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
The research base for supplementation with selenium shows the need for adequate daily selenium intakes and adequate selenium status. The formulation and the dosage of the selenium supplement are very important.
Daily selenium intakes? We need to get this essential trace element – selenium — in our diets and in our supplements because our bodies cannot make it for us. The work of Dr. Gerhard N. Schrauzer, Dr. Raymond J. Shamberger, and Dr. Douglas V. Frost has shown that there is an inverse relationship between our selenium status and the risk of cancer mortality. Animal studies show an inverse correlation between selenium status and incidence of cancer. Observational studies show lower risk of various types of cancer with higher selenium status.
Intervention studies of selenium supplementation and cancer Clinical studies in China Large interventional studies in China, a region of the world with selenium-poor soils and foodstuffs, have shown that selenium supplements protect against hepatitis B virus and primary liver cancer [Yu] and that supplementation with a combination of selenium and other antioxidants reduces cancer incidence and mortality in a region characterized by high cancer mortality rates [Blot].read more
The Bonelli study showed that a selenium-based antioxidant supplement combination reduces the risk of developing new adenomatous polyps in the large intestine following the removal of colorectal polyps. Adenomas, if not prevented or removed, can develop into colorectal cancer tumors.
Dr. Luigina Bonelli and a team of researchers in Genoa, Italy, were motivatedby the following set of compelling facts:
Colorectal cancer was the second leading cause of cancer death in Europe.
Adenomas in the colon (adenomas are benign tumors, which sometimes transform to malignant tumors) were known to be precursors of colorectal cancer.
Patients who had undergone a colonic polypectomy (removal of an adenomatous polyp) had an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer and needed to have periodic follow-up colonoscopies.
Increased risk of developing adenomas was equated with increased risk of developing colorectal cancers.
Observational studies indicated that there was an association between the plasma or serum concentrations of several antioxidant substances including selenium and the risk of colorectal cancer.
In some intervention studies, supplementation with selenium was associated with reductions in the incidence of colorectal cancer.
The time was right to start a large study of the effectiveness of selenium and other antioxidants in reducing the risk of colorectal cancer.
Selenium to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer Dr. Bonelli and her colleagues wanted to see if daily supplementation with a combination of antioxidants including selenium could reduce the risk of recurrent adenomas in patients who had had one or more adenomatous polyps removed. The researchers designed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial and, over the period of many years, they enrolled a total of 411 patients who had undergone a polypectomy.read more
Adequate intakes of selenium are needed to ensure the optimal functioning of the selenoproteins in the body. Selenoproteins provide protection against the development of cancer and heart disease; they are important for immune system defense; they protect against damage caused by heavy metals and chemical toxins and radiation. And, there is evidence that some of the selenoproteins have anti-viral properties.
Selenium? A trace element? You might well ask: How do we know that adequate amounts of dietary and supplemental selenium are important to us? The first answer is: because we can see that selenium deficiency makes people sick. A further answer is that we now know that selenium is an essential component of antioxidant enzymes. And, on the basis of the results of randomized controlled trials, we know that selenium supplementation reduces the risk of cancer, reduces the risk of heart disease, and improves immune function. Selenium is also very useful for reducing the toxic effects of heavy metals in the body.
Reason number one: Selenium-deficiency diseases Keshan disease In the 1960’s and 1970’s, thousands of people living in a region of China with selenium-poor soil, and, consequently, with selenium-poor food, died from the effects of a form of heart disease. The disease, which took its name from Keshan county in the afflicted region of China, is characterized by inflammation and enlargement of the heart muscle and excess fluid in the lungs. The primary cause of the disease was selenium deficiency.read more
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
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
Professor Jørgen Clausen was one of the first researchers to realize the importance of supplementation with selenium in regions of the world with selenium-poor soil.
Professor Jørgen Clausen, long-time professor in the Institute for Life Sciences and Chemistry, Roskilde University Center, in Roskilde, Denmark, was one of the early researchers to do clinical studies of the effects of supplementation with selenium. As such, it seems instructive to go back and look at the research done by Dr. Clausen and his colleagues at the end of the 20th century.
Professor Clausen’s selenium studies Basically, Professor Clausen’s research can be described in five different categories:
Effect of selenium supplementation on the health of the elderly nursing home residents
Effect of selenium supplementation on the health of cigarette smokers
Effect of selenium supplementation on the health of patients with chronic neurologic disorders
Effect of selenium supplementation on the toxic effects of lead poisoning
Effect of selenium supplementation on the activity levels of the selenium-dependent antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase
In addition, Professor Clausen was an early leader in the investigation of the absorption and health effects of various forms of inorganic and organic selenium supplements.
Selenium supplementation and smokers and oxidative stress To understand Dr. Clausen’s interest in the effect of selenium supplementation on smokers, we must first understand the concept of oxidative stress and the related concept of oxidative damage. Oxidative stress occurs when, in the process of metabolism of oxygen, the body produces, as a by-product, various reactive oxygen species (for example: peroxide, superoxide, hydroxyl, and singlet oxygen radicals) to excess.read more
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
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
Research done at the Linköping University in Sweden by Dr. Urban Alehagen and his colleagues has shown a relatively high mortality rate in elderly Swedish citizens with low selenium status. Daily supplementation with selenium and Coenzyme Q10 for five years significantly reduced the risk of death from heart disease in home-living healthy elderly Swedish citizens.
What is the idea behind a new website called seleniumfacts.com?
For the most part, what we want to do with this website is to present clinical research results from published, peer-reviewed studies of the safety and efficacy of selenium supplements.
A cousin website to the website q10facts.com We want to try to do the same thing with seleniumfacts.com that we have been doing with q10facts.com website.
We want to report the results of human studies that have been done as randomized controlled clinical trials. We want to present the following types of information about selenium supplementation studies and selenium status:
the study design
the sample size
the composition of the sample
the selenium form and dosage
the length of the study
the confounding factors in the study
the study results
the researchers’ interpretation of the results
Intervention studies about selenium supplementation Basically, there are two types of human studies: observational studies and intervention studies. The big difference between observational studies and intervention studies is that the researchers control the use of the independent variable in intervention studies but do not do so in observational studies.read more
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