Selenium is a mineral required in small amounts to maintain good health. Selenium is necessary to generate antioxidant proteins that help prevent cell damage from free radicals, which are thought to contribute to the development of certain chronic diseases. Selenium also has a role in regulating thyroid gland function and the immune system. Along with vitamin C, Vitamin E, selenium is one of the more popular antioxidants. Selenium activates the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase.
   Low dietary intake of selenium leads to health problems, a moderate intake is ideal, and too much selenium in the body can potentially cause harm.

What you will find on this page:
Selenium information
Selenium supplement for sale
MultiVit Rx with selenium - daily vitamin and mineral supplement

Selenium, Source Naturals, 200 mcg, 120 Tablets
From L-Selenomethionine
Yeast-Free
Dietary Supplement

Selenium is essential for the functioning of the biologically important enzyme glutathione peroxidase. Glutathione peroxidase neutralizes hydrogen peroxide thereby promoting healthy tissues.


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Selenium Supplement Facts
Calcium - 50 mg - 4%DV
Selenium - 200 mcg - 280%DV*
   (as yeast-free L-selenomethionine)

Suggested Use: One selenium tablet 2 or 3 times a week with a meal, or as recommended by your health care professional.

* Selenium daily value

Benefit of Selenium
Most Americans do not have a significant selenium deficiency unless a person has an unusual fad diet. The benefit of selenium is that it can provide antioxidant properties. It's possible that a selenium deficiency can increase the risk for cancer. Another benefit of selenium is that it can potentially reduce the risk for cataract by increasing levels of the body's glutathione antioxidant system. Too much selenium in the body can be counterproductive to ideal health.

MultiVit Rx - Lasts 2 to 4 months.
High Quality Daily Vitamins and Minerals with Vitamin E and Selenium supplement

Developed by Ray Sahelian, M.D.
 

Click here for details on dosages or to buy MultiVit Rx with selenium

Manufactured by a FDA-approved and GMP-certified facility.

MultiVit Rx Supplement Facts:
Vitamin A
     Beta Carotene
     Retinyl Palmitate
Vitamin C with Rose hips
Vitamin D
Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols)
Vitamin B-1 (thiamine hcl)
Vitamin B-2 (riboflavin)
Niacinamide
Vitamin B-6
Folic acid
Vitamin B12
Biotin - 300 mcg
Pantothenic acid (d-calcium pantothenate)
Calcium (citrate)
Iodine (potassium iodine)
Magnesium (oxide)
Zinc (oxide)
Selenium (amino acid chelate) - The body incorporates selenium into proteins called selenoproteins, which act as antioxidant enzymes.
Copper (amino acid chelate)
Manganese (carbonate)
Chromium (amino acid chelate)
Molybdenum (amino acid chelate)
Potassium (carbonate)
Green Tea (leaves)  *
Inulin (Jerusalem artichoke plant fiber extract inuflora)
N-Aceytl-L-Cysteine
Inositol
PABA (para aminobenzoic acid)
Rutin
Citrus Bioflavonoid Complex
Choline (bitartrate)
Betaine (HCI)
Beta Glucan 1/3-Beta, 1/6-Glucan (insoluble form from cell walls of Saccharomyces cerevisiae)
Lycopene (from tomato)
Lutein (from marigold extract)
Astaxanthin
Zeaxanthin
Octacosanol

Selenium Overdose - Selenium side effects
I personally do not think daily ingestion of selenium greater than 100 mcg is necessary. If you buy selenium at the 200 mcg dosage, you would not need to take it every day, but just twice a week, unless your doctor has found that you have a severe selenium deficiency.

Selenium in Food - Selenium Deficiency
Selenium is found in high amounts in meats and seafood. In the U.S., meats, nuts and bread are common sources of dietary selenium. Brazil nuts have a high selenium content. Eating two Brazil nuts daily is as effective for increasing selenium status and enhancing glutathione peroxidase activity as 100 µg selenium as selenomethionine.
   Plants are the major dietary sources of selenium in most countries around the world since most of the people living in poorer counties do not have easy access to meat and fish. A major influence on the selenium content in food depends on the soil where these plants are grown. Selenium deficiency can occur in certain areas where the soil is poor in selenium, such as certain regions of China and Russia. Selenium deficiency is quite often found in those areas because most food in those areas is grown and eaten locally and the locals do not have much access to imported foods from other regions.

Selenium and mortality - the ideal amount of selenium
Studies show moderate levels of selenium mineral are associated with longevity. However, when selenium levels pass a certain level, the odds of dying from any cause, or from cancer specifically, begin to go upward. Dr. Joachim Bleys of Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health in Baltimore, evaluated 14,000 U.S. adults. He and his colleagues found that higher blood levels of selenium were linked to a lower risk of death over a 12 year period, at which point the risk appears to increase. Apparently high levels of selenium are associated with an increased risk of mortality. Many Americans ingest more than the recommended amount of selenium. While the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is only 55 micrograms per day, the typical intake in the U.S. ranges from 60 to 220 micrograms daily.
Once blood levels of selenium go over 130 ng/mL, the benefits of selenium stop. Once selenium blood levels pass 150 ng/mL, the risk of dying from any cause, or from cancer in particular, increases.
   This study raises the question as to selenium supplements are necessary to enhance health and longevity. Those who want to take selenium supplements should limit ingestion to two or three times a week rather than daily. Archives of Internal Medicine, February 25, 2008.

