Does Lithium Prevent Alzheimer's Disease?

Over 433,000 Australians are living with dementia right now. It's common, but what if some of that risk could be reduced, or the onset delayed?

Alzheimer's disease (AD) accounts for most of these cases, and according to emerging research from Harvard Medical School published in Nature, lithium may play a surprising role. People with early signs of Alzheimer's have significantly reduced lithium levels in their brains, and restoring these levels has shown protective effects in early studies. In mouse models, low-dose lithium helped prevent and even reverse memory loss, but this hasn’t yet been confirmed in humans.

In this post, we'll explore what lithium does for your brain, which form of lithium science is currently investigating, where to get it naturally, and whether supplementation might actually be right for you.

If you’re thinking about your own long-term brain health, this is exactly the kind of question Everlab helps people get clearer on. Our doctors can review your personal risk factors and run targeted testing for things that influence cognitive ageing, like inflammation, nutrient status and metabolic health. It doesn’t diagnose or predict Alzheimer’s, but it can give you and your doctor a practical, personalised baseline to work from early.

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What Is Lithium and Why Does Your Brain Need It?

Lithium is a naturally occurring mineral found in soil, rocks, water and some of the foods we eat. Your body already contains small amounts of it. At these physiological levels, lithium appears to support normal brain function and resilience with age.

To explain how lithium may relate to cognitive decline, let's explore how Alzheimer's disease develops in the first place. AD is linked to two problematic proteins: amyloid-beta and tau.

Amyloid-beta forms sticky clumps outside your brain cells (neurons), creating plaques that interfere with cell-to-cell communication. On the other hand, tau proteins twist into tangles inside the cells, damaging their internal structure. Together, these proteins disrupt the network of brain cells that support memory and thinking.

Your brain also has cleanup cells called microglia that clear away harmful amyloid plaques. When brain lithium levels are adequate, these cells seem to function better. Lithium also appears to block a key enzyme called GSK-3β. When lithium levels drop, this enzyme can become overactive and may contribute to tau accumulation.

So when lithium is depleted in the brain, microglia may struggle to perform their cleaning job and GSK-3β may be less controlled. As a result, amyloid-beta plaques can accumulate, tau tangles may form, and the Alzheimer’s process may accelerate.

Which Form of Lithium Works for the Brain?

When it comes to brain health, the form of lithium matters significantly. In nature, lithium is always chemically bound to another substance, forming what’s called a lithium salt. That salt influences how lithium is absorbed, where it goes, and whether it can effectively reach brain tissue.

At the moment, two types of lithium compounds are generally discussed in relation to brain health: lithium carbonate and lithium orotate.

1. Lithium Carbonate

Lithium carbonate is the pharmaceutical form used to treat bipolar disorder at high doses (typically 600 to 1,000 milligrams daily). New research suggests amyloid plaques can trap lithium carbonate in the brain, which may help explain why earlier clinical trials using this form for Alzheimer’s showed limited success despite some promising early signals.

At these therapeutic doses, lithium carbonate requires regular blood monitoring because it can affect the thyroid, kidneys and parathyroid glands. The narrow margin between an effective dose and a toxic dose makes it unsuitable for Alzheimer’s prevention in otherwise healthy adults.

2. Lithium Orotate

Lithium orotate is available as an over-the-counter supplement at much lower doses (typically 5 milligrams of elemental lithium). In animal models of Alzheimer’s, low-dose lithium orotate avoided plaque trapping, reached brain tissue more effectively, and prevented both amyloid plaque formation and tau tangles. In those mouse studies, it also reversed memory loss. The effective dose in mice was about one-thousandth the clinical dose of lithium carbonate.

This suggests protective effects might be achievable at doses far below those that cause side effects, but again, this hasn’t been proven in humans yet.

That said, if you’re looking at the research landscape, lithium orotate is the form being investigated for low-dose brain effects, not the pharmaceutical form used for mood disorders. Human trials are still needed before any form can be recommended for prevention.

Where Do You Get Lithium Naturally?

Even without supplements, you can get lithium from your diet. Grains and vegetables provide most of the daily lithium consumed, with drinking water contributing meaningful amounts in some areas.

• Whole grains are the biggest contributors, with wheat, oats, rice and barley containing naturally occurring lithium.
• Vegetables vary widely in content, but potatoes, tomatoes and cabbage are notable sources. Leafy greens, nightshades like peppers, and root vegetables also provide lithium.
• Legumes like lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans and soybeans contain some of the highest amounts of lithium found in food.
• Animal products contribute as well. Eggs, dairy, fish and meat all provide trace amounts.
• Tea: When brewed, black tea offers higher lithium levels compared to some other varieties.
• Mineral water: Natural springs in volcanic regions can contain good lithium concentrations.

