Is Selenium Critical For Good Health?

Selenium is a tremendous component and now we have outlined a number of of its salient qualities:

Selenium, together with iodine are essential minerals for correct thyroid exercise. Selenium deficiency is a significant purpose for thyroid issues in folks. It’s required for therefore many enzymes that it is not attainable to rely all of them.

Selenium is required for the exercise of sure areas of the mind that open an individual to increased feelings and better thought. On this sense, selenium is the mineral that enables increased thought in human beings. Because of this we name it a non secular mineral. It is among the main minerals wanted for mineral balancing. Not all sources of selenium are equally bioavailable.  This is essential to know! 

The very best sources, in our view, are sardines, blue corn, onions and some different cooked greens.

Everybody wants extra bioavailable selenium. Growing selenium within the physique is a aim of all mineral balancing packages. The advisable meals include a big quantity and it’s usually given in complement kind, as nicely.

FOOD SOURCES WE RECOMMEND

Most meals, particularly refined and processed meals, are very low in selenium.  Additionally, low in selenium are meals resembling most meats. Due to this fact, we’re dividing this part into meals we suggest and people we don’t suggest.

The Greatest Sources Of Nicely-Utilized Selenium

Onions are wonderful sources of well-utilized selenium!  Because of this we suggest consuming at the very least three sorts of onions with each meal. Sardines are one other wonderful supply, particularly sardines which have the pores and skin and the bones.

Blue corn that has been made into blue corn tortilla chips is one other wonderful supply of obtainable selenium.  Different blue corn merchandise don’t work as nicely.

White and yellow corn even have some selenium, however are inferior to the blue corn selection.

Almond butter is a wonderful supply, significantly whether it is made with organically grown almonds. We desire almond butter to consuming entire almonds as a result of it’s a lot simpler to digest.

Horse Radish is a most well-liked vegetable and a very good supply of the selenium compounds wanted for mineral balancing and growth.  Nonetheless, it’s barely poisonous, so solely have a teaspoon as soon as each day.

Garlic can also be a very good supply.  Garlic is a little bit poisonous, so we solely suggest consuming one desk spoon twice every week.

Ginger root incorporates selenium compounds. Nonetheless, it’s considerably poisonous, so solely have a small quantity like a teaspoon about twice every week.

Uncooked dairy merchandise resembling uncooked cow or goat milks, some uncooked cheeses, yogurts and kefir.  Dairy merchandise usually include some selenium.  We don’t suggest consuming a lot dairy merchandise as a result of they don’t include most of the vitamins wanted for mineral balancing.

Dairy merchandise should not be pasteurized or homogenized for his or her selenium to be most biologically out there.

Arrowroot powder.  This incorporates some well-utilized selenium.  Arrowroot is a thickener utilized in soups and in different dishes, in Oriental delicacies.  It’s extra expensive than corn starch, but in addition way more nutritious.  A bit of will be added to any meal throughout preparation wherein a thickener is required or can be utilized.

FOOD SOURCES WE DO NOT RECOMMEND 

The selenium compounds discovered within the following merchandise don’t assist mineral balancing, so we don’t suggest them:

Brazil nuts and different nuts include some selenium. Uncooked nuts are troublesome to digest which makes it exhausting to make the most of and take up the minerals.

Seafood and a few fish include some selenium however are very contaminated with poisonous metals resembling mercury and others.  In consequence, we can not suggest consuming them.  The exception is sardines that are much less poisonous as a result of they’re smaller and carry very small quantities.

Liver and Kidney are additionally good sources.  Nonetheless, organ meats are often contaminated with poisonous metals, even grass fed and natural meats.

Alfalfa and Some Mushrooms are additionally good sources, however not advisable for normal use.  Mushrooms are considerably poisonous.  Alfalfa flakes or powder utilized in ‘inexperienced superfoods’ are additionally very yin.

Spirulina, chlorella, cilantro and different chelators include some selenium.  Nonetheless, all these merchandise are considerably poisonous, and their selenium isn’t well-utilized by most individuals.  For these causes, we by no means suggest them.  We keep away from these merchandise strictly regardless that some holistic practitioners suggest them for chelation remedy.

