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I've been reading Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers, which lead me to this article from a few years ago in The New York Times. The article appears to make a compelling case as to the benefits of taking Lithium, which in many places is part of the natural groundwater but not in all...and then there's people like me who only drink bottled water. Has anyone heard of taking low doses of lithium to improve mental function and mood? Would it be bad if governments did as the article said and added it to the water supply, or if it were added to other beverages?

Well, I think it's commonly believed to be rather intrusive for the government to start dosing people through the water supply regardless of intention. I could be persuaded to start taking lithium if it really is healthy for you. I've never heard of that though. Even then, someone like me could get behind improving brain function but of course that makes me a bit biased given my own circumstances.

But the government already puts fluoride in water, so the precedent exists. And is it really any worse than the drug companies pushing anti-depressants on people? This is the first I've heard of the idea of taking low-dose lithium as a mental health supplement, so beyond the article and the fact that doctors in the book I'm reading are taking it, I'm not sure of how reliable the evidence is. The article's narrative is certainly plausible, but there isn't much about it out there on sites I would consider reputable.

I do believe that many of the health and mental issues we face as a society are due to our modern, unnatural lifestyles, but it's hard to tell which aspects are responsible...could it be the fact that many aren't getting enough of a vitamin or mineral like lithium? Could it be the fact that we're always connected to modern society and its stressors through technology? Could it be the grotesque amounts of fat and sugar we consume? Our sedentary lifestyle? All of the above?

I took Lithium. It's great when you're on it. You really feel better. But it, in my humble opinion, can get addictive. When I stopped I got moody, pissy and terse.

I'm guessing that's high-dose lithium, which can get rather toxic and apparently is why lithium has such a bad name to begin with. I don't think it's supposed to do that in lower doses.

I'm guessing that's high-dose lithium, which can get rather toxic and apparently is why lithium has such a bad name to begin with. I don't think it's supposed to do that in lower doses.

You could make the same argument for microdosing LSD in water. Should we do that too? (Legitimate question here, not a rhetorical one.)

My main issue with adding Li to water is that its side effects are still not well known when used this way. We need to have more extensive studies before proceeding.

I didn't take you as the LSD type, @taulover.

I didn't take you as the LSD type, @taulover.

I'm not the type to take Lithium, either. You see what I mean?

You don't want to expand your consciousness?

Unrelated, and just out of curiosity, how do you discover that you're allergic to alkaline metals? I've never heard of that one before.

They are a common ingredient in sticky plasters, deoderant and shampoos, these things all bring me out in a bad rash or in the case of deoderants will make me cough uncontrollably...

In Highschool it got so bad I went to see a doctor and it turned up.

That's pretty interesting...do they have deodorants and shampoos without them?

Yeah, like any allergy I just gotta check the label before I buy them they aren't used in non-spray deodorants and normally shampoos labelled as "natural"  tend not to contain them either it's not really much of a bother.

I wonder though...if they can make deodorants and shampoos without them, and they work just fine, why do they put them in it to begin with?

Probably just cheaper as part of an industrial process.