My mother passed away last year. As a way to remember her, I have been writing weekly articles about ways to improve the health of our elderly or senior citizens. The following article below is about the importance of selenium in one's diet:

In a new study ( Indiana University School of Medicine) involving 2000 men and women, whose average age was 72, those with the lowest levels of selenium had cognitive test scores equivalent to scores of someone who is 10 years older as compared with people having the highest levels of the trace mineral.

Selenium protects against free radicals which can cause cellular damage in the brain. Also, it can increase thyroid metabolism, improve fertility, help fight cancerous cells and protect our body from cardiovascular disease.

Obviously, it is important for senior citizens to have a daily intake of selenium. Foods that are rich in selenium are nuts, whole grains and seafood.

It has been recommended by numerous sources that eating one brazil nut per day can provide the needed selenium for a senior citizen.

Hi greenmom, welcome to the forum!

We take 200 mcg of selenium everyday, in addition to what's in our daily multiple. Included in all the benefits, is helping to avoid dementia. Here's some additional info.

Background
Selenium is an essential trace element for humans and other animals. Selenium was named after the moon goddess, Selene, by the Swedish chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius in 1817. Dr. Klaus Schwarz established selenium as an essential nutrient for animals in 1957, but the first selenium function in humans wasn't discovered until 1973. [1] Dr. John Rotruck and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin demonstrated that selenium was incorporated into molecules of an enzyme called glutathione peroxidase (GPX). This vital enzyme protects red blood cells, cell membranes and sub-cellular components against undesirable reactions with soluble peroxides.

The discovery of GPX opened the door to our understanding of how selenium is protective against cancer, heart disease, arthritis and accelerated aging. Now more scientific excitement is being generated with the recent finding that selenium is also a vital component of other mammalian enzymes.

Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase (PHGPX) protects membranes against peroxides already bound to membrane surfaces. [2] PHGPX blocks formation of the extremely harmful alkoxyl radical and inhibits peroxidative chain branching. This activity is even of more importance in the prevention of cancer, heart disease and accelerated aging.

Now addition pathways in which selenium is involved in health are being uncovered. Selenium is a component of the enzyme that is needed to produce the most active thyroid hormone. Sub-optimal amounts of selenium impair thyroid hormone function and thus affects many body functions.

Biochemists are now studying several other selenium proteins and have classified them into four main categories. [3]

Cancer
First there were animal studies that showed that selenium protected against chemicals and ultraviolet energy that cause cancer. [4-7] These laboratory findings were also supported by epidemiological studies (population surveys), and now large scale clinical studies are being sponsored by the U. S. government. [8-15]

Heart Disease
Epidemiological studies have shown that persons with low-selenium diets have two-to-three times greater risk of heart disease than those eating selenium rich diets. [16] In a clinical study, patients with blockage of all three coronary arteries had low blood selenium levels, while those with high blood selenium levels were healthy and free of coronary heart disease. [17] Strikingly, those with one diseased coronary artery had the next highest blood selenium levels, and those with two blocked coronary arteries had the second lowest blood selenium levels.

Clearly, the antioxidant protection of the selenium-containing enzymes, GPX and PHGPX, protect the arteries and cholesterol-carrying lipoproteins against the damage that leads to heart disease.

Arthritis
Arthritic inflammation is produced by certain hormone-like compounds called prostaglandins. Selenium is involved in controlling these specific prostaglandins by controlling the free-radical damage that stimulates their production.

Norwegian physicians had noted that arthritis patients tended to have low blood selenium levels. When their arthritis ***patients were given selenium supplements, they dramatically** improved. [18] A Danish study has confirmed the Norwegian study. [19]

Hypothyroidism
Selenium is a component of the enzyme that is needed to produce the thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3). T3 is the preponderant metabolic thyroid hormone. The selenium-containing enzyme, iodothyronine deiodinase, converts the prohormone thyroxine (T4) into T3. [20]

This explains the observation that selenium deficiency impairs thyroid hormone function. Impaired thyroid hormone function is called hypothyroidism and affects many body functions.

__________________
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~

Dear Kind2Creatures,

Thank you for this wonderful information. I will it be passed on to others.

Thanks greenmom. Selenium is one of my favored supplements. It's a very powerful antioxidant. With supplementation, one has to be careful of overdose. 400 mcg is a daily tolerable limit. I think, with women, it is lower. Toxicity is not normal, when getting selenium only through food sources.

Here is an excellent site for selenium, and other, information in regards to food.

https://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...trient&dbid=95

They don't include Brazil nuts in their list only because they don't include them in their food info on the rest of the site.

Selenium is indirectly responsible for keeping the body's supply of at least three other nutrients intact: these three other nutrients are vitamin C, glutathione, and vitamin E. It is a companion nutrient when following an iodine therapy as well. This is how I was introduced to selenium in the first place.

__________________
- Jim
https://www.natmedtalk.com/blogs/jfh

Dear JFH,

According to Dr. Gao at Indiana University School of Medicine, the daily recommended intake of selenium is 55 mcgs and that amount is recommended for individuals over the age of 72.

That does seem lower than many of the multivitamins I have checked out. Most have at least 100 mcgs listed.

Thank you Jim for the information. I will pass it on.


Sharon

One of the most beneficial effects of selenium is that it chelates mercury from the body,(zinc is also important) and would suggest two Brazil nuts per day for a senior citizen.

The brain does not function properly when contaminated with toxins/metals

__________________
Let Food Be Your Medicine And Medicine Be Your Food.(Hippocrates)

Expanding upon what pinballdoctor has said, here is an interesting short article on that chelation.

For myself, I try to limit my intake to 200mcg and hope for the rest from foods. When I buy supplements, I try to get L-selenomethionine first, otherwise I get selenium from yeast. I also try to ensure that the vendor is not getting it from China; as they sometimes will add some elemental selenium to cut costs. That is dangerous; as you really would need to keep the dosage small. You can take 4x the amount of selenomethionine before toxicity as you would with elemental selenium.

Thank you pinball doctor and jfh,

Interesting about selenium helping to remove the body of toxins, such as mercury. I know for a fact that spirulina does. I've written a book about it.

Yes, I would agree that the elderly would have a strong need to eliminate toxins. That's something I will need to address in my column.

Thank you!