Safety Archives - Seleniumfacts.com

Hurst et al. administered 50-mcg, 100-mcg, or 200-mcg of selenium daily for ten weeks to 119 healthy men and women aged 50–64 years living in the United Kingdom.

Facial mask — **A healthy immune system depends upon an optimal selenium status to promote the bio-synthesis of antioxidant selenoproteins.**

The researchers were testing the effect of the different daily dosages on plasma selenium status and plasma selenoprotein P status. They used a pharmaceutical-grade high-selenium yeast preparation with a documented 88.7% absorption [Bügel 2004].

The men and women in the study had a daily dietary selenium intake of approximately 55 mcg/day. Intakes of selenium in the United Kingdom had fallen from a mean of 60 mcg/day in 1991 to a minimum of 30 to 40 mcg/day in 1995–2000; in 2010, the mean intake was 48–58 mcg/day [Hurst 2010]. read more

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

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.

Category: Safety

Achieving Optimal Plasma Selenium Status

Properties of a high-selenium yeast preparation