When most people hear "lithium" they think psychiatric drug, black box warning, and blood tests every three months. But lithium orotate is a different compound entirely - one that has been quietly used in natural healing for decades, first researched by German physician Hans Niepierre in the 1970s, and largely dismissed by mainstream psychiatry because the system had already standardized around lithium carbonate.

This week on For Science, my partner Jordan and I both took lithium orotate for over a week - titrating up to a moderate dose of around 15mg elemental lithium daily - and reported back on what we noticed. Spoiler: we kept taking it after the experiment ended.

What We Cover

• Lithium carbonate vs. lithium orotate - same mineral, very different compounds and clinical pictures
• Why Hans Niepierre's research was ignored and why that probably wasn't about the science
• Dosing clarified: elemental lithium vs. total compound weight - what the bottle is actually telling you
• Why lithium may be an essential nutrient we're all quietly deficient in
• What conditions lithium orotate has been used to support: mood disorders, migraines, depression, PTSD, OCD, autism, anorexia, aggression, alcoholism, anxiety, and more
• What the week actually felt like: mood leveling, reactivity softening, dream processing, expanded spatial awareness, sensory presence
• Jordan's experience as a lay person taking a natural supplement for the first time in a structured experiment
• Task-switching and cognitive flexibility changes noticed mid-week
• Dream state changes - Ayurvedic context for why this matters
• What happened when Jordan added a full herbal protocol partway through - and why that mattered
• Coming off lithium orotate vs. coming off antidepressants or lithium carbonate - the withdrawal comparison
• Affordability: why this accessible nutrient isn't getting more airtime
• Practitioner note: when lithium orotate belongs in a full protocol vs. standalone use
• Lithium toxicity concerns addressed - and why blood monitoring looks different here than with carbonate

Links and Resources

🪬 pattern assessment quiz🪷 work together🌿 Subscribe

🌀 Coming Up on The Herbal (R)evolution 🌀

Next up on For Science: High dose turmeric, castor oil packs & More! The data is already coming in and it is fascinating. Stay tuned.

Have a substance, supplement, herb, or practice you want Lila to try for a week? Drop me a message- [email protected]

Your Body Is Asking - Is Your Liver Listening?

The Spiritual Root of Physical Symptoms, and the Organ That Bridges Both Worlds

Summary

This episode started as a liver deep-dive and became something more. Lila explores the concept of the body's veto - the idea that our physical body will intervene when we aren't listening to what our life, relationships, work, or environment are asking of us. Anchored in traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic frameworks, this episode connects the liver's physiological role (processing over 500 body functions, from hormones to emotions) to the patterns Lila sees in complex clients: stuckness, overwhelm, and symptoms that don't resolve until the deeper layer is addressed. You'll walk away understanding why your liver might be at the root of your skin issues, migraines, hormonal imbalances, road rage, and more - and what to actually do about it.

What We Cover

• The body's veto - how the body uses physical symptoms to communicate what the mind won't act on
• Why Lila shelved the liver episode she planned and what made her finally record this one
• How traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda use metaphor (liver fire, rising wind, vata in the head) to map symptoms - and why translating that into Western medicine misses the point
• The liver's role in over 500 body functions: hormone clearance, nutrient metabolism, blood sugar, detox, and emotional regulation
• Why your dermatologist and optometrist will never ask about your liver - and why they should
• The body's survival priority order: liver first, then skin, then eyes - what this means for how long healing takes
• Liver congestion as the root of: acne, insomnia, early graying, tinnitus, migraines, anxiety, irritability, hormonal imbalances, digestive issues, and more
• The anger-irritability-reactivity connection (plus road rage as a real clinical example)
• What burdens the liver: sugar, ultra-processed foods, alcohol, medications, caffeine, environmental toxins, and synthetic fragrance
• Why most Americans have subclinical liver dysfunction - and what that actually means
• The bitter flavor as medicine: why dandelion, arugula, mustard greens, and burdock matter
• Herbs for the liver: dandelion root, artichoke, Bhumi Amlaki, bupleurum, and what makes each one useful
• Beets, lemon zest, blueberries, castor oil packs, and hydration as daily liver support tools
• How supporting the physical liver frees up capacity in the rest of your life
• Lila's personal panic attack story - and how a perfumed car connected the dots
• Next up: lithium orotate for mood, memory, and mental imbalance - Lila's partner joins for a week-long experiment

Links and Resources

🪬Interested in understanding what pattern is DRIVING your symptoms, take my 2 minute pattern assessment quiz!

→https://tally.so/r/n05N1y

🪷 Want to find out what it's like to work together? https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date⁠

🌿Subscribe to the podcast

https://tvnhc.com/listen/

🌀 Coming Up on The Herbal (R)evolution🌀

Next week is a FOR SCIENCE segment - Lila's partner puts lithium orotate to the test for a full week. We're covering mood support, anxiety, depression, memory, and mental balance from a perspective that doesn't get nearly enough airtime. Tune in.

In this debut episode of the For Science segment, I dedicate my body to science and spend weeks experimenting with nicotine pouches... the wellness world's latest controversial obsession. I share my full personal experience, break down what the research actually says, and give you an honest herbalist's take on whether the cognitive benefits are worth the hidden costs.

WHAT WE COVER:

• Why nicotine pouches exploded in popularity (sales increased 641% between 2019 and 2022)
• The "nicotine lore" being spread by biohackers and health gurus like Andrew Huberman and Dave Asprey
• Nicotine as an isolated alkaloid vs. whole plant, and why that distinction matters
• How nicotine hijacks your acetylcholine receptors and dopamine reward system
• The addiction cycle and why 73% of people who try pouches are still using them
• What I personally felt: the focus boost, the bloating, and the disrupted menstrual cycle
• Nicotine as an endocrine disruptor and its impact on hormones and cortisol
• Gut health impacts: microbiome disruption, motility changes, and leaky gut
• What is actually inside pouches (sucralose, carcinogens, and engineered delivery systems)
• My verdict: is the benefit worth the cost?
• 
  

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

🧩 What's actually driving your symptoms?Take the free Hidden Pattern Assessment - a 3-minute quiz that identifies the pattern underneath what you have been feeling. Results appear immediately and are sent to your email.https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/829732/158777877666465500/share

🗓️ Ready to work 1:1 with Lila?Book a session and get personalized support for your health journey.https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date

🎙️ Subscribe to the Herbal Evolution PodcastNever miss an episode.https://tvnhc.com/listen/

🌿 Visit the Websitehttps://tvnhc.com/

COMING UP ON HERBAL EVOLUTION:

• Next episode: Deep dive on the liver, how to support it, love it, and decode its symptoms
• For Science #2: High-dose turmeric experiment with trainer Nick Medlock
• Coming soon: Castor oil packs, lithium orotate, and more

Today we cover origins. The origin of this podcast, the origin of how I became a clinical herbalist, the origins of it all.

I want you to get to know me better so I can get to know you better. I was anxious as a kid. Moody as a teenager. I crash dieted my way through high school, worked two jobs through college, and spent most of my twenties chasing a life that looked good on paper. By the time I had the title, the property, and the relationship, I was the worst I'd ever been. I'd lost my period. I was purging. I wasn't sleeping. And something inside me just kept saying, this isn't it.

So I blew it all up. Left the partner, left the career, and started over.

If any of that sounds familiar, if you've been the person who looks like they have it together but knows something is off, or you've tried a hundred things for your health and none of it has really stuck, I get it. I was there.

This episode is the full story. How I found herbalism, what it cracked open in me, and how I ended up building a practice around the thing I couldn't find anywhere else: real answers that actually hold up.

Herbal (R)evolution is a new podcast from clinical herbalist Lila Swanberg. A follow up to her first podcast, Herbalism Uncensored, that she did for over 30 episodes with co-host Alicia Hawes. This podcast is going to get experimental and give you a new look into all the facets you need to know to make natural healing one of the most meaningful endeavors of your life.

Welcome to Herbal (R)evolution.

And don't forget to check out Alicia's Podcast Holistically Correct!

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-qx32e-1a8e5f0

📍Interested in exploring your health?

✔️ Take the free Mini Health Assessment →

https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/829732/158777877666465500/share

🗓️ Want to explore working 1:1 with Lila? https://my.practicebetter.io/#/668479726434574754765a95/bookings?s=6824ecf3c407a619c22bcefa&step=date

Subscribe to the podcast

https://tvnhc.com/listen/

Website

https://tvnhc.com/

Welcome to The Herbal (R)evolution.*The R is silent.

This is the teaser episode a quick intro to what this podcast is, what we're covering, and why I'm making it. We've got a lot in store.

Ideas, suggestions, or interested in being a guest? Email:

[email protected]

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/829732/157327443336627263/share

Also don't forget to check out my friend Alicia's new podcast Holistically Correct — https://holisticallycorrect.podbean.com/