States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2004 (NC-EST2004-02) Source: Population Division,
U.S. Census Bureau Release Date: June 9, 2005.
http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/
3. The World Health Organization. The World Health Report 2004: Changing

History, Annex Table 3: Burden of disease in DALYs by cause, sex, and mortality
stratum in WHO regions, estimates for 2002. Geneva: WHO, 2004.
4. Kessler RC, Berglund PA, Demler O, Jin R, Walters EE. Lifetime prevalence and
age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey
Replication (NCS-R). Archives of General Psychiatry. 2005 Jun;62(6):593-602.
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Walters EE, Wang PS. The epidemiology of major depressive disorder: results from
the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Journal of the American
Medical Association. 2003; Jun 18;289(23):3095-105.
6. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual on Mental
Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press,
1994.
7. Lam RW, Levitt AJ, Levitan RD, Enns MW, Morehouse R, Michalak EE, Tam
EM. The Can-SAD Study: a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of light
therapy and fluoxetine in patients with winter seasonal affective disorder. American
Journal of Psychiatry. 2006;163(5):805-12.
8. Modell J, Rosenthal NE, Harriett AE, Krishen A, Asgharian A, Foster VJ, Metz A,
Rockett CB, Wightman DS. Seasonal affective disorder and its prevention by
anticipatory treatment with bupropion XL Biological Psychiatry. 2005;58(8): 658-667.
9. Avery DH, Kizer D, Bolte MA, Hellekson C. Bright light therapy of subsyndromal
seasonal affective disorder in the workplace: morning vs. afternoon exposure. Acta
Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 2001;103 (4): 267-274.
10. Nieper HA. The clinical applications of lithium orotate. A two years study.
Agressologie. 1973;14(6):407-11.
11. Kling MA, Manowitz P, Pollack IW. Rat brain and serum lithium concentrations
after acute injections of lithium carbonate and orotate. J Pharm Pharmacol. 1978
Jun;30(6):368-70.
12. Moscicki EK. Epidemiology of completed and attempted suicide: toward a
framework for prevention. Clinical Neuroscience Research. 2001; 1: 310-23.
13. McElroy SL, Kotwal R, Kaneria R, Keck PE Jr. Antidepressants and suicidal
behavior in bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disord. 2006 Oct;8(5 Pt 2):596-617.
14. Howland RH. Lithium: underappreciated and underused?
J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2007 Aug;45(8):13-7.
15. Sartori HE. Lithium orotate in the treatment of alcoholism and related conditions.
Alcohol. 1986 Mar; 3 (2): 97-100.

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