Can Selenium Cause Nail Damage

Foods containing the trace mineral selenium, including brazil nuts, almonds, mushrooms, oats, eggs, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, fish, chicken, liver, and meat

Selenium is a trace mineral, which means that the body only needs a small amount of it. Information technology is constitute naturally in foods or as a supplement. Selenium is an essential component of diverse enzymes and proteins, called selenoproteins, that assistance to make Dna and protect against cell damage and infections; these proteins are likewise involved in reproduction and the metabolism of thyroid hormones. Well-nigh selenium in the body is stored in musculus tissue, although the thyroid gland holds the highest concentration of selenium due to various selenoproteins that assistance with thyroid function.

Recommended Amounts

RDA: The Recommended Dietary Assart (RDA) for adult men and women 19+ years of age is 55 micrograms daily. Women who are significant and lactating demand about 60 and 70 micrograms daily, respectively.

UL: The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for selenium for all adults 19+ years of age and meaning and lactating women is 400 micrograms daily; a UL is the maximum daily intake unlikely to cause harmful effects on wellness.

Selenium and Health

Selenium is a component of selenoproteins and enzymes. These have antioxidant properties that aid to break down peroxides, which can harm tissues and Dna, leading to inflammation and other health issues.

Cancer

A Cochrane review of xiii prospective observational studies showed a 31% reduced risk of cancer and 45% reduced adventure of deaths from cancer in the groups with the highest selenium intakes or blood levels compared with the lowest selenium levels, particularly in men. [1] Nevertheless, the authors cautioned virtually weaknesses in the meta-analysis since there were differences amongst the study populations and possible inaccuracy when assessing dietary selenium (regional differences in the selenium content of food was not accounted for).

Some other Cochrane review of 83 randomized placebo-controlled trials did not find that selenium supplementation reduced the risk of any cancer type. In add-on, some of the trials noted a college incidence of type 2 diabetes with long-term utilise of selenium supplements (well-nigh 7 years) who had normal selenium blood levels at the first the of written report. Further research is needed to replicate this finding. [2]

Additional research is needed on the association of selenium and cancer before making specific dietary recommendations.

Thyroid affliction

There are high concentrations of selenium in the thyroid gland, where there are several selenium-containing enzymes regulating thyroid role. If the body does non have enough selenium, it tin lead to autoimmune thyroid atmospheric condition such as Hashimoto'due south disease and Graves' illness. Both of these conditions crusade the body to create antibodies that attack the thyroid gland, leading to an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) or underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism).

Randomized controlled trials studying selenium supplementation show mixed results. Supplements accept not been shown to significantly affect thyroid function in people with normal thyroid or mild hypothyroidism, despite causing increased blood levels of selenium. [3,iv] Other studies have shown selenium to decrease the amount of these antibodies and promote the activeness of selenoproteins, which work to subtract inflammation. [5]

The role of selenium supplementations for people with autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATD) is all the same unclear. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 9 controlled trials did not find that selenium supplements changed thyroid hormone part in people with ATD, nor did a Cochrane review. [6]

Cardiovascular disease

Selenoproteins help to protect cell membranes from damage by free radicals and keep claret platelets from becoming viscous, both of which can lead to heart disease. However, both accomplice studies and clinical trials have shown mixed results regarding the relationship of selenium and cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Observational studies have shown that people with both depression and high selenium exposure (based on dietary intake and claret levels) have an increased adventure of CVD. Others have found no clan at all. [seven] Clinical trials have not establish that selenium supplements reduce the risk of CVD or cardiac death; however these trials were small and included people who were not probable selenium deficient at the start of the study. [7]

Additional enquiry is needed on the association of selenium and CVD before making specific dietary recommendations.

Nutrient Sources

The amount of selenium in foods can vary widely depending on the selenium content of the soil in which it is grown. Soil content varies widely past region. Plant foods obtain selenium from soil, which volition and then impact the amount of selenium in animals eating those plants. Protein foods from animals are generally good sources of selenium. Seafood, organ meats, and Brazil nuts are the foods highest in selenium although Americans obtain well-nigh of their selenium from everyday staples, like breads, cereals, poultry, red meat, and eggs.

