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Omaha Steve

(99,061 posts)
Wed Sep 17, 2014, 10:07 PM Sep 2014

Lemon, 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 you’ve long known what originally put the “Coca” in Coca-Cola. But here’s a fun bit of happy-hour trivia you might not be familiar with: What put the “Up” in the original 7-Up?

Lithium!

That’s right: It turns out that what today is perhaps the most boring and staid of all the major soft drinks (except when it’s liberally spiked) has a semi-scandalous past.

That cocaine gave Coke its original happy kick isn’t news—unless, of course, you’re in third grade, which is about when it seems most of us became aware of Coke’s 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 I’d never before heard of 7-Up’s once-upon-a-time not-so-secret ingredient. That tidbit isn’t 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, you’re probably already on a regular regimen: Lithium is a naturally occurring element that’s 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
well, that's fun. we just don't have the good stuff in our pop anymore. orleans Sep 2014 #1
And Don't Forget... A Pope Supported Cocaine Use... WillyT Sep 2014 #2
Feelin' 7-up, I'm feelin' 7-up... progressoid Sep 2014 #3
lol get out of my head!!!! RandiFan1290 Sep 2014 #8
Reading the other day (can't remember where) that lithium Laffy Kat Sep 2014 #4
Laredo, Texas, has naturally occurring lithium Warpy Sep 2014 #5
If only there had been...FantAcid... Ken Burch Sep 2014 #6
Should We All Take a Bit of Lithium? [NYT] Bosonic Sep 2014 #7

Laffy Kat

(16,354 posts)
4. Reading the other day (can't remember where) that lithium
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 12:34 AM
Sep 2014

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
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 03:56 AM
Sep 2014

in its water supply. Read about that decades ago and wondered why so many Texans were still going around crazy.

Bosonic

(3,746 posts)
7. Should We All Take a Bit of Lithium? [NYT]
Thu Sep 18, 2014, 04:22 AM
Sep 2014
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. It’s 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 doesn’t 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
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