Health and Selenium
Selenium is one of the so-called trace elements (or trace minerals), bearing that name because of how little the body needs of them. Despite this, these minerals are so important and play such a vital role in wellness. that if there is a shortage of them, it causes greater or lesser health disorders. Hence trace elements are classified as essential. Selenium, in its small size is such an important nutritional factor, that lack of it or abundance may largely determine life and health.
Selenium is found in soil, certain foods and in all cells of the body. Most of it can be found in the bones, muscles, gonads, sperm and the thyroid gland contains more selenium per gram than any other organ in the body. Selenium has a major role to play in maintaining good health. Its main role is to protect your body; it strengthens its immune system, is a potent antioxidant and plays a key role in maintaining normal metabolism. Selenium has anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects and potentially anti-cancer activity. It is essential for both male and female fertility and for reproduction, and it reduces the risk of autoimmune and thyroid disorders. (See more about the thyroid gland: https://purenatura.com/children-and-needings/)
In addition to this it helps people with chronic asthma, protects against cardiovascular disease and reduces the risk of osteoarthritis. It prevents and reduces anxiety and depression and studies are ongoing regarding its potential preventive effects on dementia. The use of selenium as a therapeutic treatment for Alzheimer´s disease is being studied, but further research is needed.
Lack of Selenium and diseases
In spite of the necessity of this mineral, selenium deficiency is a major problem in many places. It is believed that approximately 1 billion people worldwide suffer from it. In addition to that is believed that even more people consume less amounts of selenium daily than is needed for it to be able to protect the body from diseases. The content of selenium in soil varies greatly between countries and within the same land and deficiency in soil is common. In order to address that problem farmers often add extra selenium enriched fertilizers on the fields where they grow feed for their livestock. They do this in order to maintain fertility in their herds and avoid miscarrige and other health problems caused by selenium deficiency.
People with certain diseases are more prone to selenium deficiency than others. These include e.g. individuals with HIV, Crohn’s disease and other diseases where the absorption of nutrients is disrupted. People living in areas with low amount of selenium in the soil are more prone to deficiency than those living with selenium rich soil. Scandinavia and Denmark are among the areas on earth with selenium-depleted soils. In Iceland on the other hand, the soil is more selenium rich than elsewhere in the Nordic countries. Icelandic rock is mostly alkaline and rich in selenium and there are indications that plants and herbs growing in the highlands and in uncultivated pastures are selenium rich. See blog about the Icelandic Volcanic Earth: https://purenatura.com/islenskur-eldfjallajardvegur/)
More is not necessarily better
Selenium is sensitive to high temperatures and harsh processing methods. Therefore the best selenium food is little or not processed. The main sources of selenium in food can be found in Brazilian nuts, eggs, fish products, meat and offal for farm animals such as hearts, liver and kidneys. Selenium in cereals varies greatly depending on where they are grown. Even within the same country it differs, depending on the soil. Selenium can be added to diet as a supplement but its utilization varies depending on the form. Example: if taken as selenomethionine it is utilized more than 90% but only about 50% as selenite. Caution should be exercised when taking selenium supplements and be careful not to exceed the recommended daily dose. Here, as elsewhere, the golden rule of moderation applies.
Summary of key points on how selenium benefits your body:
- Strengthens the immune system – a key nutrient to counteract the development of viruses and necessary for the immune system to work.
- Powerful antioxidant – protects the body from the harmful effects of oxygen (irritation).
- Potentially assists the body to fight against cancer – works in synergy with other potent antioxidants such as vitamin E and glutathione to protect the genetic material of the cells, thus reducing the risk of mutation and tumor formation.
- Improves blood flow and reduces the risk of heart disease – benefits due to reduced inflammation, increased blood flow and antioxidant activity.
- Selenium acts as a catalyst for the production of active thyroid hormones and is no less essential than iodine for the thyroid to function properly.
- Increases longevity through previously listed items.
- Can help increase fertility – Selenium is needed for normal sperm mobility and behavior, and it also increases blood flow to the penis.
- Has a good effectiveness on depression and anxiety.
- Possibly helps to relieve the symptoms of chronic asthma.
- Effective in the fight against osteoarthritis, especially of the knees.
Pure Natura supplement line
In recent years the consumption of organ meat has declined in the West, especially among younger people. That is very unfortunate the least to say, because the liver, kidneys, hearts and other organs from grassfed livestock are some of the most nutritious foods that can be consumed. (See further the nutritional table ISGEM: https://purenatura.com/ofurfaeda/)
Organ meat has a very high and unique nutrient content, including the essential trace mineral selenium. In fact, organ meat can be called a nutrient bomb, packed with vitamins, minerals, trace elements, fats, enzymes, proteins, excipients and the like. And more importantly, they all come in an easily absorbable and utilized form and in synergy with one another. In general, organ meat contain between 10 and 100 times more nutrients than the muscle meat of the same animal.
In Iceland, we are fortunate enough to still be able to have the livestock roaming around free and grazing on land with nutrient rich soil. This livestock yields nutrient rich, high quality products, exceptionally healthy for the consumer. https://purenatura.com/mikilvaegi-steinefna/.
Pure Natura supplements, made from both organ meat and wild grown Icelandic herbs, contain a good dose of selenium. Ingredients come from the immediate environment and are handled with care, collected, cleansed, cold dried, grinded and encapsulated. Both the organ meat and the herbs are raw food (https://purenatura.com/hrafaedi/). Our goal is for the precious nutrients to be delivered undamaged and in the cleanest and most formidable form to the consumer. As our satisfied customers can confirm this has succeeded.
The Pure Natura Product line:
Reference
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11869071
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18463429
https://mentalhealthfood.net/selenium-a-micro-nutrient-with-a-mega-impact/
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/
