Lithium In Drinking Water

Take a look at the abstract from this paper:

OBJECTIVE:

We investigated the association between lithium level in tap water and mental health problems, including depressive symptoms, anxiety, and aggressive and suicidal behaviors, in a general population of adolescents using a large individual-level dataset.

METHODS:

A school-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted in Kochi Prefecture in Japan between 2008 and 2009. Students in 24 public junior high schools were asked to anonymously complete a self-report questionnaire. The main outcome measures were mental health problems, including those on the 12-item General Health Questionnaire, interpersonal violence, bullying, destructive behavior, self-harm, and suicidal ideation. Samples were collected from sources that supplied drinking water to schools, and lithium levels were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The associations of lithium levels with mental health problems were examined using a generalized linear mixed model with schools as the fixed effect. Potential confounding factors were also added into the model.

RESULTS:

A total of 3,040 students among 3,311 students responded to the self-report questionnaire (response rate, 91.8%). The mean lithium concentration in tap water was 0.48 μg/L (SD = 0.52; range, 0.01 to 2.10; skewness = 2.01; kurtosis = 4.04), and it was relatively low compared with previous studies. In multivariable regression analysis, lithium level in tap water had an inverse association with depressive symptoms (P = .02) and interpersonal violence (P = .02) but not with suicidal behaviors (suicidal ideation, P = .82; self-harm, P = .46).

CONCLUSIONS:

Lithium level in tap water was inversely associated with depressive symptoms and interpersonal violence among a general population of adolescents and may have antidepressive and antiaggressive effects.

It is unknown whether this will be reproducible and apply to other counties, and we shouldn't say we want lithium added to our water.  The main point I see here is how agents present in our environment that we may be unaware of in our everyday life can influence our behavior and our health.

Health Benefits Of Swimming

By Jmex60 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4611001

Swimming has been studied and has been shown to be effective for cardiovascular fitness and for enhancing body composition.  I’m not into swing myself, and get exercise through other approaches, but for those who do it, it’s obviously beneficial.  Always be safety-aware in the water, and don’t start a swimming program without first consulting with your physician.  Abstract:

BACKGROUND:Swimming is a popular and potentially health-enhancing exercise, but has received less scientific attention compared with other exercise modes.OBJECTIVE:The objective of the study was to determine the chronic (long-term) effect of pool swim training on physiological outcomes in non-elite or non-competitive swimming participants.DESIGN:This study was a systematic review with a meta-analysis.DATA SOURCES:We searched the electronic databases PubMed, EMBASE and CENTRAL from inception to March 2017.ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:The eligibility criteria included randomised controlled trials, quasi-randomised controlled trials and controlled trials of chronic (long-term) swimming interventions in non-elite or non-competitive swimming participants, with a physiological outcome measure.RESULTS:Our search of 6712 records revealed 29 eligible studies. Swimming had a significant and clinically meaningful effect on maximal oxygen uptake compared with the control in an analysis including multiple populations (mean difference 6.32 mL/kg/min; 95% confidence interval 4.33-8.31), and subgroup analyses of healthy children/adolescents (mean difference 7.93 mL/kg/min; 95% confidence interval 3.31-12.55) and those with asthma (mean difference 9.67 mL/kg/min; 95% confidence interval 5.84-13.51) and healthy adults (mean difference 5.87 mL/kg/min; 95% confidence interval 2.93-8.81). Swimming also resulted in significant improvements in other cardiorespiratory fitness-related outcomes such as maximal minute ventilation (mean difference 0.61 L/min; 95% confidence interval 0.17-1.05), submaximal exercise performance (standardised mean difference 0.64; 95% confidence interval 0.14-1.13) and total exercise test time (mean difference 4.27 min; 95% confidence interval 2.11-6.42). Compared with the control, swimming had significant favourable effects on body mass (mean difference - 2.90 kg, 95% confidence interval - 5.02 to - 0.78), body fat percentage in multiple populations (mean difference - 1.92%; 95% confidence interval - 3.25 to - 0.60) and healthy children/adolescents (mean difference - 1.92%; 95% confidence interval - 4.64 to - 0.80) and lean mass (mean difference 1.96 kg; 95% confidence interval 0.21-3.71), but negative effects on waist circumference in a pooled analysis of two studies involving adults with hypertension (mean difference 4.03 cm; 95% confidence interval 2.58-5.49). Regarding lung function, significant effects of swimming vs. the control were found only for peak expiratory volume in analyses including children/adolescents combined with healthy adults (mean difference 58.74 L/min; 95% confidence interval 29.70-87.78) and children/adolescents with asthma alone (mean difference 63.49 L/min; 95% confidence interval 25.01-101.97). Based on limited data, swimming had similar effects to other exercise modes, except for higher post-intervention body mass index values with swimming vs. running in healthy adults (mean difference 1.18 kg/m2; 95% confidence interval 0.54-1.81).CONCLUSIONS:Swimming may offer robust beneficial effects on cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition across multiple populations and effects may be comparable to other exercise modes. Future randomised controlled trials are required to establish the effectiveness of swimming on physiological outcomes in healthy populations and those with non-communicable disease.

