When it comes to supplementing minerals, many people first think of calcium, iron, zinc, and in fact, there is an element that cannot be ignored - selenium.
Selenium is an essential trace element that is found in almost all tissues, organs and fluids of the human body, and plays an important role in improving human immunity and preventing cancer.
"Selenium" is expensive
According to relevant statistics, there are more than 40 countries in the world that lack selenium, and China is one of them. 72% of the mainland is low selenium content, of which nearly 30% is severely deficient in selenium.
At present, the per capita selenium intake in the mainland is less than 30 micrograms / day, which is far lower than the per capita daily intake standard of 50-250 micrograms / day advocated by the Chinese Nutrition Society.
When the human body is in a state of selenium deficiency for a long time, it is easy to lead to a decline in human immunity, which in turn causes a variety of diseases.
The five effects of selenium
Strengthens human immunity
Selenium has the highest content in human lymph nodes, liver and spleen tissues, which can stimulate human immunoglobulin to produce more antibodies, thereby enhancing autoimmune function and achieving the role of resisting germs.
Control diabetes and reduce complications
Selenium has the same function as insulin, on the one hand, enhance the ability of tissue cells to absorb blood sugar, promote the conversion of blood sugar into glycogen in cells, and achieve the purpose of reducing blood sugar, on the other hand, selenium can also improve the state of increased blood viscosity of diabetes and delay the occurrence of diabetic complications.
Prevention of cardiovascular disease
Selenium is a strong antioxidant, which can remove harmful free radicals in the body in time, protect the integrity of cell membranes on arterial blood vessel walls, prevent atherosclerosis, and reduce the formation of blood clots. Selenium can also regulate cholesterol and triglycerides in the human body, reduce blood viscosity, and prevent stroke, cerebral infarction, myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular diseases.
Anti-oxidation, anti-aging
When the human body undergoes aerobic metabolism, it releases a large number of free radicals, which can lead to a series of health problems such as aging, cataracts, and arthritis. Selenium activates antioxidants in the body and reduces the damage caused by oxidation.
Prevention of thyroid disease
Selenium is the second most essential trace element of the thyroid gland. Selenium deficiency can easily lead to the disorder of the human immune system, increase the risk of thyroiditis and hyperthyroidism, and also reduce the body's utilization rate of thyroid hormones and increase the crisis of goiter.
Scientific selenium supplementation is key
There are so many benefits of selenium, but the human body cannot synthesize selenium on its own, and can only obtain it from the outside world. If you want to supplement selenium more scientifically and efficiently, you can try these methods.
Eat foods high in selenium
Eggs
Eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs and other eggs are rich in selenium, of which per 100 grams of food, eggs contain 23ug of selenium, duck eggs contain 30ug of selenium, and goose eggs contain 33ug of selenium.
Seafood
Shrimp, crab, blue fish, sardines and other seafood not only have high selenium content, but also rich in calcium and iodine, giving the human body more nutritional value.
Animal offal
Selenium is high in animal internal organs, such as animal hearts, livers, etc. It should be noted that the content of visceral fat is high, and people suffering from high blood lipids, high cholesterol, and obesity should eat less as much as possible.
vegetable
Plant foods such as cauliflower, broccoli, garlic, onions, lilies, yellow cauliflower, cowpeas and other plant foods contain selenium, which can be eaten in moderation in the daily diet.
Choose nutritional supplements
People with picky eating habits or partial eating habits who are difficult to meet their daily selenium supplementation needs through food supplements, can choose to consume nutritional supplements containing selenium to improve the absorption and utilization of selenium and help the body maintain the best immunity.
Nutrients are stacked to double the effect of selenium supplementation
Selenium + vitamin E + β carotene is known as the "super anti-cancer combination".
When there is a malignant tumor that invades the human body, vitamin E can prevent the formation of harmful peroxides; Selenium can destroy peroxides that have formed; β carotene has antioxidant properties and can prevent malignant tumors. The combination of the three jointly protects human health.
Supplement probiotics to improve selenium absorption
The intestine is the largest immune organ in the human body, 70% of the immunity is activated through gastrointestinal synthesis, supplementing probiotics, not only helping to maintain the balance of intestinal flora, but also helping selenium, zinc, iron, phosphorus and other trace elements to be better absorbed and utilized by the body.