Dr Jocelin’s Weekly Health Tip is on Salves and Their Ingredients, how important the ingredients are as the skin is our largest organ, and what to look for.
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Did you know that selenium, an essential mineral, has the ability to protect your health in multiple ways?
Selenium is an important mineral for your body and only a small amount is needed (the recommended daily intake is 55 micrograms (mcg). Due to poor soil, taking certain pharmaceutical drugs such as statins, and the normal aging process, selenium is one of the most common mineral deficiencies in the world.
Selenium is linked to many healthy outcomes, including protection from diseases and reduction of disease symptoms.
Six Top Benefits of Selenium
1. Antioxidant and Reduces Oxidative Stress
As an antioxidant, selenium is even more beneficial than vitamins A, C, D, and E and helps to decrease oxidative stress, which is the result of an imbalance in the body between free radicals and antioxidants.
Oxidative stress contributes to a variety of diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis (hardening of the blood vessels), inflammatory conditions, high blood pressure, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases (such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s), and cancers, and contributes to aging.
Supplementing with selenium was reviewed in 13 studies showing significant impact on three antioxidant markers, thus reducing oxidative stress.
2. Boosts Skin Health
In a meta-analysis of 27 studies with a total of 1,315 patients and 7,181 healthy controls, selenium levels were found to be low in patients with four skin diseases: psoriasis, acne vulgaris, chloric acne, and atopic dermatitis.
Another research study of DNA reprogramming of inflammatory cells confirms that higher selenium levels may instill protective properties for genes important for psoriasis prevention and treatment.
Selenium was also found to be beneficial in the treatment of psoriasis in a systematic review of research. In addition, selenium has been related to improvements in skin aging (skin elasticity and skin roughness).
Blood glutathione peroxidase (low levels indicate increased damage to cell membranes due to accumulation of free radicals and signify low selenium levels) was measured in 61 healthy subjects and 506 patients with various skin disorders (i.e., psoriasis, eczema, atopic dermatitis, vasculitis, mycosis fungoides and dermatitis herpetiformis, pemphigoid, acne conglobata, polymyositis, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and systemic lupus erythematodes) and supplementation with selenium and vitamin E restored the skin’s balance.
3. Benefits Asthma
Asthma (a condition with breathing difficulties, coughing, and sneezing) is a complicated disease to treat and is associated with increased inflammation, oxidative stress, and abnormal immune system function. In a meta-analysis of 40 studies, asthma patients showed significantly lower levels of selenium compared to healthy subjects, suggesting lower selenium intake could be a risk factor for the disease.
As mentioned, selenium, as an antioxidant, has been found to lower oxidative stress. This, in turn, seems to reduce allergic asthma. In addition, dietary selenium as an antioxidant therapy may be important in optimizing asthma treatment and prevention.
In a study of 25 asthmatic patients and 25 healthy subjects, asthmatics had lower concentrations of selenium, increased oxidative stress markers and inflammation, and decreased antioxidant glutathione peroxidase activity and lung function.
Nutritional supplement therapy including selenium balanced oxidant stress, inflammation and immune system responses, pulmonary function, and health-related quality of life in patients with mild to moderate allergic asthma.
4. Helps Prevent and Improve Thyroid Diseases
Selenium is an essential micronutrient for your body and readily found in the thyroid. As a supplement, it can help prevent immune-mediated thyroid disorders by reducing anti-thyroperoxidase antibody levels and improving thyroid ultrasound features.
The prevalence of pathological thyroid conditions (hypothyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism, autoimmune thyroiditis, enlarged thyroid) was significantly lower in the adequate-selenium group than in the low-selenium group (18% versus 30.5%) in a sample of 6,152 subjects in China.
Selenium administration (200 milligrams per day) significantly improved quality of life, reduced ocular involvement, and slowed progression of 159 patients with mild Graves’ orbitopathy (also called thyroid eye disease).
