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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLemon, Lime—and Lithium? Turns Out, 7-Up Used to Contain the Potent Drug
http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/09/16/7up-lithium?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2014-09-17
Like Coke, the popular soda has a psychotropic past.
September 16, 2014 By Jason Best
Jason Best is a regular contributor to TakePart who has worked for Gourmet and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
No doubt youve long known what originally put the Coca in Coca-Cola. But heres a fun bit of happy-hour trivia you might not be familiar with: What put the Up in the original 7-Up?
Lithium!
Thats right: It turns out that what today is perhaps the most boring and staid of all the major soft drinks (except when its liberally spiked) has a semi-scandalous past.
That cocaine gave Coke its original happy kick isnt newsunless, of course, youre in third grade, which is about when it seems most of us became aware of Cokes psychotropic history, owing to the breathless revelations of that kid. You know, the one who always seemed in possession of some dubious bit of grown-up-sounding knowledge. But I myself have to admit that Id never before heard of 7-Ups once-upon-a-time not-so-secret ingredient. That tidbit isnt even the most startling revelation in psychiatrist Anna Fels provocatively titled op-ed that appeared last weekend in The New York Times: Should We All Take a Bit of Lithium?
Fels charts what she characterizes as a small yet growing body of scientific evidence that suggests tiny doses of lithium, consumed regularly, contribute to better overall mental health, likely because lithium seems to act to protect neurons in the brain. In some areas of the country, youre probably already on a regular regimen: Lithium is a naturally occurring element thats found in varying minute concentrations in tap water.
FULL story at link.
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Lemon, Lime—and Lithium? Turns Out, 7-Up Used to Contain the Potent Drug (Original Post)
Omaha Steve
Sep 2014
OP
orleans
(33,986 posts)1. well, that's fun. we just don't have the good stuff in our pop anymore.
on edit: or our cough medicine
WillyT
(72,631 posts)2. And Don't Forget... A Pope Supported Cocaine Use...
progressoid
(49,825 posts)3. Feelin' 7-up, I'm feelin' 7-up...
RandiFan1290
(6,206 posts)8. lol get out of my head!!!!
Laffy Kat
(16,354 posts)4. Reading the other day (can't remember where) that lithium
Lithium is a naturally occurring element found in our drinking water. Some water sources have higher levels. I demand lithium water!!
Warpy
(110,900 posts)5. Laredo, Texas, has naturally occurring lithium
in its water supply. Read about that decades ago and wondered why so many Texans were still going around crazy.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)6. If only there had been...FantAcid...
Their ad agency would have been ready for it.
Bosonic
(3,746 posts)7. Should We All Take a Bit of Lithium? [NYT]
Should We All Take a Bit of Lithium?
THE idea of putting a mind-altering drug in the drinking water is the stuff of sci-fi, terrorist plots and totalitarian governments. Considering the outcry that occurred when putting fluoride in the water was first proposed, one can only imagine the furor that would ensue if such a thing were ever suggested.
The debate, however, is moot. Its a done deal. Mother Nature has already put a psychotropic drug in the drinking water, and that drug is lithium. Although this fact has been largely ignored for over half a century, it appears to have important medical implications.
Lithium is a naturally occurring element, not a molecule like most medications, and it is present in the United States, depending on the geographic area, at concentrations that can range widely, from undetectable to around .170 milligrams per liter. This amount is less than a thousandth of the minimum daily dose given for bipolar disorders and for depression that doesnt respond to antidepressants. Although it seems strange that the microscopic amounts of lithium found in groundwater could have any substantial medical impact, the more scientists look for such effects, the more they seem to discover. Evidence is slowly accumulating that relatively tiny doses of lithium can have beneficial effects. They appear to decrease suicide rates significantly and may even promote brain health and improve mood.
Yet despite the studies demonstrating the benefits of relatively high natural lithium levels present in the drinking water of certain communities, few seem to be aware of its potential. Intermittently, stories appear in the scientific journals and media, but they seem to have little traction in the medical community or with the general public.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/opinion/sunday/should-we-all-take-a-bit-of-lithium.html?_r=0
THE idea of putting a mind-altering drug in the drinking water is the stuff of sci-fi, terrorist plots and totalitarian governments. Considering the outcry that occurred when putting fluoride in the water was first proposed, one can only imagine the furor that would ensue if such a thing were ever suggested.
The debate, however, is moot. Its a done deal. Mother Nature has already put a psychotropic drug in the drinking water, and that drug is lithium. Although this fact has been largely ignored for over half a century, it appears to have important medical implications.
Lithium is a naturally occurring element, not a molecule like most medications, and it is present in the United States, depending on the geographic area, at concentrations that can range widely, from undetectable to around .170 milligrams per liter. This amount is less than a thousandth of the minimum daily dose given for bipolar disorders and for depression that doesnt respond to antidepressants. Although it seems strange that the microscopic amounts of lithium found in groundwater could have any substantial medical impact, the more scientists look for such effects, the more they seem to discover. Evidence is slowly accumulating that relatively tiny doses of lithium can have beneficial effects. They appear to decrease suicide rates significantly and may even promote brain health and improve mood.
Yet despite the studies demonstrating the benefits of relatively high natural lithium levels present in the drinking water of certain communities, few seem to be aware of its potential. Intermittently, stories appear in the scientific journals and media, but they seem to have little traction in the medical community or with the general public.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/opinion/sunday/should-we-all-take-a-bit-of-lithium.html?_r=0