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Selenium -- the antioxidant element
Selenium is most famous for its role in making glutathione, the body's most abundant, most important, natural antioxidant enzyme. It's what gives selenium the credit for boosting your immune system, eliminating toxins, and protecting your entire system against harmful free radicals. All of which adds up to keeping you healthy, whatever your age.
Quick Facts About Selenium
- RDA for adults is 50 to 80 micrograms (mcg) per day.
- Good food sources of selenium include chicken, tuna, organ meats, egg yolks, garlic, oatmeal, onions, broccoli, bran, brown rice, and brewer's yeast.
- Selenium deficiency in the soil and water can result in heart disease and even death in human beings.
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You May Need More Selenium if You Have (or Have Had)Or if You
- Live in an area where soil is selenium-deficient (such as China, New Zealand, central and eastern United States)
- Are extremely ill and must be fed intravenously or by naso-gastric tube
What Works Best -- and Worst -- with Selenium
- When taken at the same time, vitamin C renders inorganic selenium useless.
- Selenium works with vitamin E to prevent oxidation that might cause damage to your cells.
Forms Available
- Added to vitamin E supplements
- Combined with many multivitamin/mineral preparations
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Chemical Forms
- Selenomethionine
- Sodium selenite
- Sodium selenate
- Selenocysteine
- Selenocystine
Comments on Chemicals
- Our bodies do not absorb sodium selenite and sodium selenate, the inorganic forms of selenium, as well as the organic forms.
- Organic forms of selenium -- selenomethionine, selenocysteine, and selenocystine -- are thought to be less toxic than inorganic selenium and are better absorbed by the body.
- Selenomethionine is the most abundant form of organic selenium.
- Selenomethionine is derived from yeast grown in a high-selenium environment.
- Selenium enhances the effects of vitamin E on the body.
- Inorganic selenium is inhibited by vitamin C while selenomethionine is not affected.
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Known Benefits of Selenium
- Enhances antioxidant properties of vitamin E
- Part of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione perioxidase
Unproven Claims
- Boosts the immune system
- Helps remove heavy metals and other environmental toxins
- Reduces the risk of atherosclerosis
Selenium May Prevent These Signs of Deficiency
- Loss of muscular function
- Degeneration of joints and cartilage
Recommended Dosage Range for Selenium
- Our pharmacists suggest that healthy adults may take between 100 to 200 mcg daily to supplement a well-balanced diet.
- RDA values were set as the minimum needed to offset deficiency or disease, not as an actual value needed for optimum health.
- In the United States, the average daily consumption of selenium isbetween 83 to 129 mcg per day.
- Consult your physician before starting any high-dose supplement regimen.
Dietary Sources
Food Tips
- Selenium could be lost into the water during cooking.
- You should be sure to have vitamin C in your diet along with selenium, since this can increase iron absorption from plant foods.
- Animal products contain the form of selenium that the body can absorb.
- It is best to consume plants that have been grown in soil rich with selenium.
| Foods High in Selenium |
|---|
Fish
Seafoods
Chicken
Kidney
Liver
Brown rice
Broccoli
Brewer's yeast
Mushroom
Cabbage
Onions
Cucumber
Whole grains
Celery
Radishes
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When and How to Take Selenium
- Swallow tablets whole with a glass of water.
- Take with food or immediately after meals to enhance absorption.
What to Take with Selenium
- Vitamin E and selenium enhance one another's antioxidant effects.
- Vitamins A and C and glutathione may enhance the absorption of selenium.
- Iron and copper deficiency may lower the activity of glutathione perioxidase and stores of selenium.
What Not to Take with Selenium
- Lead may lower stores of selenium.
- Vitamin C may lower absorption of inorganic selenium (selenite and selenate).
Storage
- Keep selenium in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and air.
- Don't store selenium in your bathroom medicine cabinet. Heat and moisture may make it less effective.
- Store safely out of children's reach.
Recommended Daily Allowance
| AGE/GROUP | RDA |
|---|
Infants
0 to 6 months
6 to 12 months
1 to 3 years
4 to 6 years
7 to 10 years
Males
11 to 14 years
15 to 18 years
19 to 24 years
25 to 50 years
51+ years
Females
11 to 14 years
15 to 18 years
19 to 24 years
25 to 50 years
51+ years
Pregnant
Lactating
1 to 6 months
6 to 12 months
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mcg (micrograms)
10
15
20
20
30
40
50
70
70
70
45
50
55
55
55
65
75
75
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Warnings
Consult a physician before use or do not use selenium if:- You are about to start a high-dose supplement program.