5. Promotes Heart Health
The combination of high blood pressure, high blood sugar, obesity, and high cholesterol is called metabolic syndrome and when these conditions occur together, they dramatically increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes.
In a study of 2,069 patients, dietary selenium intake had a moderate negative association with metabolic syndrome. In a study of 501 British volunteers aged 60 to 74 years, supplementation with selenium (100 mcg, 200 mcg, 300 mcg) showed progressive decreases in total cholesterol profiles for those with low selenium levels, but cautions that those with already high selenium intake might be adversely affected by extra selenium supplementation.
In a 12-year follow-up of a group of healthy elderly participants who were supplemented with selenium and coenzyme Q10 for four years, there was a significantly reduced risk for cardiovascular mortality in the treatment group (28.1%) compared to the placebo group (38.7%).
6. Brain Boosting
Alzheimer’s disease, a devastating brain disorder, is characterized by two pathological protein deposits, the senile plaques of amyloid-β and tangles of protein tau. In addition, oxidative stress and neural signal transmission disorders also impact Alzheimer’s.
A large body of studies suggests that selenium (Se), either as Se-containing compounds or as selenoproteins, is involved in most of the molecular pathways that are important in the progression of dementia and therefore have the potential to help prevent or improve Alzheimer’s.
In a mouse model, selenium yeast showed several benefits for Alzheimer’s subjects; it decreased the generation of amyloid-β and enhanced autophagic clearance (old cells are recycled and cleaned out to make room for new cells in the brain), which reduced the burden of amyloid-β accumulation.
Another animal study confirmed that selenium (sodium selenite) significantly decreased tau-positive neurons and reversed Alzheimer’s-like memory and neuropsychiatric symptoms in mice with advanced dementia. Additionally, selenium induced protective effects against experimental dementia-induced brain inflammation and oxidative stress by enhancing the antioxidant system in rats.
In 79 Alzheimer’s patients, probiotic and selenium co-supplementation for 12 weeks improved cognitive function and some metabolic profiles such as lipid, antioxidant, and insulin levels. Selenium and zinc are essential trace elements and an inadequate dietary intake has been implicated in the decline of immune and cognitive functions in aged persons and influences age-related disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Type 2 diabetes.
Selenium and Health
Selenium, a widely researched essential mineral, is beneficial to your health due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, immunomodulatory (regulates immune functions) and cardioprotective properties.
Be sure to pick up your Selenium Supplement on your next visit to Whitaker’s Natural Market!
Portions of this Health Tip are from GreenMedInfo.
Dr Jocelin’s Weekly Health Tip is on how the skin is our largest organ and how many chemicals and toxins we unknowingly apply.
Let’s discuss an ingredient that even Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was said to have used and prescribed: apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar (also referred to as ACV) is a type of vinegar made through the fermentation of apple cider. Specifically, it’s made by crushing apples to squeeze out the juice. Bacteria and yeast are then added to the juice to start the alcoholic fermentation process, which turns the sugars into alcohol. Then, in a second fermentation process, the alcohol is converted into vinegar by acetic acid-forming bacteria. Acetic acid and malic acid give vinegar its sour taste.
Most of the apple cider vinegar you buy in the store is then filtered and pasteurized to give it a clean appearance and to kill off all the bacteria to give it a long shelf life — but that’s not the ACV we’re interested in.
Many of organic, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar’s medicinal uses come from the “mother of vinegar,” which is made up of living nutrients and bacteria that you can actually see in the bottom of bottles of raw apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar as an all-around natural health remedy has been gaining in popularity, and when you look at the benefits, you won’t be surprised.
