Combining high-selenium yeast and Coenzyme Q10 supplements gives elderly people in low selenium regions good protection against heart disease. That seems to be the take-home lesson from a 12-year follow-up analysis of the Swedish KiSel-10 study [Alehagen 2018].
Protective effects of selenium and CoQ10 persist 12 years
Originally, Professor Urban Alehagen and researchers at the University in Linköping enrolled 443 elderly Swedish citizens who were living in a community in which selenium intakes in the food were known to be low. They randomly assigned the study participants to take a combination of 200 micrograms of selenium in a high-selenium yeast tablet and 200 milligrams of Coenzyme Q10 daily or to take matching placebos. The supplementation study lasted for four years [Alehagen 2013].
The study participants enrolled in the active treatment group had significantly better heart health at the end of the four years:
- Reduced risk of death from heart disease
- Better maintained heart function as measured on echocardiograms
- Reduced levels of bio-markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and fibrosis
- Reduced need for hospitalization
- Improved quality of life
Persistent heart health protection of Selenium and CoQ10
Using public health records and death records, the Swedish researchers continued to follow the study participants after the termination of the daily supplementation. At the 10-year follow-up and now at the 12-year follow-up, the researchers can report that the beneficial heart health effects persist in the group that took the active high-selenium yeast and CoQ10. 12 years after the end of the study, the participants lucky enough to have been assigned to the active treatment group have a significantly lower risk of death from heart disease [Alehagen 2018].
In fact, the benefits of having been in the active treatment group seem to be increasing in magnitude over time. Moreover, the researchers report that the benefits of the active treatment, as compared to the placebo treatment, hold true even if the study participants had diabetes or high blood pressure or ischemic heart disease while they were in the original study [Alehagen 2018].
What explanation for the persistent health effect of selenium and CoQ10?
One explanation that comes to mind is that perhaps the study participants, once the study ended, decided to buy and to continue to use selenium and CoQ10 supplements. The extent to which that might have happened is not known. But, of course, study participants in both groups, the active treatment group and the placebo control group, have been equally free to decide to buy and take selenium and CoQ10 supplements after the end of the study.
Another explanation could be that this region of Sweden is a known low-selenium region, and the mere addition of adequate quantities of selenium to the diet via supplementation for four years might have a lasting nutritional and health effect.
Possible epi-genetic effect of the selenium and CoQ10 supplementation?
Quoted in a blog article, Dr. Mark Miller speculates that the persistent protective effect of the high-selenium yeast and CoQ10 supplementation may be the result of a re-set of the genetic software that regulates heart health and disease [Daniells 2018].
Epi-genetic explanation for the effect of selenium and CoQ10 supplementation
Dr. Miller speculates that epi-genetics may explain the difference outcomes in the heart health of the participants in the active treatment group and in the placebo control group.
Epi-genetics is the bio-medical term for the bio-chemical mechanisms that cause genes to be turned on (to be expressed) or to be turned off (to become dormant).
Dr. Miller’s thought is that the genetic regulation of such health factors as mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, and inflammation was influenced positively by the combination supplementation of high-selenium yeast and Coenzyme Q10 [Daniells 2018].
Ageing and selenium and Coenzyme Q10 supplementation
In Dr. Miller’s interpretation, the study participants assigned by chance to the placebo control group quite possibly continued on the familiar path of ageing that is characterized by increased mitochondrial dysfunction and gradual loss of physical and cognitive function.
Meanwhile, the study participants fortunate enough to be assigned to the selenium and Coenzyme Q10 active treatment group for four years may have experienced physical changes affecting the regulation of genes (turning genes on and off) that affect heart health [Daniells 2018].
It is important to note that such factors as male gender, smoking, diabetes, and high blood pressure are associated with a higher risk of death from heart disease. If you are in one of these higher risk groups, all the more reason to exercise, eat and drink in moderation, and take daily selenium and Coenzyme Q10 supplements.
Why the emphasis on high-selenium yeast preparations?
There are a couple of thoughts that should be kept in mind.
One is that the elderly Swedish study participants had serum selenium concentrations well below the levels thought to be necessary for optimal selenoprotein activity. Thus, daily supplementation with 200 micrograms of the high-selenium yeast preparation was in order.
People living in regions with high-selenium soil and high-selenium foodstuffs may not need more than 50 or 100 micrograms of selenium supplementation daily. It is best to have a serum selenium test done.
Better absorption, retention, and effects with high-selenium yeast
The selenium from a high-selenium yeast (also called a selenium-enriched yeast) preparation is well absorbed and well retained [Bügel 2008].
High-selenium yeast preparations are the selenium preparations that have the composition and diversity of selenium species that are most associated with beneficial health effects [Richie 2014].
Sources
Alehagen, U., Aaseth, J., Alexander, J., & Johansson, P. (2018). Still reduced cardiovascular mortality 12 years after supplementation with selenium and coenzyme Q10 for four years: A validation of previous 10-year follow-up results of a prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial in elderly. Plos One, 13(4), e0193120. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0193120
Bügel, S., Larsen, E. H., Sloth, J. J., Flytlie, K., Overvad, K., Steenberg, L. C., & Moesgaard, S. (2008). Absorption, excretion, and retention of selenium from a high selenium yeast in men with a high intake of selenium. Food & Nutrition Research, 52doi:10.3402/fnr.v52i0.1642
Daniells, S. (2018, Aug. 20). A major reset of the drivers for disease and health: Protective effects of selenium + CoQ10 may persist for years. Nutra-ingredients-USA.com. Retrieved from https://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Article/2018/08/20/A-major-reset-of-the-drivers-for-disease-and-health-Protective-effects-of-selenium-CoQ10-may-persist-for-years
Richie, J. J., Das, A., Calcagnotto, A. M., Sinha, R., Neidig, W., Liao, J., & … El-Bayoumy, K. (2014). Comparative effects of two different forms of selenium on oxidative stress biomarkers in healthy men: a randomized clinical trial. Cancer Prevention Research (Philadelphia, Pa.), 7(8), 796-804. doi:10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-14-0042
Disclaimer: The information presented in this review article is not intended as medical advice and should not be construed as such.