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What Is Selenium? Selenium Benefits & More!

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It’s amazing how many nutrients we receive on a daily basis that are vital to our health that we don’t even think about. Sure, you might give your child milk because you know they need the calcium to help their bones strong as they grow. If you’re pregnant, you might consciously eat more foods that contain folate in order to help your baby develop healthily. But did you ever think, “I need to eat something that contains selenium so that I get enough”? I don’t know about you, but I find selenium to be one of the unsung heroes. Most of us automatically get enough of it, so we, therefore, don’t appreciate it as much as other nutrients.

But selenium is absolutely essential to a healthy body and lifestyle. As you will soon see, a deficiency of this nutrient can lead to uncomfortable and upsetting side effects. It might not make a lot of noise, but don’t let its humility fool you. This is one incredibly important mineral!

What Is Selenium? What Is A Selenium Deficiency?

Woman wearing sunglasses laughing touching hair ends.

Having enough selenium is essential for your health.

So what is selenium? And what is a selenium deficiency? Selenium is a mineral found in various foods. Your body needs it to protect it from disease and keep it healthy. It’s is a powerful antioxidant. It’s antiviral, boosts your metabolism, and is essential to fertility.

A selenium deficiency, as you’ve probably worked out on your own, is when your body isn’t receiving enough of this nutrient. Because your body can’t produce it on its own, you need to be getting enough of this super-important vitamin through your diet. Luckily, a deficiency in countries like the US is rare. That’s because most of us get plenty through our diet (US soil contains a lot of selenium), and it’s not a mineral that your body needs a whole lot of. Still, for people with health conditions like Crohn’s disease, or for people in other countries where the soil does not contain as much selenium (like in China or Russia), a deficiency is far more common.

Top Symptoms Of Selenium Deficiency

There are a few symptoms that, when all present at the same time, point to a selenium deficiency. Some of the top symptoms of a deficiency include:

  • Excessive hair loss (including leg and underarm hair)
  • Changes in nail color or other parts of the skin
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Mental fog (struggling to remember things or focus)
  • Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
  • Fertility issues (poor sperm quality or repeated miscarriages)
  • Lowered immunity (more colds, coughs etc.)
  • Achy muscles

Some of these may sound serious. But luckily, they can be managed or reversed by treating the deficiency. Since these symptoms can also be caused by other conditions or diseases, most doctors will test for other conditions as well as selenium deficiency.

What Causes Selenium Deficiency?

Older man and woman smiling.

Older people are more at risk for a selenium deficiency.

What causes a deficiency? Being that we receive this nutrient from our diets, people whose diets don’t contain a lot of selenium run a higher risk of developing a deficiency. Individuals who live in areas where the soil doesn’t contain too much selenium, like in China, are commonly not getting enough of this nutrient. This is because the plants aren’t absorbing enough and the animals who eat the plants are also not receiving enough of this mineral – which means that the people eating the plants and animals are also likely to be deficient in selenium.

Elderly people (over 90) are also more likely to be deficient, because their bodies don’t absorb as much food and therefore don’t absorb as many nutrients either. They can also forget or refuse to eat meals, which can make the problem even worse.

Other people who are more likely be low in selenium are people with impaired intestinal functions. This includes people with Crohn’s disease, intestinal TB or celiac disease. They are often put on TPN (total parenteral nutrition) which might not be providing their bodies with enough selenium.

And finally, people who are undergoing gastrointestinal bypass surgeries are at risk of low selenium levels. Because they are not absorbing as much food, they’re likely to be deficient in certain nutrients, including selenium.

All these situations can cause people to be deficient in this particular nutrient, so it’s important to keep an eye on selenium levels if you or someone close to you falls under one of the above categories.

Selenium Deficiency And Hair Loss Explained

Two women smiling.

Your body needs enough selenium in order to give you a healthy head of hair.

One of the main symptoms of a selenium deficiency, as I said before, is hair loss. Think about it: it’s an antioxidant, and an antioxidant’s job is to fight off free radical damage. Free radical damage manifests itself in many ways, and one of them is hair loss. So it makes sense that by not getting enough antioxidants like selenium, your hair is at the mercy of those free radicals and can start to fall out. But that’s not the only way that a deficiency is linked to hair loss.

The thyroid hormone is known to regulate hair growth among people suffering from certain kinds of hair loss. But since an underactive thyroid is very often associated with a selenium deficiency, low levels can negatively affect your thyroid and the thyroid hormone and can cause hair to fall out. So, keep your selenium levels in check, and enjoy beautiful, healthy hair.

How To Avoid Selenium Deficiency

Hands cooking fish in pan with utensil.

Eating fish can reduce your risk of a selenium deficiency.

Obviously, in order to avoid a deficiency, you have to make sure you are getting enough of it in your diet. Think about the foods that make up your diet. If you’re worried that you might be deficient, try to increase your intake of foods that are high in this essential mineral. These include brazil nuts (even 2 nuts is almost your entire recommended selenium intake for the day!), proteins like fish (yellowfin tuna, sardines), meats (beef, lamb, chicken), animal organs (liver, sweetbreads) and eggs, as well as vegetables like spinach and cabbage. You might also want to try taking selenium supplements.

Conclusion

You may not need a lot of it, but without it, your body couldn’t function! If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms I mentioned, and you think you may not be getting enough selenium in your diet, it isn’t too late to start. Cook yourself some meat for dinner. Have an egg salad for lunch. Throw some spinach into your morning smoothie. Luckily for us, this mineral is packed into some of your favorite foods. So you can enjoy your meals and keep your body healthy, both at the same time!