Still, lithium intake from food depends heavily on soil composition, water sources and the geographic location where the food was grown. Australian soil varies in lithium content, which means your intake depends partly on where your food comes from.

Should You Consider Lithium Supplementation?

The short answer: not yet. Here's why.

Lithium orotate supplements are available over the counter and typically contain about 5 milligrams of elemental lithium per dose, only slightly more than many people get from food and water.

However, human clinical trials are needed before lithium supplementation can be recommended as a standard prevention strategy. The Harvard/Nature work was conducted in mice and post-mortem brain tissue, and the researchers emphasise the need to determine the effective and safe dose range in people.

So the smarter approach right now may be focusing on dietary sources while the science catches up.

If you’re considering supplementation anyway, speak with your healthcare team first. This is especially important if you have kidney disease, thyroid problems, or take regular medications. Many common drugs, including some antidepressants, anti-inflammatory medicines and even high caffeine intake, can interact with lithium and alter safe levels.

Who Might Lithium Benefit Most?

While maintaining adequate lithium levels may support everyone’s brain health, certain groups may want to pay closer attention to their intake. These include:

• People with a family history of dementia: If Alzheimer's or dementia runs in your family, maintaining adequate lithium levels through diet may be more important.
• Those with mild cognitive impairment: If you're forgetting names, losing your train of thought, or just not feeling as sharp (or having brain fog), it's worth investigating. Lithium deficiency could be a contributing factor, but so could B12 deficiency, thyroid dysfunction, sleep apnoea, sleep debt, or a dozen other treatable conditions. A comprehensive blood test can help identify what's actually going on, including checking lithium levels if indicated.
• People in areas with low-lithium soil and water: If you're in an area with naturally low lithium levels, you're likely getting less through your diet. While we don’t yet have clear Australian data on regional lithium variation, you could aim for a diverse range of vegetables and grains from different sources as a practical hedge.
• People seeking brain health support: The evidence so far suggests lithium works best early, before significant brain damage has occurred. This aligns with what we know about Alzheimer's: the earlier you address risk factors, the better your odds of maintaining cognitive function as you age.

Still, lithium deficiency could be just one factor among many, and brain health depends on multiple variables working together. So what can you do to maintain or improve brain function right now?

What You Can Do Now

While we wait for human clinical trials on lithium supplementation, you can focus on what’s already proven to reduce Alzheimer's risk.

• Eat a brain-healthy diet. The foods that contain lithium (vegetables, whole grains, legumes) sit at the core of dietary patterns like the Mediterranean diet that support cognitive health. These foods bring multiple benefits beyond lithium: fibre, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that protect your brain.
• Address known risk factors. High blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity, smoking and hearing loss are all modifiable risk factors for dementia. Each one you address reduces your overall risk.
• Check for nutrient deficiencies. B12, Vitamin D and iron deficiencies can cause cognitive symptoms long before true cognitive decline sets in. Blood testing can identify these early so you can correct them.
• Monitor your biomarkers. Understanding your baseline markers, including blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and inflammation indicators, positions you to act early as prevention science evolves. At Everlab, we use comprehensive biomarker testing to help identify modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline before symptoms appear. These tests don’t diagnose or predict Alzheimer’s disease, but they can support a personalised prevention plan with your doctor.

The Bottom Line

Lithium deficiency might be influencing Alzheimer's disease in ways we’re only beginning to understand. Early research shows that restoring brain lithium levels can protect memory in animal models, and that people with early Alzheimer’s have lower lithium levels in key brain regions. That’s a meaningful shift in how scientists are thinking about cognitive decline, but it’s still early days for humans.

While we wait for more human trials, you can make simple changes to your diet now to increase natural lithium intake. And if you want a clearer view of your personal brain-health risk factors, Everlab’s comprehensive testing can help identify things like nutrient gaps or inflammation early. If prevention strategies like low-dose lithium are proven in people, you’ll already have a strong baseline and a plan with your doctor.

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Sources:

1. Harvard Medical School: Could Lithium Explain, and Treat, Alzheimer’s Disease?
2. The Conversation: Alzheimer's disease: lithium may help slow cognitive decline, new research in mice
3. Science: Could lithium stave off Alzheimer's disease?