Selenium, a metal in our body, has three very important functions. First, selenium together with glutathione peroxidase is a major antioxidant and, as such, is a free radical scavenger. It enables organisms to survive with less oxygen. Second, selenium reacts with toxic metals to form biologically inert compounds. The metals that are toxic to our bodies but rendered harmless by selenium are mercury, cadmium, and arsenic. Third, there is a correlation between night vision and the selenium content of the retina; the higher the selenium content, the better the vision.

Rich dietary sources of selenium include organ meats such as liver, seafoods, and some whole-grain cereals (whole-grain cereals vary greatly in selenium content). It has been shown by G.N. Schrauzer and colleagues that the selenium content in pasteurized milk in Caracas, Venezuela, is ten times greater than that in milk in Beltsville, Maryland. Schrauzer and colleagues also studied the number of cancer deaths related to the amount of dietary-selenium intake from food consumption in twenty-seven different countries and nineteen different states in the United States. They have concluded that the higher the blood-selenium content, the lower the cancer incidence. The cancer incidence for each state correlates well with their selenium data. R.J. Shamberger has shown that selenium suppresses the development of skin tumors in animals. Shamberger and Willis have shown that in 1965, the higher the soil or crop level of selenium, the lower the cancer death rate in the United States and Canada. They also studied the population in several American cities and found that the higher the average blood selenium level, the lower the cancer death rate.

Another study demonstrates that rats depleted of selenium and fed a diet high in polyunsaturated fats developed breast cancer.168 My own research shows that selenium protects the cell membrane from attack by free radicals. Other research by R. Medina and colleagues shows that selenium fed daily to mice inhibits cancer from forming in them. The antioxidant property of selenium protects your body against cancer especially if your diet is high in polyunsaturated fats.

Several studies indicate that selenium deficiency corresponds to incidence of heart attacks.170-171 High rates of heart disease and heart attacks are evident in selenium-deprived children in China and in selenium-deprived adults in Finland. Deaths from heart attack are highest in Finland, New Zealand, and perhaps South Africa. These countries have widespread selenium deficiency compared to the United States. When selenium supplements are given to Chinese children, significant improvement occurs in their heart-disease rates.

Survival rates of offspring in animals is very sensitive to the amount of selenium in the mother. An average sow has four or five piglets per litter in areas of Finland with low selenium soil content. But when 0.1 milligram of selenium is added to the diet, the litter size increases to ten.

Schrauzer maintains that the average selenium intake of the American population is only one-half of the amount required “for optimal protection against neoplastic [cancer] disease.” The average American diet contains between 50 and 160 micrograms of selenium per day, depending on area of residence. The recent recommendation by the National Research Council for selenium consumption is between 50 and 200 micrograms per day, but Schrauzer concludes from his studies that at least 300 micrograms of selenium per day are needed for cancer protection. Selenium toxicity occurs after prolonged ingestion of 2,400 to 3,000 micrograms of selenium per day.

Obviously, selenium is not the only factor involved in cancer development or its progression, and it would be unwarranted to consume a great deal of selenium every day thinking that it alone would prevent cancer. However, depending upon where you live, you could take supplemental selenium in the amount of 100 to 200 micrograms per day, assuming that you are living in an area with an adequate selenium content and assuming that you are eating a well-balanced diet. Vegetarians, dieters, and people living in areas of the country without adequate selenium stores will require about 200 micrograms of selenium per day. A study shows that a total of 500 micrograms of selenium per day is safely tolerated by people in Japan. Organic selenium, as found in certain yeasts, is better than inorganic selenium for supplementation because it has less systemic toxicity at high concentrations, it resists chemical changes, and it is stable during food processing.

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