Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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17.04.2011 |
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Lithium in drinking water helps you live longer
Lithium
The most famous lithium product was launched in 1929. After 2 years of experimenting with flavours, Charles Leiper Grigg came up with Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda. Intended to cure hangovers, this beverage became one of the most popular soft drinks in the world.
In fact, Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda is still on the market, but since 1936 it has gone by the name of 7UP. Grigg advertised 7UP saying that drinking it would make you more energetic and give you lust for life, and on top of that, shinier hair and bright eyes.
Psycho-epidemiology
Lithium worked so well, however, that Cade initially thought that bipolar disorders were caused by a shortage of lithium. This theory led to 'nutri-criminological' studies which revealed that in areas where the drinking water contained more lithium there were lower serious crime rates and fewer suicides. [Biol Trace Elem Res. 1990 May;25(2):105-13.]
Animal study
The figure below is arrived at by dividing actual mortality by expected mortality. The researchers corrected their figures for suicide. The more lithium the drinking water contained – the amount varied from 0.7 to 59 micrograms per litre – the lower the standardised mortality ratio.
That higher concentrations of lithium in drinking water extend life expectation is shown in an animal study carried out by German nutritionists at the University of Jena. The Germans gave the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans ordinary food [black granules] or food that had lithium added to it in approximately the quantity found in the Japanese water with high levels [white granules]. This miniscule amount of lithium extended the lifespan of the worms.
The Germans did not study how the tiny amount of lithium extended the worms' life.
Conclusion
By the way, lithium supplements are available in webshops. [J Med Toxicol. 2007 Jun;3(2):61-2.] But we might not need these, if we only need to consume the amounts used in the German experiment. Ordinary foods like milk, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers and mushrooms all contain comparatively high amounts of lithium.
You can read more about the life-prolonging effect of lithium here.
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