hypothetically speaking, if a human wanted to be on lithium, is there a downside to it then?

Wendie Trubow, MD, MBA, IFMCPPresident at Five Journeys, Functional Medicine & Wellness Provider, Best Selling Author, Passionate Champion for Health

Taking Lithium What You Need to Know

5 May 2026 · 1 min

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1:04

A psychiatrist discusses low-dose lithium as a preventive health measure. Regions with higher natural lithium in drinking water show reduced Alzheimer's prevalence and lower mortality rates. He recommends 2-5 mg daily as a supplement, since typical diet provides only 1-2 mg, with side effects rare enough that about one in a thousand people experience mild headaches.

Questions this video answers

Low‑dose lithium (1–5 mg daily) is generally safe; side effects occur in about 1 in 1,000 people and are usually mild (e.g., headache).

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hypothetically speaking, if a human wanted to be on lithium, is there a downside to it then?
Well, what I've been answering people as— it's really been one of the most helpful tools in my practice as a psychiatrist is low-dose lithium as well as low-dose prescription lithium. A lot of the research is just how much we would get in our water and food supply. Okay. So we know that if you live in an area with high lithium in the water, you have lower rates of Alzheimer's and lower mortality. So those are micrograms per liter. And then depending on your diet and where you live, you might get 1 or 2 milligrams in your food supply. So I'm recommending that 2 to 5 milligrams is simple and safe. And rarely, I mean, 1 out of 1,000, you'd see a side effect, and that might be a headache or something mild. So I'm quite comfortable recommending, based on the literature, that 1 to 5 milligrams as a preventative dose for individuals.