Selenium

Our Price: $8.60

Quantity: 60 capsules

Supplement Facts (amount per capsule):

Selenium - 200mcg

Suggested Use: Take 1 capsule, 1-2 times daily.

The trace mineral selenium makes its way into our bodies because it is contained in certain foods. Over time, it becomes part of nearly every cell, with particularly high concentrations in the kidneys, liver, pancreas, spleen, and testes.

Selenium has many tasks to perform in the body. It helps to boost the immune system and fight off infection, providing a general increase in the body's defense against dangerous bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. On a basic cellular level, every cell in the body needs a particular hormone from the thyroid gland that selenium helps to convert to an active form.

Perhaps the most famed use of selenium in supplement form is as an antioxidant; it helps to mop up dangerous molecules known as free radicals that can damage and alter healthy cells. It has also been recommended for staving off the effects of aging. In many cases there's relatively weak evidence for these uses. But not all.

Selenium may help to:

Prevent cancer. Test-tube studies indicate that in addition to fostering healthy cell growth and division, selenium discourages the formation of tumors.

When researchers at Cornell University and the University of Arizona pooled results from 5-year studies designed to assess the effects of selenium supplements (200 mcg daily), they came up with some startling findings: Compared with the rest of the population, participants had 63% fewer prostate cancers, 58% fewer colorectal tumors, and 46% fewer lung cancers. Overall, their death rate from cancer was 39% lower than the average.