China Archives - Seleniumfacts.com

April 15, 2024June 8, 2026

Selenium Deficiency and Anti-Inflammatory Effects

Less systemic inflammation. Better immune function. Selenium is an essential trace element. Our cells cannot synthesize it. We must get it as a part of our diets. Adequate intakes are necessary for optimal anti-inflammatory effects.

Man in wheelchair at the beach — Autoimmune diseases develop when our own immune system malfunctions and attacks our cells. Then we suffer from autoimmune thyroid disorders, lupus, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis or a hundred other autoimmune diseases.

Unfortunately, many of us live in regions with selenium-poor soil and selenium-poor crops and fruits. We do not get sufficient selenium from our food [Stoffaneller & Morse 2015]. Adequate selenium intake and status are vital. There are increased health risks associated with selenium deficiency.

What Defines Selenium Deficiency?

Data from the BIOSTAT-CHF observational cohort study indicate that serum selenium concentrations under 70 mcg/L constitute a deficiency status. Serum selenium concentrations under 100 mcg/L constitute a sub-optimal status [Bomer 2020]. read more

March 15, 2024March 18, 2024

Selenium and Human Longevity

The absorption of dietary and supplemental selenium has an important and positive influence on human longevity. Selenium researchers have called selenium a “longevity element.” The selenoenzymes and selenoproteins of which selenium is an essential component have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer activity in humans [Li 2024].

Great Wall of China — Typically, China has many regions with selenium-poor soil and selenium-poor foodstuffs. Some regions, however, do have selenium-rich soil and selenium-rich crops and fruits. One such region is characterized by the longevity of its residents. Selenium seems to be a factor in anti-aging.

Maintaining selenium absorption and metabolism at an optimal physiological state seems to be one of the primary factors for good health and longevity of the elderly people. In particular, scientific studies have shown that selenium intake and status play an important role in the incidence and progression of some chronic diseases [Li 2024]:

Cancer: inducing tumor cell apoptosis, reducing the mutagenicity of carcinogenic factors, prolonging the cell division interval, and slowing proliferation of malignant cells
Heart failure: improving exercise tolerance, reducing mortality rate, and improving quality of life
Heavy metals: binding to mercury, sequestering mercury, reducing mercury’s biological availability and reducing the damage to the kidney caused by exposure to heavy metals
Antioxidant effects: restoring the antioxidant defense system of the body

Selenium-Rich Soil in a Chinese Longevity Township

Bama Yao Autonomous County is the only longevity township in China that is globally recognized as having a continuously growing longevity population. In 2020, Bama had 102 residents over 100 years old. The number had increased from the 2000 census (74 residents over 100 years of age) and the 2010 census (82 residents over 100 years of age). Bama has relatively stable genetic and geographic factors and a relatively stable dietary culture [Li 2024]. The proportion of centenarians is nearly six times greater than the international standard proportion [Zhang 2023]. read more

September 22, 2017June 9, 2026

Selenium and liver cancer: the Qidong study results

China is a country with many selenium-poor regions. The people living in these regions have paid the price with high rates of heart disease, bone disease, and various forms of cancer. Selenium supplementation has proven beneficial in China.

Some 50 years ago now, Chinese researchers began to understand the health risks associated with low selenium status. Cross-sectional studies showed an association between low selenium concentrations in cereal grains, the low selenium status of local citizens, and the incidence of Keshan disease, a heart disease with high death rates. The administration of selenium supplements in intervention studies resulted in significant reductions in the incidence of Keshan disease [Chen 2012]. Selenium status is one of the main factors contributing to the development of Keshan disease.

Selenium and Kashin-Beck disease
Not long afterwards, Chinese researchers realized that Kashin-Beck disease, a disease of the bone, is prevalent in regions of China and Tibet that are poor in selenium. The researchers saw that a deficiency of selenium and iodine was a common factor Kashin-Beck disease regions [Yao 2011]. 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.