Symptoms of Selenium Deficiency

Are there any nutrients that help Selenium work more effectively?
Vitamin E, vitamin C, lipoic acid, NAC, and all antioxidants increase the effectiveness of Selenium.

Cardiovascular Health
Selenium appears to help stimulate antibody formation in response to vaccines. It is also thought to offer protection against cardiovascular disease, possibly by its antioxidant function. Studies show an increased incidence of strokes and other cardiovascular problems in many low-selenium areas.¹⁰

Cancer
Selenium is being found to have an anticarcinogenic effect; its blood or tissue levels may correlate more closely with cancer risk than those of any other substance. Public health research shows good selenium levels correlate with low cancer rates and low levels with increased cancer rates.¹⁰

Toxins
Selenium protects us from the toxic effects of heavy metals and other substances. People with adequate selenium intake have fewer adverse effects from cigarette smoking, alcohol, oxidized fats, and mercury and cadmium toxicity.¹⁰

Antioxidant
The antioxidant function of selenium likely decreases vascular clogging of inflamed artery linings by soothing irritation and binding free radicals. Some evidence suggests that selenium supplementation is also helpful in reducing menopausal symptoms. Selenium also has an immuno-stimulating function that is very useful in the treatment of many immuno-suppression diseases.¹⁰

Anti-inflammatory
Selenium’s anti-inflammatory effect has helped relieve rheumatoid arthritis and arthritis symptoms.³

Birth Defects
Selenium is crucial in preventing birth defects.³

Vaccinations: The Overlooked Factors
Autism Research Review International. 1998 V.12, No.1, p.3. by Bernard Rimland, Ph.D.
“…NUTRITION. In my view, the most important, and by far the most feasible, approach to preventing damage by toxins of all kinds, including the toxins in vaccines (vaccines contain mercury, aluminum and formaldehyde, in addition to germs) is to help the child's developing, immature immune system by providing generous amounts of the nutrients the body needs if it is going to be able to protect itself from a dangerous, toxin-laden world.

In his book Every Second Child (1 98 1), Archie Kalokerinos, an Australian physician, tells us that the death rate among the aborigine children he was assigned to help was an astounding 50%! His investigation showed these deaths to be associated with vaccinations, and he found the children's diets to be severely deficient in vitamin C. By merely administering vitamin C (I 00 mg per month of age), he dropped the death rate to nearly zero.

In my view, and in the view of many others who have studied these problems, every mother-to-be, starting well before conception, should be taking significant (several grams a day, at least) amounts of vitamin C, and every child should also be given supplements-especially in view of the stress on the immune system imposed by vaccines.

But vitamin C is by no means the only nutrient that should be supplemented if the immune system is to develop and function effectively. Nutrients known to be effective in autism, vitamin B6 and DMG, have been shown in laboratory studies to enhance immune function. The minerals zinc and selenium, both implicated in many cases of autism, are critical in immune function.

Nutrition is the single most important determinant of immune function, according to world authority R. K. Chandra, who specifically mentions zinc, selenium, iron, copper, vitamins A, C, E, B6, and folic acid.

The message is very clear: mothers should take a high quality, broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement before conception, and during pregnancy and lactation. And every child should also be getting extra nutrients through mother's milk or along with food, if the immune system is to develop property. The cost of not doing so may be very high.