Why do you need selenium supplements?

Mondo Health Updated on 2024-03-01

01

Properties of selenium. Characteristic 1: Rare but important.

Selenium is a trace element required by the human body (less than 001% minerals), in very small amounts in the human body (6-20mg).

Despite this, selenium is essential for life activities within the human body and is directly related to the survival and health of the individual.

Characteristic 2: It cannot be synthesized in the body, and can only be supplemented by food.

Selenium cannot be synthesized in the human body, it must be supplemented by external food (drinking water, eating plants and animals), its intake is excessive, insufficient, unbalanced or lacking, will cause human physiological abnormalities or diseases to varying degrees.

Soil selenium deficiency. A team from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences conducted field surveys of soils in more than 2,000 counties across the country.

According to their survey, only 1 in 3 counties have soils that meet the internationally published normal cut-off value of 01 mg kg, while 2 3 regions showed a lack of selenium. Among them, the selenium content is less than 002mg kg accounts for 29% of the area, which is an area with extreme selenium deficiency.

The results show that 72% of China's 22 provinces and cities have selenium deficiency problems, hundreds of millions of people are distributed in these selenium-poor and low-selenium areas, and about 700 million people are facing the threat of selenium deficiency.

Because the soil is poor in selenium, it is difficult to breed plants rich in selenium. These plants and animals have low levels of selenium, and when people ingest these organisms, they cannot adequately replenish the required selenium, so we will also have selenium deficiency.

Environmental pollution. In today's society, the problem of environmental pollution is becoming more and more serious, and the large-scale use of chemical fertilizers has led to the enrichment of a large number of heavy metals in the air and soil, which poses a serious threat to human health. Those who have been exposed to toxic substances for a long time need to increase their intake of selenium.

When toxic substances adsorb on the surface of organs, it is often difficult for drugs to effectively excrete them. Selenium has a strong affinity with heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, lead, arsenic, etc., and negatively charged selenium can combine with positively charged heavy metals to form selenium-metal-protein complexes and promote their excretion.

Due to industrial pollution, acid rain and other factors, large amounts of sulfur dioxide can react with selenium and hinder the absorption of selenium by plants.

The lack of selenium in the soil, combined with the effects of pollution, leads to a continuous decrease in selenium levels in the food chain.

Selenium deficiency caused by cooking methods.

At present, the mainstream cooking methods include frying, frying, stuffing and sautéing, however, these methods will lead to the loss of selenium content in food, with an average loss rate of 987% to 287%.

For example, a fresh egg (not deficient in selenium) contains 233 mcg of selenium. If the cooking method is used, the selenium loss rate is 5%, but if you choose to decoction, the selenium has lost 20%.

Due to the low selenium content of food, selenium ingestion will become more scarce after further selenium loss during cooking.

Selenium is consumed by physiological activity.

Selenium is an indispensable element in the body's vital activities, and its metabolic cycle in the body is 16 days. Normal metabolic processes are dependent on the participation of selenium, so it is necessary to consume and excrete selenium.

If there is a lack of sufficient selenium content in the food consumed for a long time, the consumed selenium cannot be replenished, which will eventually lead to a lack of selenium in the body.

Poor lifestyle.

Poor lifestyle, such as smoking, alcoholism, excessive barbecue, drinking carbonated drinks, staying up late, working overtime, and being in a state of mental stress for a long time, can lead to excessive consumption and excretion of selenium, which in turn leads to selenium deficiency problems.

People who smoke and drink alcohol need to increase their selenium intake. After drinking too much alcohol, trace elements such as selenium and zinc in the liver will be metabolized and consumed, so excessive drinking all year round can easily lead to selenium deficiency, increase the risk of liver disease, and thus affect life expectancy.

Tobacco contains the heavy metal cadmium, while selenium has a detoxifying effect and can bind to cadmium and be excreted with the body. If it's difficult to quit smoking, you can help reduce the damage caused by increasing your intake of selenium-rich foods. Selenium neutralizes and detoxifies toxins produced by smoking and drinking.

Long-term high intake of alcohol can damage liver health, manifest as fatty liver and other conditions, and may progress to severe cirrhosis. Regular selenium supplementation promotes the catabolism of ethanol, reduces the discomfort associated with excessive ethanol intake, and protects liver health.

People who are regularly exposed to radiation sources such as television, computers, and mobile phones need to supplement with selenium because increased intake can protect the hematopoietic system and minimize the damage caused by radiation.

Absorption dysfunction of the small intestine.

The absorption of selenium occurs mainly in the small intestine, and if the small intestine is dysfunctional, then the absorption rate of selenium decreases.

For example, if you consume 50 micrograms of selenium in food, if the small intestine absorbs 80% of the selenium when it enters the body, then the actual amount of selenium absorbed is 40 micrograms. However, if the small intestine does not absorb 30% well, then only 15 micrograms of selenium can actually be absorbed.

The Chinese Nutrition Society conducted a survey on the dietary status of residents across the country and found that the average daily intake of selenium in 13 provinces was between 26 and 32 micrograms, which is far from the minimum intake of 50 micrograms recommended by the World Health Organization.

On the Internet, if there is any infringement, please contact to delete.

Related Pages