Selenium and cognitive decline
Selenium levels decrease with age, which may contribute to a loss of neurological abilities in the elderly. Dr. N. Tasnime Akbaraly, of Universite Montpellier, and colleagues recruited 1,389 French subjects between 1991 and 1993 for a 9-year study with 6 follow-up periods. At study entry, the average selenium levels in the blood were 1.09 micromoles per liter -- and the average levels decreased by the end of the study. However, cognitive declines were not seen in all subjects. The investigators report that cognitive decline was associated with decreases of selenium over time, after accounting for other risk factors. Subjects with the highest levels of selenium loss had a higher probability of cognitive decline. These findings, along with information on the relationship between brain functions and selenoproteins, proteins containing selenium, support a relationship between selenium levels and cognitive function in the elderly. The ability of selenium supplements to protect against the loss of cognitive function in the elderly needs to be evaluated in a large clinical trial. Epidemiology, January 2007.

Selenium and diabetes
In the largest and longest clinical trial to date comparing the effects of selenium supplements versus placebo or dummy pills, daily doses of the mineral failed to reduce the occurrence of type 2 diabetes and may have increased it. In the study, people who took a 200 microgram selenium supplement each day for almost eight years had an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes relative to people who took a placebo.
   My thoughts: It is a good idea to take breaks from vitamin and mineral use, for instance 2 days off a week or a week off each month. There should be good reason to take more than 100 units of selenium a day. Annals of Internal Medicine July, 2007.

Selenium and thyroid function
Thyroid function depends on the essential trace mineral selenium, which is at the active center of the iodothyronine deiodinase enzymes that catalyze the conversion of the prohormone thyroxine (T4) to the active form of thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3).

Q. Would taking selenium supplements improve thyroid function?
   A. A British study did not find selenium supplements to benefit T4 to T3 conversion in the elderly. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2008.

Selenium Research Update
Selenium biochemistry and cancer: a review of the literature.
Altern Med Rev. 2004 Sep;9(3):239-58. Patrick L.
In recent years, the role of selenium in the prevention of a number of degenerative conditions including cancer, inflammatory diseases, thyroid function, cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, aging, infertility, and infections, has been established by laboratory experiments, clinical trials, and epidemiological data. Most of the effects in these conditions are related to the function of selenium in antioxidant enzyme systems. Replenishing selenium in deficiency conditions appears to have immune-stimulating effects, particularly in patients undergoing chemotherapy. However, increasing the levels of selenoprotein antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase, thioredoxin reductase, etc.) appears to be only one of many ways in which selenium-based metabolites contribute to normal cellular growth and function. Animal data, epidemiological data, and intervention trials have shown a clear role for selenium compounds in both prevention of specific cancers and antitumorigenic effects in post-initiation phases of cancer.

Selenium has been linked with a reduced risk of cataract and activates the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase, protecting cell membranes from oxidative damage

Selenium toxicity may occur when daily doses are above 500 to 1000 mcg for prolonged periods.

Selenium forms part of a very important enzyme normally present in our bodies called glutathione peroxidase. The richest sources of selenium are organ meats and seafood, followed by meat, cereal products, and dairy. The average intake of selenium in the American diet is 70 to 100 micrograms a day. Occasional supplementation with 20 to 100 micrograms of this mineral appears to be safe. Selenium in much higher amounts can act as an oxidant and thus is counterproductive. As with most supplements, low-dose use seems to be a cautious approach.

Selenium emails
Q. Is selenium sulfide a supplement, also?
   A. No. Selenium sulfide is an anti-infective product that reduces itching and flaking of the scalp. Selenium sulfide also works by reducing the scaly flakes of skin that are commonly referred to as dandruff or seborrhea. Another condition where selenium sulfide is used is to treat tinea versicolor, a fungal infection of the skin.

Q. On your website page on selenium, the page mentions two things that seem to conflict. Regarding dietary sources of selenium, this quote "Plants are the major dietary sources of selenium" seems to contradict this later quote on the same page "The richest sources of selenium are organ meats and seafood, followed by meat, cereal products, and dairy." What plants are good sources of selenium? Or, could you otherwise help me understand how plants are the major source, but the richest sources are meats, dairy, and what sounds like a very narrow type of plant-based food (cereals)?
   A. We clarified our statement to say plants are the major dietary source of selenium in poorer countries since poor people do not have access to meat and fish as much as those living in Western countries.

Q. The Selenium information page on your website does not caution that Selenium
supplementation might increase risk of diabetes. Researchers at Cornell Uni
describe a relevant research at
http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/04/6.17.04/selenium_diabetes.html

Q. I think consumers should know that may be its prudent to wait for the results of the SELECT trial (2013) to see any possible diabetes risk with prolonged high selenium intake before taking in higher than 100 mcg of selenium. Regards,
Hasan Saleem Head: New Product Development Flex Pharma 20 FCC, Maratab Ali Road Gulberg IV, Lahore Pakistan.
   A. We agree that at this point there is no need to take more than 100 mcg a day, and not just for the risk of diabetes, but just over toxicity if minerals are taken in too high a dose. I think selenium 200 mcg 2 or 3 times a week is sufficient.