If one follows a mineral balancing program, chelators usually are not required.  In truth, they will get in the way in which as a result of they’re yin and are considerably poisonous.  A mineral balancing program eliminates poisonous metals effectively with out them.

NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS

We desire a food-based selenium complement such because the one you should purchase at Endo-met Laboratories and different shops on-line.  One other frequent product is sodium selenite, which isn’t absorbed nicely.

SOURCES OF TOXIC SELENIUM

Some selenium compounds are fairly poisonous.  The most typical supply of poisonous selenium is selenium-containing dandruff shampoos. Please learn the labels intently. Keep away from these and another selenium-containing hair merchandise.

PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLES OF SELENIUM

Selenium has many roles that have an effect on the functioning of the thyroid gland.

Selenium is required to provide thyroid hormone, referred to as tetraiodothyronine or T4 and is required for the conversion of T4 to the extra energetic type of the hormone, referred to as triiodothyronine or T3.

It helps eliminate Hashimoto’s illness additionally referred to as Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroiditis.

It counteracts the ocular or eye dysfunction of frequent hyperthyroidism.  That is additionally referred to as Grave’s illness orbitopathy, and characterised by exothalamus (protrusion of the eyeball), and proptosis (motion outward of the attention). These happen in response to swelling and irritation of the muscle groups and constructions behind and across the eyeball.

DETOXIFICATION

Selenium is required for glutathione synthesis.  Glutathione is among the most necessary substances within the human physique.  It’s produced within the liver and elsewhere and is required for cleansing inside the liver. Glutathione manufacturing depends upon the provision of a number of amino acids, together with out there iron and selenium.  A low degree of glutathione ends in impaired cleansing all through the physique.

Selenium additionally capabilities as an anti-oxidant substance.  This implies it helps scavenge or neutralize singlet oxygen atoms within the physique.  These trigger oxidant harm, which simply means oxidation or mixing with oxygen. A well known instance of how oxidation damages steel is rusting.  An identical exercise can happen in human our bodies.

Selenium enhances the immune response.  This has to do with the entire roles above.

Selenium, together with silicon, helps impart a relaxed and glad high quality to the character and may enhance psychological well being.

Selenium is completely important for growth.  That is the enlargement of the human power discipline and achievement of the complete genetic potential of a human being.

DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS

Selenium deficiency is extraordinarily frequent as we speak. 

The explanations are:

• Most diets are poor in selenium.

• Selenium is required for cleansing, and in as we speak’s world much more is required.

Bodily signs usually embody impaired hair and nail development, fatigue that may be extreme, and nervous sensitivity and irritability.  One might also generally tend for infections and impaired immune response in addition to weak adrenal exercise.  Different signs might embody hypoglycemia, allergy symptoms, bronchial asthma, low or hypertension, and arterial illness.

Psychological or emotional signs embody irritability, nervousness, feeling hopeless, depressed, and destructive. All of them have low thyroid operate, even when the serum thyroid hormone ranges appear regular.

SELENIUM TOXICITY

Selenium will be poisonous if consumed in an incorrect kind or if an excessive amount of is ingested.

The most typical explanation for selenium toxicity in human beings is the usage of dandruff shampoos.  These merchandise include a poisonous type of selenium that’s absorbed into the scalp. Keep away from all selenium-containing shampoos and dandruff merchandise. Learn the labels.

Poisonous types of selenium trigger the human hair degree of copper to lower into the poor eliminator or very poor eliminator ranges.  The reason being that the poisonous selenium damages the liver, which is then unable to detoxify copper. A very good substitute is Head N Shoulders shampoo, which incorporates zinc, slightly than selenium.

HAIR ANALYSIS AND SELENIUM LEVELS

Selenium ranges will be learn within the hair tissue with a good quantity of accuracy.  Blood checks to detect selenium are a lot much less helpful.

Presently (2021) we use a great hair tissue selenium degree of 0.12 mg% or 1.2 components per million.  A suitable vary is 0.05 to 0.12 mg%.  A degree larger than that is poisonous.