As always, we know too little. Is lithium life or health extending for most, or only for those who due to their vulnerabilities can benefit. Example: for years studies of aspirin and colon cancer were contradictory. Transpired that a percentage (about 25%?) of people have a specific genetic variant resulting in vulnerability to CC, and that particular variant vulnerability is helped by aspirin. The rest, who don’t have it, or who have a different genetic CC vulnerablility are not helped by aspirin, and can even sustain gastric injury. Lithium, tau, flau, blau and shlau, do you need it, or is it actually negative for you, as with aspirin that doesn’t fix your issue, but because of side effects, is a net negative. Depending on dose lithium too has sides, such as kidney damage as one example. But to someone who benefits, aspirin, lithium, X, seems like a miracle and they can personally attest to its benefits, spread the word far and wide, and recommend to all… which can damage and not benefit “all”.
That’s the trouble when you study/focus on one modality. It is easy to get tunnel vision, overvalue and lose the broader perspective. If you study a hammer for long, you might think that everything is a nail. So when I listen to someone who evangelizes a single agent, like lithium, I wonder about the broader context.
How exactly does lithium fit into longevity overall? I have no idea. None. With rapa, at least I have hints. With lithium, I have confusion. SGLT2i inhibitors might extend life/health (canagliflozin, ITP, mice). But SGLT2i massively get rid of lithium in the urine; they deplete lithium from your body. Yet, SGLT2i are a big health and life(?) boon. Does part of the benefit derive from low lithium and so supplementing becomes counterproductive, or does it work in spite of litium depletion, and therefore if on SGLT2i, you should supplement even more to compensate. I have no idea.
The podcast, as happens often in the longevity space, left me with more questions than answers. Result: frustration insofar as “what do I do with this” - is anything actionable here or another “interesting” intellectual exercise and more rabbit holes which I already have plenty of to last me several lifetimes; what I sadly don’t have is several lifetimes. Oh, goody, another rabbit hole… so?
