Month: February 2018

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Selenium and thyroid function

The thyroid system regulates and maintains many vital functions in the body.  To ensure its optimal functioning, the thyroid gland requires adequate levels of selenium and iodine.

Selenium is an essential micronutrient.  We need only small quantities of it, but we do need selenium as a component of the amino acid selenocysteine.  We need the selenocysteine, in turn, for the body’s synthesis of 25 identified selenoproteins that have a variety of biological functions [Bellinger].

The following outcomes are some of the health benefits associated with adequate selenium intake and status [Ventura]:

  • Reduction of the risk of cancer
  • Enhancement of thyroid function
  • Protection against oxidative damage
  • Enhancement of immune system function
  • Detoxification and elimination of mercury
  • Slower progression of HIV infections to AIDS and death
  • More resistance to opportunistic infections

Selenium and thyroid function

The thyroid is the small butterfly-shaped gland at the base of our necks, just above our breastbones.  For such a small gland, the thyroid gland is very important.  When it is healthy, it produces the hormones that regulate many bodily functions:

  • the body’s metabolism rate
  • the body’s heart function
  • the functioning of the digestive system
  • the body’s muscle control
  • the brain’s development
  • the maintenance of good bone health

Diseases inhibiting thyroid gland function

The most prevalent diseases of the thyroid gland are the following [Iddah]: read more

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Properties of a high-selenium yeast preparation

The element selenium is seldom found alone and unbound. In the body, it forms a part of the amino acids selenomethionine and selenocysteine and functions as a component of some 25 selenoproteins. The high-selenium yeast used in nutritional supplements is produced by enriching Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast (also known as baker’s yeast or brewer’s yeast) with selenium. As the yeast grows, it absorbs the selenium. The result is an organic high-selenium yeast that has a relatively good absorption and bio-availability. It provides several species of selenium that are necessary for many cellular functions in the body. The yeast in the high-selenium yeast tablets is dead. It cannot cause yeast infections.

The evidence from clinical studies shows that high-selenium yeast preparations give the best health outcomes [Alehagen; Blot; Clark; Yu].

Today, I want to look at the documented properties of the high-selenium yeast preparation that was developed for use in the PRECISE studies.  PRECISE is the acronym for PREvention of Cancer by Intervention with SElenium.  The PRECISE studies were designed to test the effectiveness of selenium supplementation at preventing cancer.

The preparation is also the high-selenium yeast preparation used in the KiSel-10 study of combined selenium and Coenzyme Q10 supplementation of healthy elderly citizens to protect against heart disease.  Professor Urban Alehagen and the researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have written about the special interrelationship between selenium and Coenzyme Q10: our cells need adequate selenium status to obtain optimal concentrations of Coenzyme Q10, and our cells need adequate Coenzyme Q10 status to realize optimal selenoprotein function [Alehagen]. read more