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Selenium, Selenoproteins, and Antioxidant Systems

Disinfection materials
Low selenium status is associated with increased virulence of virus infections, with worse symptoms of heart failure, and with greater risk of some forms of cancer.

Oxidative stress is the bio-medical term for a lack of balance between 1) the production of harmful reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen species and 2) the protective action of antioxidant systems. According to the news network of the Mayo Clinic, oxidative damage has been linked to several conditions such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, cataracts, diabetes, heart disease, macular degeneration, and Parkinson’s.

Free Radicals and Oxidative Damage

The reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen species are popularly referred to as free radicals. They are molecules produced as natural by-products of metabolic processes and as a consequence of exposure to pollutants, to heavy metals, to industrial chemicals, to some drugs, to some forms of radiation including x-rays, and to cigarette smoking. read more

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Selenium Intakes and the Risk of Cancer: Two Meta-Analyses

Blue ribbon for prostate cancer
Despite the billions of dollars spent in the war on cancer, cancer in its various forms continues to be a leading cause of death worldwide. Treatment is expensive. The prognosis is often poor. Even so, the World Health Organization estimates that perhaps one third of all cancer cases could be prevented with changes in behavioral and dietary patterns. An inverse linear association has been found between increased selenium intake and reduced risk of all cancers. As the selenium intake increased, the overall risk of cancer incidence decreased [Kuria 2020].
A 2020 meta-analysis of population-based prospective studies shows that selenium supplementation is protective against cancer; however, the beneficial effects of the selenium supplementation vary with the different types of cancer. The differences in the effect of selenium intakes on the risk of various cancer forms has been attributed to differences in the pathophysiology of cancer [Kuria 2020].

Briefly, the data from the meta-analysis show that selenium decreases the risk of cancer at the highest daily intake levels of the included studies.

This outcome is consistent with the outcomes of a previous study showing a protective effect of selenium at high doses compared to low doses [Cai 2016]. A 2018 meta-analysis used different methods to assess selenium exposure and showed a null association between selenium at high doses compared to low doses [Vinceti 2018]. read more

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Selenium to Raise Anti-Viral Resistance Against COVID-19

COVID-19 Virus Infection
COVID-19 virus infections are accompanied by excessive activation of the innate immune system, by progressive inflammation, and by cytokine storms. A review of the medical journal literature shows that an adequate supply of the micronutrients selenium, zinc, and vitamin D is necessary to strengthen immune function and to reduce inflammation.

Adequate intakes of selenium, zinc, and vitamin D are essential to ensure resistance to viral infections, to promote strong immune function, and to reduce levels of inflammation. A team of Norwegian, Swedish, and Russian researchers recommends the initiation of adequate supplementation with these micronutrients in high-risk areas and in cases of suspected exposure to SARS-CoV-2 [Alexander 2020].

Selenium Supplementation to Protect Against the Hyper-Inflammation Associated with COVID-19

The team of researchers concluded from its review of the available medical literature that an adequate selenium intake/status can protect against the hyper-inflammation associated with corona viral infections.

Consequently, individuals at high risk who have a selenium status below 100 micrograms per liter should consider daily supplementation at a dose of 100–200 micrograms of selenium per day [Alexander 2020]. read more

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Effect of Selenium Supplementation on Heart Health

Chambers of the heart
The American Heart Association defines heart failure as a condition in which the heart muscle cannot pump enough blood out to the body to keep the tissues and organs sufficiently supplied with oxygen. Heart failure is a condition for which there is no known cure. Selenium deficiency is associated with worsening heart failure.

Selenium is an essential antioxidant trace element that is necessary for key activities in human metabolism [Djalalinia 2019]. Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials of selenium supplementation reveal that selenium supplementation is a cost-effective and simple-to-use intervention that can play an important role in the prevention of heart disease risk factors [Hasani 2018; Hasani 2019; Mahdavi 2019; Tabrizi 2017].

These results from meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials reaffirm the outcomes in the Bomer multinational observational cohort study. In that study, heart failure patients with serum selenium concentrations below 70 micrograms per liter were more likely to have the following characteristics [Bomer 2019]: read more

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Selenium Vital for Good Health

Gerhard N. Schrauzer
Dr. Gerhard N. Schrauzer (1933-2014) was the Director of the Biological Trace Element Research Institute in San Diego and the founder and editor-in-chief of the Biological Trace Element Research journal. He was a pioneer in the study of selenium’s biological functions. He was one of the first researchers to realize that selenium has positive effects on human and animal health.

