A Deficiency in a Single Mineral Can Create a Multitude of Health Problems Throughout the Body

“Our formulations contain so many single nutrients because each one becomes dependent on the other to achieve in the body, a therapeutic change.”

Could a deficiency of a key mineral/nutrient create thyroid dysfunction, influence pathogens and microorganisms to cause damage, increase HIV progression to AIDS, reduce sperm motility, increase the risk of miscarriage, create adverse mood states, and increase the risk of developing cancer? If the missing nutrient is administered into the body to reach normal levels, could it theoretically reverse these disease conditions from happening?

The nutrient we are referring to in this case is selenium, and why it is so important, especially when combined with synergistic nutrients to treat the body holistically. It is important to understand that from a diseased state—when the body receives the nutrients that are depleted—it sets off a chain reaction that has a ripple effect to begin aligning the body back to the state of health.

What is selenium and why is it important?

“The essential trace mineral, selenium, is of fundamental importance to human health. As a constituent of selenoproteins, selenium has structural and enzymic roles, in the latter context being best-known as an antioxidant and catalyst for the production of active thyroid hormone.”[1]

Selenium can be found in various sources, including soil and water but also in plants (grains, brail-nuts, and sunflower seeds etc.) and animal products, like seafood, meat, eggs and dairy.

Findings have shown that selenium can be beneficial in the following cases:

  • Immune System: essential for proper functioning. A study showed that zinc and selenium were among the most prevalent micronutrient deficiencies in patients admitted to a hospital’s infectious disease ward. Accordingly, 66.7% of the patients were deficient in zinc, and 46.6% were deficient in selenium.[2]
  • Thyroid Disease: supplementing with selenium at a therapeutic dosage, has been found to reduce thyroid antibodies, reduce thyroid symptoms, and improve overall well-being. “Selenium is an important trace element and antioxidant required for healthy thyroid hormone synthesis and metabolism. The human thyroid gland has been found to have the highest content of selenium per gram of tissue among all the organs in the human body. Selenium supports the conversion of your body’s inactive thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4) into triiodothyronine (T3), the biologically active form your body needs. It protects your body’s thyroid cells from oxidative damage during this process.”[3]
  • HIV/AIDS: counters development of virulence and inhibits HIV progression to AIDS.
  • Reproductive Health: necessary for sperm motility; may reduce miscarriage risk.
  • Mood: deficiency linked to adverse mood states.
  • Oxidative Stress and Inflammation: higher levels show benefits. Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) is the primary selenoprotein in the human body, helping to regulate the excessive production of free radicals at sites of inflammation. During COVID-19, GPX can reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, potentially lowering the severity of the disease.[4]
  • Cancer Risk: elevated intake may lower risk. “Some of the selenium containing compounds (…) can acts as cancer preventive and therapeutics (…). These compounds directly or indirectly exhibit antioxidant properties which can sustain the intracellular redox status and these activities protect the healthy cells from reactive oxygen species induced oxidative damage.”[5]

The list, of course, does not end here because selenium deficiency contributes to many other various diseases, “such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, liver disease, and arthropathy—Kashin–Beck disease (KBD) and osteoarthritis (OA). A skeletal developmental disorder, KBD has been reported in low-selenium areas of China, North Korea, and the Siberian region of Russia, and can be alleviated by selenium supplementation. OA, the most common form of arthritis, is a degenerative disease caused by an imbalance in matrix metabolism and is characterized by cartilage destruction. Oxidative stress serves as a major cause of the initiation of OA pathogenesis.”[6]

Selenium is a crucial trace mineral for both humans and animals, with a narrow concentration range between deficiency and toxicity. Generally, for adults ages 19 and over, the recommended daily amount of selenium is 55 micrograms (mcg) per day, and while it is normally accepted that it might be higher, it should not exceed more than 400 mcg a day. According to research, there are countries where selenium concentrations in the soil and food are excessively high, these are rather on the selenium toxicity side—some regions of China, parts of the United States or Venezuela can be mentioned as examples. Systematic analysis reveals that Middle Eastern countries (e.g. Iran, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria) on the other hand have inadequate selenium intake and status, highlighting inconsistencies in sustainability measures. This underscores the need for establishing accepted blood selenium concentration ranges or other indicators to ensure proper intake and supplementation, especially for at-risk groups. Increased efforts are necessary to evaluate selenium content in the Middle Eastern population and its health impacts.[7]

Life Choice products containing selenium:

Our formulations contain so many single nutrients because each one becomes dependent on the other to achieve in the body, a therapeutic change.

The human body, complex as it is, has the ability of healing itself when given the right nutrients and brought into a state of balance. For this to happen awareness of the need must first be acknowledged. Lifestyle changes become necessary, unfortunately, our lives are surrounded by environmental toxins, and geoengineered food. To address the shortfalls of healthy living nutraceutical supplementation becomes necessary. There is one global standard for quality nutrients, USP pharmaceutical grade, the grade Life Choice uses. With these changes in place, your body will maintain a balanced equilibrium and a healthy life.

References:

[1] Rayman, M.P. 2000.

[2] Dizdar, Oguzhan Sıtkı et al. 2016.

[3] Wentz, Izabella. 2024.

[4] Taylor, Ethan Will and Radding, Wilson. 2020.

[5] Hariharan, Sneha and Dharmaraj, Selvakumar. 2020.

[6] Kang, Donghyun et al. 2020.

[7] Kieliszek, Marek et al. 2022.