Nephrolithiasis In Children

By Robert R. Wal - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_stone, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3101185

Kidney/urinary stone disease is a serious disorder, and this paper discusses dietary interventions to avoid this disease in children.  As the abstract below makes clear, there hasn’t been any real positive findings apart from some limited data in favor of oral potassium citrate supplementation.  I have had kidney stones myself; that was one of the most painful experiences of my life.  Upon advice from an urologist, my own major preventive technique is drinking a lot of water during the day (up to 2 liters per day or more).  That’s inconvenient of course – what goes in must come out – and requires many bathroom visits per day.  A problem with children is that they go to school and can’t be spending much time in the bathroom, and keep in mind that drinking too much water can be a problem, and children, with smaller bodies than adults, have to be more careful with that.  The bottom line: follow your doctor’s advice on this subject, for both adults and children. Speaking only for myself as an adult, drinking water has helped, and I also eat a healthy diet as well.  Abstract:

BACKGROUND:

Nephrolithiasis, or urinary stone disease, in children causes significant morbidity, and is increasing in prevalence in the North American population. Therefore, medical and dietary interventions (MDI) for recurrent urinary stones in children are poised to gain increasing importance in the clinical armamentarium.

OBJECTIVES:

To assess the effects of medical and dietary interventions (MDI) for the prevention of idiopathic urinary stones in children aged from one to 18 years.

SEARCH METHODS:

We searched multiple databases using search terms relevant to this review, including studies identified from the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, 2017, Issue 1), MEDLINE OvidSP (1946 to 14 February 2017), Embase OvidSP (1980 to 14 February 2017), International Clinical Trials Register (ICTRP) Search Portal and ClinicalTrials.gov. Additionally, we handsearched renal-related journals and the proceedings of major renal conferences, and reviewed weekly current awareness alerts for selected renal journals. The date of the last search was 14 February 2017. There were no language restrictions.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Randomized controlled trials of at least one year of MDI versus control for prevention of recurrent idiopathic (non-syndromic) nephrolithiasis in children.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS:

We used standard methodologic procedures expected by Cochrane. Titles and abstracts were identified by search criteria and then screened for relevance, and then data extraction and risk of bias assessment were carried out. We assessed the quality of evidence using GRADE.

MAIN RESULTS:

The search identified one study of 125 children (72 boys and 53 girls) with calcium-containing idiopathic nephrolithiasis and normal renal morphology following initial treatment with shockwave lithotripsy (SWL). Patients were randomized to oral potassium citrate 1 mEq/kg per day for 12 months versus no specific medication or preventive measure with results reported for a total of 96 patients (48 per group). This included children who were stone-free (n = 52) or had residual stone fragments (n = 44) following SWL. Primary outcomes:Medical therapy may lower rates of stone recurrence with a risk ratio (RR) of 0.19 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.06 to 0.60; low quality evidence). This corresponds to 270 fewer stone recurrences per 1000 (133 fewer to 313 fewer) children. We downgraded the quality of evidence by two levels for very serious study limitations related to unclear allocation concealment (selection bias) and a high risk of performance, detection and attrition bias. While the data for adverse events were incomplete, they reported that six of 48 (12.5%) children receiving potassium citrate left the trial because of adverse effects. This corresponds to a RR of 13.0 (95% CI 0.75 to 224.53; very low quality evidence); an absolute effect size estimate could not be generated. We downgraded the quality of evidence for study limitations and imprecision.We found no information on retreatment rates.

SECONDARY OUTCOMES:

We found no evidence on serum electrolytes, 24-hour urine collection parameters or time to new stone formation.We were unable to perform any preplanned secondary analyses.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS:

Oral potassium citrate supplementation may reduce recurrent calcium urinary stone formation in children following SWL; however, our confidence in this finding is limited. A substantial number of children stopped the medication due to adverse events. There is no trial evidence on retreatment rates. There is a critical need for additional well-designed trials in children with nephrolithiasis.

Do not drink this...

As I have previously written, do not drink anything else but water (this is valid for children and adults). 

"Naked" juices and smoothies by PepsiCo is only one item in the series of revelations on how bad for your health all drinks are.