Brazil nuts
Fin fish and shellfish
Beef
Turkey
Craven
Fortified cereals
Whole-wheat bread
Beans, lentils

Signs of Deficiency and Toxicity

Deficiency

A deficiency of selenium in the U.South. is rare as the soil throughout North America is mostly rich in selenium. [seven] Even if people live in areas with lower-selenium soil, the transport of food across the region likewise equally the use of fortified foods and supplements reduce the risk of deficiency.

Two conditions are associated with severe selenium deficiency: i) Keshan disease, a blazon of cardiomyopathy, or affliction of heart muscle, and two) Kashin-Beck disease, a course of osteoarthritis.

Symptoms:

Nausea, vomiting
Headaches
Contradistinct mental state, defoliation
Lethargy
Seizures
Coma

Groups at risk for deficiency:

People living in low-selenium regions who also eat a primarily plant-based diet. This is rarely seen in the U.S., but populations in Cathay, Russia, and Europe are at run a risk as their soil is generally low in selenium. The run a risk is further increased in people living in these areas who eat a vegetarian or vegan diet
People with HIV. The virus can lead to diarrhea, malabsorption of nutrients, and decreased appetite.
People with kidney failure undergoing dialysis. This mechanical process of filtering the blood can remove some selenium. The dietary restrictions required with kidney failure can also decrease overall food intake, leading to a risk of selenium deficiency.

Toxicity

Chronically high intakes of selenium tin can lead to wellness bug, ranging from muscle tremors, hair loss, stomach upset, and lightheadedness, to more astringent outcomes of heart attack, respiratory distress, or kidney failure. Brazil basics are uncommonly high in selenium even when grown in low-selenium soil, with fifty-fifty i nut containing more than the RDA. Eating besides many of these nuts on a daily basis can reach a toxic level, likewise as using supplements that contain selenium in excess of the RDA.

Early symptoms:

Metallic taste, bad breath
Nausea, diarrhea
Hair loss
Smash brittleness or discoloration
Skin rash or lesions
Skin flushing
Fatigue
Irritability
Muscle tenderness

Did You Know?

Selenium and iodine have a synergistic human relationship that is particularly of import for a healthy thyroid. Iodine is a component of thyroid hormone, and selenium as a selenoprotein helps to convert the thyroid hormone into its active grade. Both minerals are needed by the thyroid in adequate amounts; too much of one tin can contribute to a deficiency of the other.
Selenium supplements are promoted to offer several benefits, including boosting immune function, improving hair and nail wellness, and supporting a salubrious thyroid. They are sometimes combined with other antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin Eastward or C. These supplements usually contain between 100-400 micrograms of selenium per dose (the Tolerable Upper intake Level is 400 micrograms). Withal, if a person is not at high run a risk for a deficiency, there is no evidence that taking a higher amount of selenium promotes the wellness benefits shown on these supplement labels.

References

Dennert One thousand, Zwahlen M, Brinkman M, Vinceti G, Zeegers MP, Horneber M. Selenium for preventing cancer. Sao Paulo Medical Journal. 2012;130(i).
Vinceti M, Filippini T, Del Giovane C, Dennert Thou, Zwahlen M, Brinkman M, Zeegers MP, Horneber Thousand, D'Amico R, Crespi CM. Selenium for preventing cancer. Cochrane database of systematic reviews. 2018(i).
Winther KH, Bonnema SJ, Cold F, Debrabant B, Nybo K, Cold Southward, Hegedüs L. Does selenium supplementation affect thyroid part? Results from a randomized, controlled, double-blinded trial in a Danish population. Eur J Endocrinol. 2015 Jun 1;172(six):657-67.
Rayman MP, Thompson AJ, Bekaert B, Catterick J, Galassini R, Hall E, Warren-Perry M, Beckett GJ. Randomized controlled trial of the effect of selenium supplementation on thyroid office in the elderly in the United Kingdom. The American periodical of clinical nutrition. 2008 February ane;87(2):370-viii.
Drutel A, Archambeaud F, Caron P. Selenium and the thyroid gland: more good news for clinicians. Clinical endocrinology. 2013 Feb;78(ii):155-64.
Winther KH, Wichman JE, Bonnema SJ, Hegedüs L. Bereft documentation for clinical efficacy of selenium supplementation in chronic autoimmune thyroiditis, based on a systematic review and meta-analysis. Endocrine. 2017 Feb;55(2):376-385.
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: Selenium Fact Sail for Health Professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/ Accessed 1/four/2020.

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