“Lithium orotate improves mood in otherwise healthy people.”
Lithium orotate has not been tested for mood in healthy people.
No one knows whether lithium orotate lifts mood in healthy people, because it has not been tested. What is known is that lithium is an active drug that interacts with common medicines, so a lasting mood problem is a reason to see a clinician, not to treat yourself with a supplement.
If you take or are thinking about lithium orotate, show the bottle and your list of medicines to your doctor or pharmacist.
Safety note: Lithium is a real drug, even in a supplement. People with kidney, thyroid or heart problems, and people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, should not take it without medical advice. Water pills (diuretics), anti-inflammatory pain relievers such as ibuprofen and naproxen, and blood pressure medicines called ACE inhibitors and ARBs can raise lithium levels. If you have bipolar disorder or take prescription lithium, do not add or swap in a supplement on your own.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: your low mood, anxiety or mood swings last or get in the way of daily life, you take any of the medicines named above, or you are pregnant or breastfeeding and are thinking about a lithium supplement.
No controlled trial has tested lithium orotate for mood in healthy people, so there is no result to weigh either way. The human reports that exist are old uncontrolled studies in people with alcohol or psychiatric problems, and interviews with people who already take it.
Lithium orotate has not been tested for mood in healthy people. The only human evidence is old, uncontrolled reports in people with psychiatric or alcohol problems and interviews with current users, which cannot show whether it works.
Prescription lithium, most often lithium carbonate, is an established mood-stabilizing medicine for bipolar disorder, given at much higher doses with regular blood checks. A 2021 review of lithium orotate found that clinical studies are sparse: there are no trials in bipolar disorder, and the main report is a 1986 uncontrolled study of 42 people with alcohol problems who took 150 mg a day. In a 2026 interview study, people taking lithium supplements said their mood, anxiety and focus felt better, but the authors note the study was small and was not designed to test whether the supplements work or are safe. A 120 mg lithium orotate tablet holds only about 4.6 mg of lithium itself.
- Pacholko AG, Bekar LK. Lithium orotate: A superior option for lithium therapy? Brain and Behavior. 2021;11(8):e2262. DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2262. PMID: 34196467. PMCID: PMC8413749
- Bloomfield M, Chebabo-Manning L, Strawbridge R. A qualitative exploration of perspectives on taking lithium supplements. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology. 2026;16:20451253261462260. DOI: 10.1177/20451253261462260. PMID: 42500268. PMCID: PMC13396642
- Pauzé DK, Brooks DE. Lithium toxicity from an Internet dietary supplement. Journal of Medical Toxicology. 2007;3(2):61-62. DOI: 10.1007/BF03160910. PMID: 18072162
- Lithium carbonate tablets, USP 300 mg. Prescribing information (FDA-approved label), revised October 2022, DailyMed set ID d20ed2aa-aa56-4709-9e7a-9243c71465c9