Quote:
Originally Posted by
concernedmom11 
Lithium is a heavy metal and has no known function in the human body or any other living organism. It is not a necessary biological element for life. Lithium in the "natural" or orotate form as well as the "un-natural" carbonate form both have adverse consequences in the body. Here is an example of the endocrine disrupting effects of lithium in females. This is a clinical study abstract.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0006899386914459
The orotate form of lithium is also more bioavailable and therefore builds up in the brain more quickly, leading to increased chances of toxicity. Another clinical study abstract...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18072162
Increased kidney toxicity from orotate salts...
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2042-7158.1979.tb13461.x/abstract
DO NOT BELIEVE THE HYPE ON THE INTERNET OR FROM NATROPATHIC DOCTORS ABOUT LITHIUM OROTATE. IT IS NOT SAFE. (Chelation can be safe.. lithium orotate is NOT!)
This post is so full of inaccuracies I had to comment on it.
First, Lithium is not a "heavy metal." In fact, it is the very lightest metal on the Periodic Table, with an Atomic Number of 3. Heavy metals are just that--- heavy ones, with high atomic numbers, like lead, cadmium, and uranium.
Second, far from having "no known function in the body," lithium can be found everywhere in the human body, and is intimately involved in many biochemical processes. In fact, in the human fetus, lithium concentration in the fetus peaks during the first trimester, indicating that lithium must play an important role in human development. See this article from Nutrition:
http://www.jacn.org/content/21/1/14.full
Counties with low lithium content in their water supplies have higher rates of suicide, drug addiction and violent crime.
Violent criminals have lower lithium content in their hair compared to non violent controls.
Lithium is one of the only helpful treatments for manic depressive disorder.
As far the three studies that you cite: You are making incorrect conclusions from the data.
First study: They INJECTED .035 g/kg of some form of lithium directly into rats. This would be equivalent to injecting about 3 grams of lithium into the bloodstream of a human. First of all, the paper doesn't indicate what type of lithium they used. Second of all, humans do not inject lithium--- they eat it. There is a BIG difference between the two. When you eat something, your body processes the material differently than if you inject it. The lithium concentration in your blood if you injected 3 grams of it at one time would likely be hundreds or thousands of times as great as if you swallowed 3 grams of it. This is simple biochemistry. You can't compare these two situations at ALL.
Second study: The woman in the study OVERDOSED on lithium, taking 68 grams at one time! That is 12 times the amount of lithium orotate that a typical dose contains. You can only conclude from this study that it is possible to overdose on lithium. The USRDA of magnesium is 300 mg/day. I guarantee you that you will have problems if you take 12 times this amount at one time! Taking 12 times the amount of potassium you should at one time will stop your heart. In fact, they INJECT potassium into the bloodstream ti kill people in capital punishment.
Third study: Same problem as the first study: INJECTED into RATS.
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