Category: Thyroid Function

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Selenium Supplementation and Graves’ Disease

Low selenium status is associated with increased risk of Graves’ Disease. Graves’ Disease is an autoimmune disease of the thyroid. It is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. It often results in an enlarged thyroid.

A 2018 meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials shows that adjuvant selenium supplementation may enhance the restoration of normal thyroid function in patients with Graves’ Disease [Zheng].

Graves’ Disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism in adults. It is characterized by below-normal serum TSH levels and increased serum levels of free thyroxine (FT4) and/or triiodothyronine (T3). The basal metabolic status of Graves’ Disease patients is accelerated; the result is an increase in the production of harmful free radicals and reactive oxygen species [Zheng].

Intra-cellular antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) protect against the cellular damage caused by oxidative stress. read more

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Selenium supplementation in the Su.Vi.Max. study

Depicted above (A): apoptosis in normal cell division with a damaged cell (2) and programmed cell death (1). Depicted below (B): cancer cell division with uninhibited cell production and increasingly more dangerous cell mutations. Selenium supplementation can help normal healthy adults who have low selenium status with cancer chemo-prevention benefits, thyroid function benefits, and cognitive function benefits.

The Su.Vi.Max. study —  SUpplementation en VItamines et Minéraux AntioXydants — was a big randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study carried out with typical French efficiency.  Even though I have written the name of the study in French, there are so many English cognates that I am sure you can read the full name of the study.

The study was designed to test the health benefits of daily supplementation with a number of vitamins and minerals at nutritional dosages (roughly, one to three times the daily recommended dietary intakes) [Hercberg 1998]:

  • selenium, 100 micrograms
  • vitamin C, 120 mg
  • vitamin E, 30 mg
  • beta-carotene, 6 mg
  • zinc, 20 mg

In particular, the French researchers wanted to see the effect of the daily supplementation over a long period, approximately 7.5 years, from 1994 to 2002, on the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease, both of which have been linked to oxidative stress and oxidative damage and might, therefore, be affected by supplementation with antioxidants. read more

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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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We must not waste selenium

Selenium exists only in scarce quantities. Adequate dietary and supplemental intakes are vital for human health.  We need to use it carefully, and we need to begin to stockpile it for the use of future generations.

Selenium is a trace element.  It exists only in rare quantities in the world.  It is produced primarily as a by-product of the process of mining copper.  It is not recyclable.  It is very unevenly distributed in the soils of the earth.

Consequently, the availability of selenium in grasses and grains and, at the next stage of the food chain, in animals, varies considerably from region to region in the world. The human dietary intakes of selenium vary accordingly around the world.

Selenium a vital nutrient for humans
Selenium is a necessary micronutrient that our bodies do not produce.  We get our selenium primarily from our diets.  Selenium is important for good immune system function, good thyroid function, good reproductive function, and good protection of our cells’ DNA. read more

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Selenium and thyroid disorders

The thyroid is the little endocrine gland at the base of our necks.  It produces hormones that affect nearly every organ in our bodies.  Specifically, the thyroid hormones regulate our cells’ metabolism. Both iodine and selenium are needed in adequate amounts for optimal thyroid functioning.

Iodine is an essential component of the thyroid hormones.  After iodine, selenium is arguably the micronutrient most important to the thyroid gland. Proportionally, there is more selenium in the thyroid gland than there is selenium in any other organ in the body. There are good reasons for the presence of selenium in the thyroid gland.  Iodine and selenium are both required for thyroid hormone synthesis and function.

Our bodies do not make selenium. We must get the selenium that we need from our food and from supplements. The selenium that we absorb is incorporated into the amino acid selenocysteine. Selenocysteine, then, is a necessary component of some 25 selenoproteins that are needed for various biological functions. read more

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A basic guide to selenium

Selenium is a by-product of the mining and refining of copper. There are no sites in the world for the mining of selenium alone. Given its relative scarcity and its many uses — industrial and agricultural as well as nutritional — selenium for supplements will surely be more expensive in the future, and there may well be shortages of it in the future. Accordingly, it is important for us to use it wisely and to conserve it.

Selenium is an important micronutrient.  It is essential for life for both people and animals.  The body cannot synthesize selenium and is dependent upon the selenium that it can get from food.  In many regions of the world, there is too little selenium in the soil and in the food, and supplementation is necessary for optimal health.

Regions with selenium-poor soil
In many regions of the world, the content of selenium in the soil is quite low.  In large parts of Asia, China in particular, and in much of Europe and the Middle East, there are low levels of selenium in the soil.

Plants accumulate inorganic selenium from the soil and convert it to organic selenium. In that way, the selenium enters the food chain. For example, cows eat grass containing selenium, and the some of the selenium enters the meat and the milk of the cows.  People eat the meat and drink the milk.  Too little selenium in the soil means too little selenium in the food. read more

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Dr. Gerhard N. Schrauzer – renowned selenium researcher

Schrauzer
Dr. Gerhard N. Schrauzer was the first scientist to study the biological functions of selenium systematically. He was known internationally for his pioneering work in the cancer-protective properties of selenium. (Picture: Cancer Research, vol. 49 no. 23, Dec. 1, 1989)

Dr. Gerhard N. Schrauzer was the grand old man of selenium science.  Actually, he was the grand old man of trace element research in the United States for 30 years or more.  He was one of the pioneers and one of the major figures in selenium research.   Let’s take a look at the useful contributions of information to the selenium supplementation knowledge base that Dr. Schrauzer made.

First, who was Dr. Schrauzer in the context of selenium research?
Dr. Schrauzer did his graduate study in chemistry at the University in Munich, Germany. He was awarded his Ph.D. summa cum laude.  From 1966 to 1994, he was a chemistry and biochemistry professor at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD). After his retirement, he was a professor emeritus at UCSD. read more

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The functions of selenium supplements

skin-cells antioxidant
Selenium is an important component of the antioxidant defense in the cells. It helps to protect against oxidative damage to both cells and DNA. It has been shown to have a protective effect against the damage to skin cells caused by ultraviolet radiation.

Why the interest in selenium facts?  Here, at the beginning of the seleniumfacts.com website, we want to review in broad terms what we know about the functions of selenium supplementation. We are especially interested in selenium’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the human body.

Selenium is an essential trace element in the human diet, and, in many regions of the world, it is an absolutely necessary nutritional supplement.  It has many and diverse functions in the human body.

One of the interesting things about selenium is that it does not perform its functions as an element or an ion.  Instead, it functions as a component of more complex compounds.  In particular, it is an essential component of the 21st amino acid, selenocysteine. read more