In our last article, we asked ChatGPT about the health benefits of selenium supplements in Europe. This time, we asked what is the best form of selenium supplement?
ChatGPT answered that the best form of selenium supplement depends on various factors. These factors include individual health needs, dietary habits, and preferences. Each different form of selenium supplement has its own set of advantages and considerations.
- Selenomethionine: This form of selenium is found in foods like Brazil nuts, grains, and legumes. The body absorbs selenomethionine well.
- Sodium selenite: This is an inorganic form of selenium. It is generally considered to have lower bioavailability compared to organic forms like selenomethionine and selenium yeast.
- Selenium yeast: Selenium yeast is produced by fermenting the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the presence of selenium. It contains various species of selenium including selenomethionine. The yeast is inactivated in the supplements.
Editor’s note: The presence of various other species of selenium in the selenium yeast may be important for cancer prevention. By other species, we mean the selenium species other than the selenomethionine that is in the selenium yeast supplements.
- In the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer study, researchers administered 200 mcg/day of selenium-enriched yeast for an average of 5.4 years. The study results showed a significant reduction of colorectal, lung, prostate, and total cancer incidence [Clark 1996].
- In the SELECT study, researchers administered selenium in the form of selenomethionine, 200 mcg/day. The supplementation with selenomethionine alone and also together with vitamin E did not show any reduction of the risk of colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer after 5.5 years of follow-up [Lippman 2009].
Thus, it seems that the protective effect against cancer may have come from one or more of the other selenium species in the selenium yeast preparation, not from the selenomethionine in the preparation [Bjørnstedt 2010].