Selenium is an antioxidant that helps protect the body and is also vital in the production of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase, which helps detoxify the body. It is mostly found in Brazil nuts, walnuts, tuna, beef, poultry, fortified bread and other grain products.
It plays a critical role in metabolism and thyroid function and also helps protect our body from damage caused by oxidative stress. Selenium also helps to boost your immune system, slow age-related mental decline, and even reduce risk of heart disease.
Selenium deficiency can produce a range of symptoms such as:
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Infertility in men and women
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Muscle weakness and fatigue
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Hair loss
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Weakened immune system
Five food rich in Selenium are:
Brazil nuts
Brazil nuts are native to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, Bolivia & Peru. Their smooth, buttery texture and nutty flavour are typically enjoyed raw or blanched plus these nuts are energy-dense, highly nutritious, and one of the most concentrated dietary sources of the mineral selenium. Eating Brazil nuts may benefit your health in several ways, like regulating thyroid gland, reducing inflammation, supporting heart, brain, and immune system.
Walnuts
Three-four walnuts a day is perfect to start your workout as it provides healthy fats, fibre, vitamins & minerals and that’s just the beginning of how they may support your health. There’s so much interest in this one nut that for the past 50 years, scientists and industry experts have gathered annually at the University of California, Davis, for a walnut conference discussing the latest walnut health research.
Tuna
Yellowfin tuna contains about 92 mcg of selenium per 3 ounces (oz), thus making it an excellent source of selenium.
Eggs
Eggs are so nutritious that they’re often called “nature’s multivitamin” and they also contain unique antioxidants and powerful brain nutrients that many people are deficient in. One boiled egg has about 20 mcg of selenium.
Fortified Bread
Selenium-enriched bread, designed to give consumers their daily required intake of the selenium and to prevent its deficiency.
Selenium reduces the formation of thrombosis in the blood vessels. According to Fogarty, blood coagulation disorders leading to the formation of micro-clots are a significant cause of death in patients with COVID-19.
(Source: NCBI-NIH Paper titled: “Selenium supplementation in the prevention of coronavirus infections (COVID-19)”)
The recommended Daily Value (DV) for selenium is 55 micrograms (mcg) per day for adults and during pregnancy, a woman should consume 60 mcg, and lactating women should consume 70 mcg a day.
