Will Lithium Really Save Your Brain?

There is an element sitting in your brain right now, and nobody has established how much you are supposed to have.  It may shape how you think, how you act, and whether your mind holds up as you age. Last year a Harvard lab placed it near the center of Alzheimer's, arguing that running short of it may be one of the first things that goes wrong in the diease. It is already sold as the next longevity compound, the thing that finally protects the aging brain, and the people selling it have a real paper behind them. This investigation takes that case apart study by study to find out how much of it holds. The question sounds simple. The answer, as always, is not.

00:00 – Intro: Lithium and the Brain
01:57 – Lithium's Origin as a Bipolar Drug
04:55 – The Brain Growth Claim
10:10 – Where the Evidence Breaks Down
12:12 – The Harvard Brain Study
15:36 – Should You Take Lithium?
18:04 – New Trial Starting This Fall