Lithia water is mineral water containing lithium salts. Lithia water can occur naturally in spring form. One example can be found in Ashland, Oregon's Lithia Park. The water is pumped to a fountain where hundreds of people come to drink it for its supposed positive health effects. Another example is Lithia spring, GA. This Lithia water has a sweet taste and is oderless because it contains no sulfur unlike Ashland Oregon's Lithia water.
Population studies found that communities with lithia waters have lower suicide rates, mental hospital admissions, incidences of crimes, and arrests related to drug addictions.[1][2]
Another study indicated that low levels of lithium (as measured through hair sample analysis) occur in individuals with heart disease, learning-disabled subjects, and incarcerated violent criminals.[3]
Studies measuring the effects of trace levels of lithium, commonly found in lithia waters, have demonstrated neuroprotective abilities,[4] improvements in mood and cognitive function,[5] and positive outcomes as a treatment for manic depressive disease.[6]
On February 8, 2011, German researchers at Friedrich Schiller University Jena published their findings in the European Journal of Nutrition indicating that lithia waters lead to an increased life expectancy in humans and metazoans.[7]
A clinical pilot study using ĔDJ lithia water from British Columbia is underway at the University of British Columbia.[8] It will investigate whether daily use of lithia water will improve new brain cell formation (neurogenesis) and reduce neuronal oxidative stress (neuroprotection).
Historically, one of the first commercially sold lithia waters in the United States was bottled at Lithia Springs, Georgia in 1888.