WHAT IS LITHIUM? Lithium is a micromineral or trace element that promotes good mental health.  In this article I discuss the role of lithium in the body in greater detail. WHEN WAS LITHIUM DISCOVERED? The first records of lithium date back to 1800 when the Brazilian scientist Jozée Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva discovered the mineral petalite (which contains lithium) in Switzerland.  In 1817 Johan August Arfwedson started to study petalite and realised he could not identify 10% of the mineral.  He concluded that this 10% was a new element which he named lithium.  Arfwedson was unable … [Read more...]