Must know Selenium Deficiency symptoms!

Dr.John Thurairajah

November 4, 2021

Must know Selenium Deficiency symptoms!

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Selenium deficiency?

Selenium is an essential trace element. What does that mean? You only need trace amounts of Selenium; however, it is termed essential as you can only get it naturally from food. You can also get Selenium in drug stores and health stores as a supplement.

Why is Selenium important?

Selenium plays a vital role in various systems in your body such as:

Thyroid metabolism
DNA synthesis
Reproductive system
Immune system

Now looking at the different systems: the role of Selenium in the thyroid gland should be emphasized. The concentration of selenium is higher in the thyroid gland than in any other organ. Moreover, selenium plays a role in thyroid hormone synthesis and metabolism. If you are selenium deficient it can affect your thyroid hormone. A type of hypothyroidism (when your thyroid gland is under functioning) called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is associated with selenium deficiency.

Selenium moreover may play a role in your overall cognition. This study concluded that “Lower levels of selenium were significantly associated with decreased performance in neurological tests of coordination among older adults. “Mind you the study was a population-based cohort study. A cohort study are research studies looking at causes of diseases, looking for risk factors and to see if there is a link between risk factors and health outcomes. This study did conclude that more studies are needed in particular prospective studies, i.e studies study looking forward to see and study development of disease during the study period.
Selenium maybe also protective for your heart. The studies looking at this association were observational studies and recommended looking at larger trials. Nonetheless, they did observe that lower levels of selenium were associated with an increased risk of heart disease.
Selenium is a vital antioxidant. Selenium is found in your body in various enzymes and proteins called selenoproteins. As the name implies ANTI-OXIDANT, selenium is a defense against reactive oxygen species in your body also called free radicals. These radicals are formed because your body is bombarded daily by different forces such as the Sun and UV light, pollution, infections, radiation, smoking, pesticides, alcohol, lack of good nutrition, stress, poor life style choices and trauma. Excessive free radicals are formed which is called oxidative stress because the balance between the production of free radicals and our antioxidant defense (such as selenium) is disturbed. If this happens consistently over time this results in damage to your DNA, proteins and lipids in your body are you are at an increased risk for heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, atherosclerosis and even cancer. Oxidative stress is a contributing factor to aging as well.

Looping back to the role of Selenium as an antioxidant, it means has an anti-inflammatory role and boosts your immune system. It helps protect you from infection and lowers your oxidative stress. Selenium can help boost your immune system with such diseases such as Influenza, Hepatitis C or even HIV. If you take this one step further to see whether selenium play a role in preventing cancer. This following answer might help. This study looked at “associations between selenium exposure and cancer risk” High selenium exposure reduced the risk of following cancers breast cancer, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer and prostate cancer., but it was not associated with colorectal cancer, bladder cancer and skin cancer. I should point out these were prospective observational studies and there were differences in the populations studied.

What are symptoms of selenium deficiency?

Fatigue
Increased risk of infection(secondary to a weaker immune system)
Hair loss
Headache
Nausea and vomiting
Confusion
Infertility

Risk factors for selenium deficiency?

People with HIV
Patients undergoing dialysis because of kidney failure
People who have a largely plant based diet in certain parts of the world

How much Selenium do you need?

The recommended dietary allowance is 55mcg per day for both men and women above the age of 18. (Source NIH)

What are sources of selenium?

Brazil nuts are a good source and are 544mcg per serving. Serving size is about 1 ounce or 6-8 nuts

Canned shrimp is about 40 mcg for 3 ounces/ serving size

One hard-boiled egg is 15 mcg/serving

Best sources of selenium rich foods would be:

Brazil nuts or cashews
Meat such as ham, pork, or beef
Enriched pasta, whole wheat breads or grain cereals
Eggs or dairy products such as milk & yogurt or cottage cheese
Vegetables such as baked beans, spinach, or mushrooms
And brown rice

Can you test selenium deficiency?

This is difficult to test and rarely tested .If selenium deficiency is suspected the plasma level of selenium can be tested or serum glutathione peroxidase activity or selenoprotein levels can be measured

When are selenium supplements an option?

If you do have risk factors, or your health care provider suspects deficiency selenium supplements can be considered. Ask your health care provider for advice as you do not want to exceed the daily upper limit of selenium. Do not exceed a daily amount of 400mcg of selenium!

if you take in too much selenium this can cause selenium toxicity and is dangerous. You can become toxic by eating brazil nuts excessively or taking supplements at higher than recommended doses.

Symptoms of toxicity include: