What does selenium do for me? Why do I need selenium?
This is Dr. Jim for Be Healthy! Be Happy! Today I’m talking about the nutritional benefits of selenium.
Selenium is important to ensure the regulation of metabolic functions, especially those necessary for immune function. Selenium deficiency may enhance the progression or virulence of some viral diseases as well as the incidence of cancers thought to be induced by viral infections.
The recommended dietary allowance of selenium for adults is 55 µg per day in both men and women.
Foods rich in selenium include shrimp, salmon, halibut, whole-wheat bread and walnuts.
Selenium can also be taken as a dietary supplement and most multivitamin and mineral formulations contain sufficient quantities to ensure adequate daily intake.
Selenium taken as a supplement is generally safe if the upper intake is limited to no more than 400 µg daily in adults. As noted above, the recommended nutritional intake is 55 µg daily.
So when it comes to selenium eat shrimp, salmon and halibut, don’t forget the walnuts and ensure adequate intake daily by consuming a quality multivitamin and mineral supplement – all of this for high-performance immunity and suppression of viral disease.
This is Dr. Jim for Be Healthy! Be Happy! thanks for listening and stay tuned for our next segment when I’ll tell why you need copper to power your path to happiness!
Reference: The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, 2015. Online [available at]: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic Accessed May 25, 2015.