November 2017 - Seleniumfacts.com

Ocean fish – salmon, herring, mackerel, and sardines – are good sources of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA that have been associated with healthy fetal development, healthy cardiovascular function, and healthy ageing. Whatever mercury there is in these fish has bound with the selenium in the fish. This chemical binding has rendered the mercury harmless but has also depleted the amount of selenium available for absorption.

Too many of us are missing out on the health benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids available to us from eating certain types of fish a couple of times a week. Why are we avoiding fish? Because many of us are afraid of “eating mercury” in the fish.

It turns out, there is research to show that this is a misconception. Professor Nick Ralston and his colleagues at the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center have measured and evaluated the molar ratios of selenium in fish to the mercury in fish [Ralston 2007, 2016].

Their studies show that many of the edible ocean fish have an abundance of selenium in relation to mercury. So, not only are we missing out on the omega-3 fatty acid benefits, we are also missing out on a good source of dietary selenium [Berry 2008]. read more

Pictured: A healthy brain and a brain suffering from severe Alzheimer’s disease. The question: what is the role of the selenium-dependent antioxidant seleno-enzymes in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease? Professors Aaseth and Alehagen offer an explanation.

There is no reliable method to prevent the development and progression of Alzheimer’s. There is no known cure for Alzheimer’s. The approaches that we have tried over the past 20-25 years have not prevented or inhibited the decline in cognitive function that is associated with Alzheimer’s.

Now, Professor Jan Aaseth (Norway) and Professor Urban Alehagen (Sweden) propose selenium supplementation as a prophylactic measure to inhibit the decline of cognitive function, especially in the selenium-poor regions of the world. They hypothesize that the optimal functioning of the selenoproteins SEPP, GPx, and TrxR is necessary to protect against the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease. read more

Milestones in early selenium research

1817 Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius discovers selenium

1957 Biochemist Klaus Schwarz shows that selenium in microscopic amounts has a vital importance for mammalian health

1969 Professor J.T. Rotruck discovers that selenium has a biochemical role as a component of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase

1969 Professors R.J. Shamberger and D.V. Frost report a possible protective effect of selenium against cancer in humans

1973 Professor J.T. Rotruck identifies the enzyme glutathione peroxidase as a selenium-dependent protein

1977 Professor G.N. Schrauzer publishes cancer mortality correlation studies showing an inverse correlation between dietary intakes of selenium and cancer mortality in 27 countries

1988 Professor G.Q Yang summarizes the lessons learned about the selenium-related endemic diseases Keshan disease and Kashin-Beck disease and about the importance of adequate daily selenium intakes

1989 Professor G.G. Duthie publishes evidence for a role of selenium in the prevention of cardiovascular disease

1993 Researcher W.J. Blot publishes the results of the Nutrition Intervention Trials in Linxian, China, showing that supplementation with a combination of selenium and other antioxidants reduces the risk of cancer

1994 Professor G.N. Schrauzer publishes evidence that selenium is important in the maintenance and therapy of HIV-infected patients

1996 Professor Larry Clark publishes the results of a randomized controlled trial – the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer study -- that shows selenium's cancer-protective effects on colon cancer, lung cancer, and prostate cancer

1997 Professor G.F. Combs summarizes the evidence for the protective effects of selenium against cancer

1999 Professor J.E. Oldfield publishes his Selenium World Atlas, mapping areas of selenium deficiency around the world

2000 Researcher O.A. Levander publishes evidence showing an anti-viral effect of selenium

2002 Researcher R. Gärtner shows that supplementation with selenium reduces inflammation in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis

2002 Researcher Margaret Rayman presents the arguments for increasing selenium intakes to realize selenium’s antioxidant and anti-viral and anti-inflammatory effects as well as selenium’s enhancement of immune function and reproductive success.

Month: November 2017

Selenium and mercury and eating fish

Selenium and Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline