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Top Six Benefits of Selenium


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.

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Mushrooms Help Protect Your Brain

We all worry at least occasionally about what the future will bring. As we get older, one of the scariest threats is the possibility of developing dementia and losing many of our precious memories. While there is no surefire way to guarantee that we won’t experience cognitive decline in our later years, there are steps we can take that will reduce its likelihood. New research now suggests that one potential form of brain protection could come from something you might already enjoy eating—mushrooms.

The study, which took place at the National University of Singapore, found that consuming mushrooms more than twice a week is associated with a lower risk of cognitive problems such as mild memory loss and language difficulties in older adults. These results are based on an investigation that included 663 Chinese men and women, all of whom were at least 60 years old. Their dietary and lifestyle habits were tracked for a six-year period between 2011 and 2017.

The subjects answered questions about the frequency of their consumption of mushrooms. Then, the researchers compared this information with the results of several different cognitive tests each participant took.

Those who ate mushrooms regularly achieved higher scores on average in the testing and were noted to have greater speed in processing, which is related to the ability to complete tasks in a shorter duration of time. And more mushroom eating was definitely shown to be better, with a positive correlation in test performance especially associated with those who consumed more than two servings of mushrooms a week, or the equivalent of more than 10.5 ounces or 300 mg when compared to their peers who consumed mushrooms less than once a week.

The results are not really surprising to find that mushrooms may offer a boost to our brains. All varieties of the fungi are rich in ergothioneine, which is an amino acid with anti-inflammatory effects that may prevent free radical damage to the brain. Mushrooms are also good sources of vitamin D, selenium, and spermidine. Spermidine is known to help clear debris that accumulates in the body’s cells.

What’s more, this is not the first research to show that mushrooms can benefit the brain. A 2017 study at the University of Malaya in Kuala found that regular consumption of mushrooms may be associated with brain changes that reduce the risk of developing dementia.

Finally, don’t forget that staving off cognitive decline is about more than just mushroom consumption. It’s important to eat a varied diet that offers a lot of fruits and vegetables full of antioxidants and nutrients that can help protect your brain. Blueberries and leafy green vegetables are also good food options that have been shown to provide some protection from dementia as we age. Supplementing with L-Carnosine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine can help maintain the health of brain cells. And exercise is another essential factor that has been found to give our brains a boost and prevent memory loss.

And all that being said, remember, dementia is also a side effect of many medications—especially psychopharmaceuticals when used in combination. The more you take, the greater the risk.

So keeping up your overall health is most important and supplementing with mushrooms is a great way to boost your health!  Be sure to check out our large selection of mushroom based supplements on your next visit to Whitaker’s!