Apple Cider Vinegar for Diabetes
One ACV health benefit that research has suggested is helping with diabetes. It is believed that the acetic acid found in apple cider vinegar may help prevent digestion of complex carbohydrates in your food, which would help to lower blood sugar. A few studies help support this idea. But that’s just the beginning. One study found that two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed lowered glucose levels of study participants in the morning by four to six percent. Another study showed vinegar improves insulin sensitivity to a high-carbohydrate meal in 19% of subjects with type 2 diabetes and 34 percent with pre-diabetes. The net result is that taking apple cider vinegar with meals can lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.
Apple Cider Vinegar as a Weight Loss Aid
Another key health benefit of apple cider vinegar is weight loss. A 2009 study on mice showed that consuming acetic acid (the active component in ACV) upregulates the expression of genes for fatty acid oxidation enzymes in the liver, causing a suppression in body fat accumulation. In another study, a double-blind trial showed that a daily intake of apple cider vinegar might be useful in the prevention of metabolic syndrome by reducing obesity.
In addition, taking vinegar seems to work as a weight loss aid by making you feel full, which in turn helps reduce the number of calories you consume. In a 2005 study, participants who consumed vinegar with a high-carb meal (a bagel and juice) consumed on average 200 to 275 less calories per day. The vinegar also helped lower glucose and insulin responses.
Apple Cider Vinegar for Throat and Sinus Issues
Apple cider vinegar is anathema to all kinds of germs that attack the throat. In effect, it acts like a sponge and draws out throat germs and toxins from the surrounding tissue. It also helps clear up the sinuses by breaking up and reducing mucous. Since it has antibacterial properties, it is also useful in helping with infections.
Apple Cider Vinegar for Skin Issues
Apple cider vinegar can help your skin in a number of ways. A concoction of two parts water and one part apple cider vinegar can be used as a skin toner. You can either apply it directly on a skin irritation or soak in a bath with about one cup of apple cider vinegar to help relieve many skin irritations such as sunburns, bug bites, and poison ivy exposure. It is also said to help fade age spots and acne scars, and help remove warts.
Apple Cider Vinegar for Kidney Stones
Apples, apples juice, and apple cider vinegar contain natural malic acid, but of the three, apple cider vinegar has the highest concentration. This is important because studies have shown that malic acid supplementation increases urinary citrate excretion and urinary pH: both of which help in dissolving calcium oxalate stones, the most common form of kidney stones.
Other Natural Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
In addition to the mentioned uses above, apple cider vinegar also has the following health benefits…
Potassium, magnesium, and other minerals are present in the apple cider vinegar “mother.” Potassium controls the water balance in the body and maintains a healthy heart rhythm. Magnesium is a catalyst in enzyme activity, helping digestion and assisting in the uptake of calcium to form healthy bones. The “mother” is also a rich source of iron, beneficial phytochemicals, and it is high in prebiotics that promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut.
ACV stimulates a condition called acetolysis in which toxic wastes that are harmful to the body are broken down and rendered harmless.
Mixing one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar with water and a little honey and drinking with meals can be helpful for those with digestive problems.
Apple Cider Vinegar Around the Home
In addition to all its health benefits, vinegar can also be useful around the home for a variety of uses. Because of its antimicrobial properties, vinegar is often touted as one of the best natural cleaning agents. In fact, one study found the key ingredient in vinegar, acetic acid, is lethal to E. coli. A combination of vinegar and lemon juice may also be effective against salmonella.
Apple cider vinegar is also touted as a key ingredient in an effective natural weed killer formula, a way to neutralize odors in the home, and a key ingredient for a water/vinegar produce bath. For the produce bath, use 10% vinegar to 90% water and briefly swish and soak your produce. However, it is not advised to do this with porous fruits like berries since they can soak up the vinegar and be damaged in the process.
Apple Cider Vinegar is also excellent in many recipes, from pickles to salad dressings. Just make sure you find unpasteurized, organic apple cider vinegar for the real health benefits. The darker or murkier the bottom of the bottle is, the better.
Be sure to pick up your Organic Unfiltered Unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar available in pints, quarts, and gallons at Whitaker’s Natural Market!
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