A healthy brain naturally creates certain types of proteins.
These proteins can end up affecting cognition and memory—so
your brain has natural, built-in processes for removing them.4
But this clearing process declines over time as part of normal
aging. When that happens, these proteins can begin to
accumulate.5
A Bodyguard for Your Brain
Preclinical studies indicate that lithium helps support the
breakdown of these accumulated brain proteins and promotes the
brain’s normal process for clearing cellular debris from your
brain cells.6
Lithium also helps protect your brain’s neurons (this is called
a neuroprotective effect). It does so by inhibiting an
enzyme called glycogen synthase kinase-3, or simply GSK3.7 This
enzyme is involved in many different kinds of cellular
functions—one of which happens to be the way your brain
metabolizes glucose, or blood sugar.8 So lithium may help
maintain already-healthy cerebral glucose metabolism.
Lithium and a Healthy Life Span
While nothing is certain, lithium may be a great addition to
your longevity regimen as well. The reason possibly has to do
with telomeres, an emerging indicator for lifespan and
cellular vitality. Telomeres cap the outside ends of our
chromosomes and protect our DNA from deterioration—think of
them as the little plastic or metal endcaps on a pair of
shoelaces.
Every time a cell replicates, those endcaps get shorter—and
eventually, telomeres become too short to do their job. So, the
theory is that the longer you can maintain long, healthy
telomeres, the better your chances of a robust lifespan are
going to be.
Why Lithium: Research has observed that some people on
long-term, high-dose lithium regimens have longer-than-expected
telomeres.9 And one study found that lithium levels found in
tap water (much lower doses) were modestly associated with
human mortality and lifespan.10 There’s also some evidence that
lithium may inhibit cellular senescence—a natural part of aging
where cells no longer function optimally—as well as help
promote healthy circadian rhythms.11,12
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Neuropsychopharmacology. 2018;43(5):1174-1179.
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Eur Neuropsychopharmacol
. 2016;26(7):1241-7.
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European journal of nutrition. 2011;50(5):387-389.
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Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2019;21(3):14.
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Aging cell. 2004;3(5):309-317.
