#164

I think I’m going to stop the low dose lithium when I run out now that I know Telmisartan increases blood levels of lithium. Seems like I already get the benefits of lithium by just taking Telmisartan.

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#165

Just published: Dietary sucrose determines the regulatory activity of lithium on gene expression and lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster

The amount of dietary sugars and the administration of lithium both impact the lifespan of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. It is noteworthy that lithium is attributed with insulin-like activity as it stimulates protein kinase B/Akt and suppresses the activity of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3). However, its interaction with dietary sugar has largely remained unexplored. Therefore, we investigated the effects of lithium supplementation on known lithium-sensitive parameters in fruit flies, such as lifespan, body composition, GSK-3 phosphorylation, and the transcriptome, while varying the dietary sugar concentration. For all these parameters, we observed that the efficacy of lithium was significantly influenced by the sucrose content in the diet. Overall, we found that lithium was most effective in enhancing longevity and altering body composition when added to a low-sucrose diet. Whole-body RNA sequencing revealed a remarkably similar transcriptional response when either increasing dietary sucrose from 1% to 10% or adding 1 mM LiCl to a 1% sucrose diet, characterized by a substantial overlap of nearly 500 differentially expressed genes. Hence, dietary sugar supply is suggested as a key factor in understanding lithium bioactivity, which could hold relevance for its therapeutic applications.
Compared to low-sugar diets, a moderate isocaloric rise in added sugar of up to ~15 % increasingly promotes the survival of female flies, while extremely high-sugar diets (usually 20-30 % sucrose) drastically shorten the lifespan.
Similar findings have also been reported in ad libitum fed mice, where median lifespan was the greatest when carbohydrate intake was high and protein intake low.
As shown in Figure 1A and Table 1, elevating the dietary sucrose content from 1% up to 10% improved the median (+5 days) as well as the maximum lifespan (+11 days) in w1118 females. Supplementing 0.1 mM up to 1 mM LiCl to the 1% sucrose diet had a similar impact on the median and maximal lifespan of the flies. The lower dose of 0.1 mM LiCl improved median survival by three days but not the maximal lifespan compared to the non-supplemented low sucrose control diet. The higher dose of 1 mM LiCl improved median survival by five days and prolonged the maximum lifespan by seven days (see Figure 1B and Table 2). When added to the standard 5% sucrose diet, 0.1 mM LiCl had no significant impact on the survival curve, whereas 1 mM LiCl improved median survival by four days and maximal lifespan by only two days (see Figure 1C and Table 1). Lithium added to the 10% sucrose diet only had a small but still significant impact on the survival curve with the higher dose of 1 mM LiCl (see Figure 2D and Table 2).

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#166

ACE inhibitors certainly haven’t caused Li to accumulate for me. As today’s result showed; my Li level is low. So I shall either increase the frequency of Li supplementation or find a higher dose.

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#167

What level of Lithium are you getting for what dosing schedule? I personally have settled on 2mg per day which gives me something just below the measurable threshold of 50microMolar in serum.

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#168

I had been taking 5mg Li-aspartate 3 times/week. This is very close to your 2 mg/day.
My lithium value was low <0.1 mmol/L. Reference range is 0.5-1.0.

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#169

The reference range, however, is for a mental health dosing rather than longevity. I think you can get reasonable action on Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) just under 50 micromolar. I think I posted the references on another topic in this forum.

I tried various dosings and at 5g daily it went over the 50 microMolar. What I don’t want to do is to block the citrate transporters. Those can be inhiibited at higher rates.

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#170

I stopped taking lithium once I learned Telmisartan raises lithium levels in the blood. Thanks @adssx for posting that a while ago.

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#171

I did the same but I still haven’t measured my levels. It might be negligible. (indapamide raises them also btw)

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#172

SGLT2I reduce lithium in blood. I wonder if you take an SGLT2I and Telmisartan if it’s a wash.

Also, 5 mg lithium orotate isn’t much lithium.

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#173

I do actually Empagliflozin 10mg in addition to 40mg Telmisartan, and was not aware that the SGLT2 lowered lithium.

So now I might want to add 1mg lithium back in, lol

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#174

How did we decide that 5mg isn’t much? Life Extension sells it in 1mg.

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#175

Mental health doses are a lot higher.

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#176

Yea but do we need that much for longevity?

#177

Exactly. Mental health doses are much higher. Dr. Attia was trying 60 mg a day which he considers high and needed to monitor it carefully. 5 mg isn’t near that number. I doubt Telmisartan would multiply it by 12X. Especially if you are using an SGLT2I to reduce it.

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#178

Have you tested? Think the test is very easy to get next time you do blood work.

#179

No, will any lab have it if I walk in? Is it cheap?

#180

Could perhaps buy this one online via our favorite Ulta:

Ulta Lithium: Lithium | Ulta Lab Tests

And just go to a Quest

Marek/LabCorp might be cheaper

10 min or google will help you find good options

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#181

If you can find out the lower limit of the lab that is helpful as most labs are set up for testing mental health level interventions.

#182

This is a good price. There’s a place near where I live called Labdoctor I just walk into without an appointment and there’s never a wait, and they have every test I have ever asked for, so I am guessing they will have lithium too.

I’m sorry if this has been discussed but this thread has gotten long. What level is considered optimal?

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#183

Here’s a really good, up to date paper on lithium doses and levels. I recommend it.

Strawbridge, R., Young, A.H. Lithium: how low can you go?. Int J Bipolar Disord 12 , 4 (2024).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10828288/

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