Selenium May Have Interactions with
- Vitamin C: may decrease the absorption of inorganic selenium.
- Vitamin E: may help to prevent oxidation that might cause breakdown of body chemicals.
Side Effects
Signs of Overdose
- Hair discoloration
- Hair loss
- Fragile or black fingernails
- Garlic breath
- Fatigue
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Irritability
The maximum dose has been suggested at 550 mcg per day for inorganic selenium and 775 mcg per day for organic selenium. Doses larger than 750 mcg many result in biochemical changes.
Doses larger than 27 mg (27,000 mcg) may result in overdose.What to Do in Case of Overdose
Stop use and contact your physician immediately.
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Sources & Further Reading
Books
- 1. Bendich, A and Deckelbaum, RJ.Preventive Nutrition: The Comprehensive Guide for Health Professionals. Humana Press. Totowa, NJ 1997.
2. Dell, BL and Sunde, RA.Handbook of Nutritionally Essential Mineral Elements. Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York, NY 1997.
3. Groff, JL, Gropper, SS, Hunt, SM.Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism, Second Ed. West Pub. Co. St. Paul, MN 1995.
4. Papas, AM et al. Antioxidant Status, Diet, Nutrition and Health. CRC Press, LLC. Boca Raton, FL 1999.
5. Pence, BC and Dunn, DM.Nutrition & Women's Cancers. CRC Press, LLC. Boca Raton, FL 1998.
6. Werbach, MR.Nutritional Influences on Illness, Second Ed. Third Line Press. Tarzana, CA 1996.
Find more books on health and wellness at  barnesandnoble.com.
Articles
- 1. Arthur JR; Nicol F; Mitchell JH; Beckett GJ.Selenium and iodine deficiencies and selenoprotein function. Biomed Environ Sci, 10(2-3):129-35 1997 Sep.
- 2. Badmaev V; Majeed M; Passwater RA.Selenium: a quest for better understanding. Altern Ther Health Med, 2(4):59-62, 65-7 1996 Jul.
- 3. Barrington JW; Lindsay P; James D; Smith S; Roberts A.Selenium deficiency and miscarriage: a possible link?. Br J Obstet Gynaecol, 103(2):130-2 1996 Feb.
- 4. Comstock GW; Alberg AJ; Huang HY; Wu K; Burke AE; Hoffman SC; Norkus EP; Gross M; Cutler RG; Morris JS; Spate VL; Helzlsouer KJ.The risk of developing lung cancer associated with antioxidants in the blood: ascorbic acid, carotenoids, alpha-tocopherol, selenium, and total peroxyl radical absorbing capacity. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 6(11):907-16 1997 Nov.
- 5. Contempre B; Le Moine O; Dumont JE; Denef JF; Many MC.Selenium deficiency and thyroid fibrosis. A key role for macrophages and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). Mol Cell Endocrinol, 124(1-2):7-15 1996 Nov 29.
- 6. Fleet JC.Dietary selenium repletion may reduce cancer incidence in people at high risk who live in areas with low soil selenium. Nutr Rev, 55(7):277-9 1997 Jul.
- 7. Hori K; Hatfield D; Maldarelli F; Lee BJ; Clouse KA.Selenium supplementation suppresses tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced human immunodeficiency virus type 1 replication in vitro. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses, 13(15):1325-32 1997 Oct 10.
- 8. Houtman JP.Trace elements and cardiovascular diseases. J Cardiovasc Risk, 3(1):18-25 1996 Feb.
- 9. Huttunen JK.Selenium and cardiovascular diseases--an update. Biomed Environ Sci, 10(2-3):220-6 1997 Sep.
- 10. Margaritis I; Tessier F; Prou E; Marconnet P; Marini JF.Effects of endurance training on skeletal muscle oxidative capacities with and without selenium supplementation. J Trace Elem Med Biol, 11(1):37-43 1997 Apr.
- 11. N`eve J.Human selenium supplementation as assessed by changes in blood selenium concentration and glutathione peroxidase activity. J Trace Elem Med Biol, 9(2):65-73 1995 Jul.
- 12. N`eve J.Selenium as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. J Cardiovasc Risk, 3(1):42-7 1996 Feb.
- 13. Sieja K.Selenium (Se) deficiency in women with ovarian cancer undergoing chemotherapy and the influence of supplementation with this micro-element on biochemical parameters. Pharmazie, 53(7):473-6 1998 Jul.
- 14. Zhu Z; Kimura M; Itokawa Y; Nakatsu S; Oda Y; Kikuchi H.Effect of selenium on malignant tumor cells of brain. Biol Trace Elem Res, 49(1):1-7 1995 Jul.
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