Selenium Compounds Archives - Seleniumfacts.com

December 30, 2025November 7, 2025

Selenium Essential for Human Health

Selenium is a trace element that is essential for good human health. Essential means that selenium is a micronutrient that the body must have but cannot synthesize for itself. Its supply must come from food and, if necessary, from supplements. What the body does synthesize when it has an adequate supply of the element selenium is first the amino acid selenocysteine and then selenoproteins into which the selenocysteine molecules are incorporated [Bai 2024].

Nurse portrays good health — **Good health depends upon adequate selenium intake. In selenium-poor regions, selenium supplementation may be necessary.**

Accordingly, selenium is an indispensable component of selenoprotein P and numerous other selenoproteins. Among these selenoproteins are several vital selenoenzymes, e.g., the glutathione peroxidases (GPxs), the thioredoxin reductases (TrxRs), and the iodothyronine deiodinases (DIOs). Through the activity of the selenoproteins, selenium has many biological functions, i.e., antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory effects, enhanced immune system function, enhanced reproductive capacity, protection of the cardiovascular system, and regulation of thyroid function. In figure 6 of their paper, Bai et al list the best documented selenoproteins and their known functions [Bai 2024]. read more

August 31, 2023August 16, 2023

Selenium-Enriched Yeast Supplementation Studies

The rationale for taking a selenium-enriched yeast preparation: one or more of the selenium compounds in the preparation other than selenomethionine may be the selenium species that has specific effects against cancer. This is an area for further research.

Glass of beer made using brewer's yeast — Selenium-enriched yeast preparations use Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly known as as brewer’s yeast. The yeast is grown in a selenium-enriched medium in which the yeast absorbs the selenium. The finished preparation is pasteurized, causing the yeast cells to die. Selenium-enriched yeast preparations contain many organic selenium compounds in addition to selenomethionine.

This week, we focus on studies conducted with a selenium-enriched yeast preparation containing at least 20 different species of selenium in addition to selenomethionine [Bendahl & Gammelgaard 2004].

Randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trials are the gold standard method for testing the safety, absorption, and efficacy of nutritional supplements and medical drugs. Below, we summarize some of the important clinical trials of nutritional interventions using selenium-enriched yeast. read more

January 9, 2017January 13, 2017

What is a high selenium yeast supplement?

Baker’s yeast and brewer’s yeast and high selenium yeast … all strains of the same species of yeast … *Saccharomyces cerevisiae* … High selenium yeast preparations are the most effective form of selenium supplements. The yeast in the tablets is dead and inactive. There is no risk of a yeast infection from a high selenium yeast preparation.

The trace element selenium is an essential component of the selenium-dependent enzymes called selenoproteins. We need these selenoproteins for the optimal biological functioning of our cells. Specifically, we need adequate daily intakes of selenium for the protection of cellular DNA, for successful reproduction, for proper thyroid gland function, for protection against infections, for anti-oxidative protection against the damage caused by free radicals, and for the prevention of cancer and heart disease.

What form of selenium is best?
Many of us cannot get enough selenium in our diets, especially if we do not regularly eat Brazil nuts (very high in selenium) or if we eat relatively little meat and fish. However, there are various supplemental forms of selenium available to us as consumers. read more

November 4, 2016December 22, 2016

Moderate selenium deficiency may increase risk of chronic disease

Pill, hand, disease — **A supplement of 100 micrograms of elemental selenium a day is able to satisfy the needs of the most critical selenoproteins.**

Moderate selenium deficiency is associated with increased risk of chronic disease: cancer, heart disease, thyroid disorder. Conversely, a selenium supplement containing one hundred (100) micrograms of selenium daily could reduce the risk of serious, age-related diseases in persons with moderate selenium deficiency, according to the known researcher Bruce Ames’ so-called triage theory.

Researchers Joyce McCann and Bruce Ames from Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) have analyzed the data from hundreds of scientific articles. They conclude that some selenium-dependent proteins that are regarded as essential for the body’s survival in the period until humans reach reproductive age are much more resistant to selenium deficiency than are other non-essential selenoproteins. read more

October 31, 2016December 22, 2016

Selenium Compounds Fight Cancer

diabetes-picture, cancer — **The body’s selenium level can be measured by using a blood sample**

In a new scientific study, Danish researchers from Copenhagen University have demonstrated that methylated selenium compounds can regulate the body’s immune system enabling it to better fight certain cancers. These selenium compounds are found in certain foods such as garlic and broccoli but also in the selenium preparations containing selenium yeast.

Certain cancers such as skin cancer, prostate cancer, and some forms of leukemia weaken the body’s immune system by overstimulating it until it eventually breaks down, giving cancer cells a free rein in the body. What this new Danish research shows is that the intake of selenium compounds that can be metabolized into methylselenol improves the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. 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.