Quote: “Pluck almost any cell from your body, and it will have a million or more selenium atoms in it, yet until recently nobody had any idea what they were there for. We now know that selenium makes two vital enzymes, deficiency in which has been linked to hypertension, arthritis, anaemia, some cancers, and, even, possibly reduced sperm counts. So, clearly, it is a good idea to get some selenium inside you (it is found particularly in nuts, whole meal bread, and fish), but at the same time, if you take too much, you can irremediably poison your liver. As with much of life, getting the balances right is a delicate business.” End Quote.

The above lines are quoted from Bill Bryson’s book The Body: A Guide for Occupants. ISBN-13: 978-0385539302. I can recommend the book highly. Bryson writes an English that is a pleasure to read, and the book is full of facts and relationships. You may already know him from his earlier book about science and technology, The Short History of Almost Everything. read more

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Selenium: Protection Against Viruses and Bacteria

Mask
Changing our behavior will help to protect us against viral infections, e.g. wearing a mask in public, washing our hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub, maintaining a distance of at least one meter from other people, avoiding crowded places, not touching our eyes, nose, and mouth, covering our mouth and nose with a bent elbow or tissue when we cough or sneeze, self-isolating if we have symptoms. But, equally important, we should make sure we have optimal selenium intakes and status. Selenium strengthens the immune system and protects against viral and bacterial infections.

In a 2015 review of the research literature, the selenium researchers Holger Steinbrenner and Helmut Sies from the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, Germany, give an overview of the effect of selenium status and supplementation in infectious diseases caused by viruses (e.g. HIV, influenza A virus, hepatitis C virus, polio virus, West Nile virus) and bacteria (e.g. M. tuberculosis, Helicobacter pylori) [Steinbrenner 2015].

  • Deficient intake and status of the essential trace element selenium are associated with viral and bacterial infections.
  • In the absence of adequate selenium status, otherwise benign strains of Coxsackie viruses and influenza viruses can mutate to highly virulent strains.
  • Nutritional supplementation with selenium supply to boost selenium status seems to confer health benefits for patients suffering from some viral diseases, in particular patients with HIV and influenza A virus infections.
  • Multi-micronutrient supplements containing selenium have been shown to improve several clinical and lifestyle variables in patients co-infected with HIV and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
  • Selenium status may affect the function of cells of both adaptive and innate immunity.
  • Supplemental intakes of selenium are associated with the enhanced proliferation and differentiation of naive CD4-positive T lymphocytes toward T helper 1 cells, thereby supporting the acute cellular immune response.
  • Similarly, supplemental intakes of selenium are associated with the directing of macrophages toward the M2 type, thereby counteracting the excessive activation of the immune system with resulting host tissue damage.
  • Data from epidemiological studies and intervention trials, with selenium administered alone or in combination with other micronutrients have shown that selenium status and intake affect immune system functions.

Selenium Status and Intake

In her 2012 review article in The Lancet, the selenium researcher Margaret P. Rayman points out that selenium intakes average 40 micrograms/day in Europe compared with 93 micrograms/day for women and 134 micrograms/day for men in the United States.  Nutritional supplements can provide an additional 50–200 micrograms of selenium per day [Rayman 2012]. read more

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Selenium Status and Male Infertility

Storck bringing baby
Without optimal selenium status, the stork cannot bring the baby.  Selenium supplementation can improve male performance in reproduction by protecting immature spermatozoa and by improving sperm motility.

Approximately 50% of the problems in couples unable to conceive are caused by male infertility. Something like two percent of all men have sub-optimal sperm parameters [Kumar and Singh 2015]:

  • low sperm concentration
  • poor sperm motility
  • abnormal sperm cell morphology
  • or combinations thereof

Selenium Status and Male Infertility

The role of selenium in male infertility has not been fully explained. However, some data show that selenium plays a role in the protection of sperm cells against oxidative stress [Buhling 2019].

In particular, the selenoproteins glutathione peroxidase GPx4 and selenoprotein P are essential to the process of sperm development and male fertility [Rayman 2012].

      • In the testes, the GPx4 selenoproteins protect immature spermatozoa cells against oxidative damage.
      • GPx4 selenoproteins are also important for good sperm motility.
      • Selenoprotein P supplies selenium to the testes.

      Selenium is a trace mineral that is essential for many important processes in the human body. Selenium is incorporated into enzymes that function as antioxidants. The balance between protective antioxidants and harmful free radicals in cells plays a decisive role in the prevention of disease [Rayman 2002]. read more

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China and COVID-19 Virus: The Selenium Connection

Map of China
China has regions with selenium-rich soils and foodstuffs and regions with selenium-poor soils and foodstuffs. Researchers have compared the COVID-19 cure-rate and death-rate for infected individuals in selenium-rich and selenium-poor regions in China. They have found that regions with low selenium status have lower cure-rates and higher death-rates.

China and Corona Virus will be forever linked in our minds.  However, there is another important connection that we should be making: selenium status and its effect on COVID-19 virus in China.

Let me explain. Chinese and American and British researchers have published a letter in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in which they report evidence of a significant association between regional selenium status and the reported cure-rate of COVID-19 infected patients in China [Zhang 2020].

The researchers’ data show a statistically significant association between the reported cure-rates for COVID-19 virus infections and selenium status in China [Zhang 2020].

The Selenium Status and COVID-19 Cure-Rate

Beginning in mid-February 2020, the researchers collected data from the Baidu website, which they describe as a non-governmental website that provides daily updates of reports from the health commission of each province in China. read more

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Selenium and Viral Infections

Virus
Selenium deficiency is associated with increased virulence of viruses in human hosts.

Selenium and selenoproteins have a role to play in the protection of humans against viral infections [Méplan & Hughes 2020].

Viruses and viral infections are scary enough in and of themselves. Witness the effects of the current corona virus pandemic COVID-19.

Even more scary are the effects of nutritional deficiencies such as selenium deficiency on the body’s ability to fight off a viral infection.

Selenium Deficiency Associated with Increased Virulence of Viruses

Low selenium status, defined variously as serum selenium status below 70 micrograms per liter or below 85 micrograms per liter, is associated with the following deleterious effects of viral contagion [Méplan & Hughes 2020]:

  • The viral pathogens induce oxidative stress by generating more harmful free radicals. The result is oxidative damage to cells, proteins, and DNA.
  • The viral pathogens diminish the cells’ antioxidant defenses including diminishing the activity of the antioxidant seleno-enzymes, e.g. the glutathione peroxidases and the thioredoxin reductases.
  • The viral pathogens increase oxidative stress to the extent that it can induce mutations of the genomes of the attacking virus. The result is that the mutated viruses are more virulent than the initial viruses were. This increased virulence of mutated viruses has been seen in both coxsackie viruses and influenza viruses. The consequence of the increased virulence is to make the viruses more dangerous even to people with adequate selenium status.
  • The viral pathogens reduce the ability of the immune system to respond to the virus. This reduced immune response to viruses has also been seen in the response of selenium deficient humans to the HIV virus and the hepatitis B and C viruses.

Re selenium deficiency: Bomer et al reported more severe signs and symptoms of heart failure and poorer exercise capacity and poorer quality of life in heart failure patients with serum selenium concentrations below 70 mcg/L.  Rayman reported that serum and plasma levels below 85 mcg/L are associated with decreased survival in HIV-infected patients [Bomer 2019; Rayman 2012]. read more

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Selenium, Fish, and Mercury: Important Facts

Fish should be an important part of our diets. Professor Nick Ralston at the University of North Dakota has drawn our attention to the webpages entitled Fish, Mercury, and Nutrition: The Net Effects. The URL is http://net-effects.und.edu/factsheets.aspx

The Cover of the Fish, Mercury, and Nutrition brochure
The Fish, Mercury, and Nutrition webpages contain fact sheets, a documentary video, video clips, and links to informative websites.

On these webpages, Professor Ralston and his colleagues explain why the benefits of regularly eating fish, especially ocean fish, are often overlooked. Too many of us have cut back on our fish consumption because we have been worried about exposure to toxic mercury.

However, we have been receiving insufficient information about the relative benefits and risks of eating ocean fish. In fact, our avoiding fish meals may be having negative health consequences in some cases. read more