Posted by Larry Hoover on June 19, 2006, at 8:21:07
In reply to Re: Truehope.com's Empower Experience - Who's tried?, posted by KarenRB53 on June 17, 2006, at 22:54:24
> Thank you for your feedback John. I once used regular Lithium (when I was first diagnosed) and it didn't work all that well for me and also made me very sick once. I imagine that the natural lithium will be different.
Stop right there, please. There is no such thing as natural lithium. It's all the same. There is nothing more or less natural about any lithium substance you might consume.
It's hard to tell from what you say here, if this "natural" lithium you're considering is lithium orotate? Nearly fifty years ago, when lithium was first "discovered" for the treatment of manic depression, a number of different lithium compounds were tested.
I have no idea just what they really did, because the scientific method was not nearly so well developed, back then. There were no clinical trials done, back then. We didn't yet know how to do them.
Anyway, of all the lithium salts tested, back then, only lithium carbonate and lithium chloride made it through into clinical applications. Lithium orotate was tested, and not selected. I don't know why, because they didn't write down that information. At least, I've never yet found it. It's probably in some dusty library archive, somewhere. Some obscure book or journal article, just lying gathering dust.
The only thing that sets lithium orotate apart from other lithium compounds is the combination of the lithium ion with the orotic acid. There are some highly exaggerated claims being made about the effects of orotic acid. Highly exaggerated claims, without any scientific foundation. The dose of lithium supplied in these OTC lithium salts is truly trivial. That's the only reason they're getting away with it. The dose is below the federal radar.
> I just received an e-mail from a lady on the east coast who has had enormous success with EMPower for her bipolar disorder so I feel that this is very promising. With that being said, I'm thinking that I might try a combination of the two.
The Canadian version of the FDA has shut down Truehope in Canada. They are making claims that cannot be scientifically substantiated. Any person can claim success with any treatment modality. No matter what that modality is, though, you can't generalize to yourself. You're different.
Far better, I think, would be for you to learn about nutrition, and about how to customize your nutrient intake to best manage your symptoms. Truehope has a set formula. It's their idea of what a proper dose of all those nutrients is supposed to be. What's the likelihood that they got it perfectly, for you?
That said, I always advocate increased nutrient intake for anyone with mental illness. Truehope sells what really is nothing more than multi-vitamin capsules. Sure, it can make you feel better. But it will excessively lighten your wallet, because it is over-priced for what you get.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:303470
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20060601/msgs/658608.html