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Spotlight On Selenium By: Dr. Victor Marchione
Selenium is one of those minerals that doesn't get talked about very often. You probably hear quite a bit about calcium, magnesium and iron and how important it is to keep your levels up, but did you know that without adequate selenium, you are leaving yourself at risk for a whole host of problems?
Lack of selenium could cause an increased risk for developing cancerous tumors, poor immune function and high cholesterol. And now, researchers have also linked selenium deficiency with fatigue and muscle weakness.
Selenium is a trace mineral that is found in rocks and soil. You only need a little bit of selenium for good health, but you must make sure that you get this small amount. Selenium's main role is to stop the oxidation of fats in your body. It functions as a powerful antioxidant to ward off the damage that can be caused by free radicals. Selenium also helps regulate your thyroid.
A recent study that was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shed some light on how selenium affects muscle strength. An Italian research team studied a group of men and women aged 65 and up. They found that those with the lowest blood levels of selenium were at greatest risk of poor muscle strength — particularly around the hips, knees and hands.
The study involved 891 older adults who gave blood samples and went through a series of muscle-strength tests. Participants with the lowest selenium levels were twice as likely to have poor muscle strength as those with the highest selenium levels were.1
Age-related Muscle Weakness
The researchers already knew that people tend to lose muscle mass and strength as they age. This loss of muscle mass often contributes to falls, injuries and illness in elderly adults. These new findings suggest that selenium deficiency may be one of the reasons for age-related muscle weakness.
The researchers believe that older adults with low selenium may have “suboptimal” selenoprotein activity in their muscles, contributing to a loss of muscular strength.
The research team won't be recommending selenium supplements, however. They feel that it is still too soon to take this step. More studies are needed, they said, to see whether extra selenium benefits older muscles. They would like future studies to focus on whether selenium supplements slow age-related declines in muscle strength in older adults who are deficient in the mineral.
Getting the RDI of Selenium
So how much selenium do you need each day? The recommended daily intake (RDI) for selenium is 55 micrograms (mcg) for adults. You'll want to stick pretty close to this recommended daily intake, as too much selenium in your system can be toxic and cause serious problems.
Plant foods are the major dietary source of selenium for most people. Getting your RDI of selenium is a little more complicated than for other vitamins and minerals, however. That's because the content of selenium in food depends on the selenium content of the soil where plants are grown or animals are raised.
For example, the plains of northern Nebraska and the Dakotas are known to have very high levels of selenium. People living in those regions generally have the highest selenium intakes in the U.S.
But don't worry — you don't have to live in Nebraska or the Dakotas to get enough selenium! Food-distribution patterns in the U.S. are such that people living in low-selenium geographic areas still get foods from high-selenium areas.
Selenium can be found in some meats and seafood, as well. Animals that eat grains or plants that were grown in selenium-rich soil have higher levels of selenium in their muscles, which gets passed on to you.
What are some other sources of selenium? Brazil nuts are one of the best sources. They contain as much as 544 mcg of selenium per ounce. Compare this with the next-highest food on the list, which is tuna at 63 mcg per three ounces. However, once again, caution is needed when calculating the exact amount of selenium in your diet.
Brazil nuts, for example, may contain far less than the 544 mcg just mentioned. Also, because Brazil nuts do potentially contain this much of the mineral, it is best to eat them only occasionally. Other sources of selenium include beef, cod, turkey, chicken breasts, noodles, cottage cheese and eggs.
Those most likely to be deficient in selenium are people who are experiencing acute gastrointestinal problems. Anyone who has Crohn's disease or who has had surgical removal of part of the intestine is at risk for deficiency. These and other digestive problems can make it difficult for your body to absorb selenium.
Another group of people who are at risk are those who have a serious illness accompanied by inflammation and widespread infection. Selenium supplementation could benefit people with iodine deficiency, though iodine deficiency is rare in the U.S.
One final point to note about selenium: supplements of the mineral may help protect against goiter. French researchers involved in a study called the “Supplementation en Vitamines et Mineraux AntioXydants” in France evaluated the relationship between goiter and selenium. The study involved 792 men (45-60 years old) and 1,108 women (35-60 years old), who were assessed for thyroid volume and gland echo-structure.
The researchers discovered that in women, there was an inverse association between selenium status and thyroid volume. They also found that there was a protective effect of selenium against goiter. No association between thyroid volume, thyroid structure or selenium was found in men, however. The researchers concluded that their findings suggest that selenium may protect against goiter. They also stated that selenium may protect against autoimmune thyroid disease.2
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