Nick Ralston has spent many years doing research into the interaction between selenium and mercury in the human body. He is a research scientist and adjunct professor in the Department of Earth System Sciences and Policy at the University of North Dakota. His research has changed how scientists and regulators think about mercury’s impact on human health. Now, scientists regard selenium status as a central factor in determining the risk of mercury toxicity [Ralston 2018; Ralston 2010].
Previously, the most common explanation of mercury toxicity was that mercury exposure directly caused oxidative stress. Selenium’s binding with mercury, it was thought, reduced the risk of oxidative stress and reduced the risk of mercury toxicity.
