Fertility Archives - Seleniumfacts.com

Important question: Does selenium play a role in male reproductive health? If so, how?

Man working out with weights — Roughly one in ten men in the USA and in Europe have infertility issues. The extent varies from region to region. Selenium supplementation in selenium-poor regions can improve with sperm morphology and sperm motility.

A 2026 review of the relevant research literature shows the following relationships. A daily intake of selenium at the rate of 100 mcg per day led to significantly improved sperm motility. The same daily 100-mcg intake was associated with an 11 % increase in paternity. Thus, it seems that selenium does play an important role in male fertility. Selenium has dose-dependent antioxidant and endocrine functions [Patel 2026].

How does selenium status improve male fertility?

Sufficient selenium intake and status lead to optimal synthesis of selenoproteins, in particular selenoprotein P and the glutathione peroxidases. These antioxidant selenium-dependent enzymes protect mitochondrial function and sperm membranes against oxidative damage. Specifically, they catalyze the reduction of hydrogen peroxide and lipid hydroperoxides [Patel 2026]. read more

In an online article in the Cleveland Clinic’s Health Essentials series, the registered dietician Kayla Kopp explains that selenium is an essential trace element that helps thyroid gland function and reproductive function, among other health benefits [Cleveland Clinic 2023].

Hospital care — **The Cleveland Clinic article about the essential trace element selenium highlights the effect of selenium on thyroid health, reproductive health, asthma management, and cancer.**

What does it mean that selenium is an essential trace element? Answer: our bodies need adequate selenium to function well. However, our bodies cannot synthesize selenium. We have to get our selenium from our food.

What are the health benefits of adequate selenium intake and adequate selenium status? Answer: Kopp says that selenium is important for the following reasons [Cleveland Clinic 2023]:

helps to protect our cells from damage
promotes good thyroid function
promotes good reproductive function
plays a role in DNA synthesis

Selenium Supports Thyroid Health

The thyroid gland is responsible for producing and releasing the hormones that control our metabolism. The metabolism rate is what determines how rapidly or slowly our bodies convert food into energy. The selenium we absorb from our food or from supplements gets converted into selenoproteins. These selenoproteins then help to regulate our thyroid hormones [Cleveland Clinic 2023]. 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.

Tag: Fertility

Selenium and Male Fertility

How does selenium status improve male fertility?

Selenium: Why We Need It

Selenium Supports Thyroid Health