Health Tip of the Day ~ Are You Getting Enough Selenium?

Selenium May protect against cancer

Studies have shown an inverse relationship between selenium levels and the risk of certain types of cancer. That means that people with low levels of selenium had higher cancer risks, while people with higher levels of selenium had lower risks of:

• Breast cancer.
• Lung cancer.
• Esophageal cancer.
• Gastric (stomach) cancer.
• Prostate cancer.

“Lower selenium intakes have been associated with increased cancer diagnoses,” Registered dietitian Kayla Kopp, RD, LD, Kopp says. “Selenium has been known to decrease cancer risk, as it helps to repair DNA damage that occurs in our bodies.”

How much selenium do you need?

For adults ages 19 and over, the recommended daily amount of selenium is 55 micrograms (mcg) per day. If you’re pregnant, you should be getting 60 mcg per day; if you’re lactating, that amount increases to 70 mcg per day.  Thinking about selenium supplements? Depending on where you live, you probably don’t need them. “Even though selenium is essential, we only need small amounts of it,” Kopp states. “In North America, it’s very rare to need selenium supplementation because foods grown here typically provide plenty of it through the soil.”   Get this: A single Brazil nut contains about 68–91 mcg. That means that just one or two of them will fulfill your daily selenium intake! Organ meats and seafood (especially yellowfin tuna, halibut, sardines and shrimp) are also high in selenium.

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