Lithium in drinking water may affect Alzheimer’s risk

Lithium in your drinking water may affect your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. If you consume tiny amounts of lithium for a long period of time, then it can help lower your chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease. But this is only true if the dose is not too small. If you take the wrong amount, then you might be increasing your chance of getting dementia. The amount of lithium found in water varies based on location.

Key Takeaways:

• A study in Denmark found that long term consumption of minute amounts of lithium may lower the risk of dementia.
• 15.1 to 27 micrograms per liter show a 17% decreased risk of dementia, but levels that are too high might increase the risk.
• The levels of lithium in Denmark’s drinking water are too low to pose a serious risk to kidneys.

“Other research has shown that low doses – but doses far higher than found in the drinking water in the Denmark trial – may reduce the odds of Alzheimer’s.”

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-lithium-dementia-idUSKCN1B323F?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews