Selenium

Maintaining adequate selenium levels is important to immune and thyroid function. But given the potential long-term risk of supplementation, I think the best option for most people is to meet their need by eating selenium-rich foods - Chris Kresser

Selenium
Selenium

image by: Derek Theler

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Selenium: What Is It, And Why Do Vegans Need It?

Selenium was discovered in 1817 by a Swedish chemist called Jöns Jacob Berzelius.

It is similar to tellurium, which had been discovered in 1782 and named after the Latin word for earth 'tellus'. Berzelius kept the celestial theme going and named his new discovery selenium, after 'selene, the Greek name for the moon.

Selenium (chemical symbol Se) is now used as a glass dye, in fireworks to produce red smoke and as an antifungal agent in dandruff shampoos. It was the selenium sulphide in shampoo that killed the alien in the 2001 film Evolution.

Nutrition

In nutrition, selenium is described as an essential trace element, which means we only need…

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Resources

 Selenium: What Is It, And Why Do Vegans Need It?

Selenium was discovered over 200 years ago – it's an element vital for health so long as you don't overdo it.

6 Symptoms of Selenium Deficiency and How to Avoid Them

Selenium is an essential trace mineral and antioxidant that is vital to good health and physical and mental energy. While it should be found in many foods, the amount of selenium in common sources has decreased in recent decades.

7 Science-Based Health Benefits of Selenium

You might not know it, but your body needs selenium. Like all trace minerals, it’s essential for proper body functioning, though you need less of them than you do vitamins and minerals needed in larger quantities, such as calcium and iron. That is why it is referred to as a micronutrient.

Top 10 Foods Highest in Selenium

Selenium is required by the body for proper functioning of the thyroid gland, and may help protect against free radical damage and cancer. A deficiency in selenium can lead to pain in the muscles and joints, unhealthy hair, and white spots on the fingernails. In long term cases it may even lead to Hashimoto's disease, a condition in which the body's own immune system attacks the thyroid.

NIH

Selenium is a trace element that is naturally present in many foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. Selenium, which is nutritionally essential for humans, is a constituent of more than two dozen selenoproteins that play critical roles in reproduction, thyroid hormone metabolism, DNA synthesis, and protection from oxidative damage and infection

The Nutrition Source

Selenium is a trace mineral, which means that the body only needs a small amount of it. It is found naturally in foods or as a supplement. Selenium is an essential component of various enzymes and proteins, called selenoproteins, that help to make DNA and protect against cell damage and infections; these proteins are also involved in reproduction and the metabolism of thyroid hormones. Most selenium in the body is stored in muscle tissue, although the thyroid gland holds the highest concentration of selenium due to various selenoproteins that assist with thyroid function.

Drugs.com

Although selenium is being used to prevent certain types of cancer, there is not enough information to show that this is effective.

Examine.com

Selenium is one of the 24 essential vitamins and minerals required for optimal human health. It is associated with increased intrinsic anti-oxidant capabilities and prevention of various forms of cancer, but has received notoriety due to its ability to promote cancer in higher dosages. It is a part of many anti-oxidant enzymes, and is also the main factor in a web of 'selenoamino acids' which are amino acids bound to selenium which can serve as regulatory factors. Selenium intake is also quite variable depending on soil quantities, so one global area may have different soil quantities than another area; thus for some persons supplementation is advisable.

Life Extension

Named for the moon goddess Selene, the mineral selenium deserves to be treated with reverence. Perhaps no other mineral can match selenium’s versatility and wide array of health benefits. Selenium is crucial for antioxidant defenses, boosts the immune system, and helps prevent cancer in several distinct ways.

Linus Pauling Institute

Selenium is a trace element that is essential in small amounts, but like all essential elements, it is toxic at high levels. Humans and animals require selenium for the function of a number of selenium-dependent enzymes, also known as selenoproteins.

MayoClinic

The body needs selenium for normal growth and health. Selenium is needed for certain enzymes that help with normal body functions. Although selenium is being used to prevent certain types of cancer, there is not enough information to show that this is effective.

Patient

Selenium is an essential mineral and micronutrient. It is fundamental to human health and found in many foods. It is found in meat, seafood (hence, selenium levels are high in populations with high intake of seafood, like the Inuit population), grain cereals, egg yolk, milk, brazil nuts, mushrooms and garlic. Concern has been raised for some years about falling levels of selenium intake and a possible relationship to the incidence of some diseases, including some cancers.

WHFoods.com

Selenium has received publicity over the past couple decades based on some confusing and contradictory research about whether low-selenium diets are implicated in cancer risk. To date, this is still a question without a clear answer. Regardless of whether selenium deficiency is associated with increased risk of cancer, it is clear that good selenium nutrition is important for antioxidant protection and for other health reasons as well.

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