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Lithium: occurrence, dietary intakes, nutritional essentiality.

Gerhard N Schrauzer1

  • 1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, USA.

Journal of the American College of Nutrition
|February 13, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Lithium is an essential trace element found in foods and water. Studies show low lithium intake is linked to health issues and abnormal development, suggesting a dietary requirement.

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Area of Science:

  • Trace element research
  • Nutritional science
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Lithium is present in variable amounts in food (grains, vegetables) and drinking water.
  • Early detection in human tissues suggested potential biological functions.
  • Evidence for essentiality emerged from animal studies and human epidemiological data.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the evidence for lithium's essentiality in biological systems.
  • To explore the implications of lithium deficiency in both animal models and human populations.
  • To propose a provisional recommended daily allowance (RDA) for lithium.

Main Methods:

  • Review of historical and contemporary research on lithium in diet and biological tissues.
  • Analysis of animal studies (rats, goats) on controlled low-lithium diets.
  • Examination of epidemiological data linking water lithium levels to human health outcomes (suicide, crime rates).

Main Results:

  • Animal studies demonstrated increased mortality and abnormalities under low-lithium conditions.
  • Human studies associated low dietary lithium with higher rates of suicide, homicide, and crime.
  • Lithium concentration is high in early fetal development, indicating a critical role.

Conclusions:

  • Experimental evidence supports lithium's classification as an essential trace element.
  • A provisional recommended daily allowance (RDA) of 1,000 microg/day for a 70 kg adult is suggested.
  • Further research into lithium's biochemical mechanisms and health impacts is warranted.

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