Selenium and Cancer
Selenium
To Prevent and Treat Cancer©
By
Susan Turner
Medical Writer
If you want to prevent cancer or if you have cancer, thank
the American Medical Association (AMA) for its wonderful
Christmas gift. On December 25, 1996, the AMA published
the results of the ten year double blind study on selenium
and its correlation with cancer conducted by Dr. Larry Clark
and other researchers at the University of Arizona and throughout
the United States.
Dr.
Clark's study (involving 1312 participants over a ten year
period) found that 200 mcg (micrograms) of selenium a day
reduced cancer mortality by 50 percent. In addition, the
people who had taken selenium had 63 percent fewer prostate
cancers, 58 percent fewer colorectal cancers, 46 percent
fewer lung cancers and overall 37% fewer cancers. Selenium
was found to reduce the risk of lung cancer to a greater
degree than stopping smoking.
Selenium,
a trace element found in its organic form in undepleted
soils, to date has shown greater results than any other
single nutrient to prevent and treat cancer and various
autoimmune diseases. Because plants do not require selenium,
and soil content of selenium can vary from very high to
barely measurable from one region to another, there are
no predictable food sources that can yield consistent levels
of nutritional selenium. In fact many of the U.S. farm soils
today are virtually depleted of many minerals
.
For this reason, selenium deficiencies may today be more
prevalent than ever before and what is today considered
a normal level may in fact be a deficiency. A wide variety
of recent studies involving both animals and humans have
linked such diseases as cystic fibrosis, muscular weakness,
various muscular wasting diseases such as myotonic dystrophy,
rheumatoid arthritis, and many cancers (including prostate,
liver, lung, breast, and colorectal cancers) with either
selenium deficiencies or with what the FDA considers normal
selenium levels. When only small daily doses - 200 mcg --
have been added to the diet, positive dramatic results have
been seen in both prevention and remission of disease.
In
Dr. Clark's study, all participants had a “normal” selenium
blood count, according to FDA standards. Yet those receiving
placebos had almost twice the rate of cancer as those receiving
selenium supplementation. This and previous studies indicate
that perhaps higher levels of selenium are needed than those
specified by the FDA.
As
early as the 1960's, Dr. Raymond Shamberger and his colleagues
at the Roswell Park Memorial Institute began researching
the anticarcinogenic (cancer inhibiting) properties of selenium.
Because it was known that selenium is an antioxidant and
that an increase in free radicals increased the rate of
cancer, Dr. Shamberger and his associates hypothesized that
selenium would wage war against cancers and free radicals.
Their study documented a profound reduction of skin cancer
in mice when selenium was applied topically in higher than
normal levels. In fact selenium was found to be the most
powerful and effective antioxidant tested in cancer reduction.
Dr. Shamberger's study, published in 1966, paved the way
for many more studies, which over the next three decades
demonstrated that selenium is the most versatile and potent
cancer preventing agent known. In subsequent studies, selenium
was found to protect rodents from virtually every cancer
tested including breast cancer, often reducing tumor yield
by 50% or more. It was found effective in both the early
stages and growth stages of cancer development.
Although
many other nutrients are now known to be anticarcinogenic,
none have proven as effective as selenium in a tiny dose.
Recent research suggests, however, that the antioxidant
function of selenium may not be the prime attribute of its
anticarcinogenic properties. Drs. Howard Ganther and Clement
have presented evidence that a metabolite of selenium, --
methylselenide - may be primarily responsible for selenium's
anti-carcinogenic effect.
In
China, where the selenium levels in the soils varies much
more dramatically than in the United States and the population
is less mobile, an ecological study in 1985 showed dramatic
results in linking cancer with selenium deficiencies. Dr.
Shu-Yu Yu measured the selenium content of blood stored
in blood banks in 30 different regions in China, and classified
the regions as high selenium, medium selenium, and low selenium.
They then compared death rates from cancer to the selenium
rates and found there was an exact correlation. In the low
selenium classification, three times as many people died
from cancer as in the high selenium classification.
Dr.
Shu-Yu Yu subsequently performed double blind studies on
subjects at high risk for liver cancer as indicated by the
presence of the Hepatitis B antigen in their blood. Of the
226 subjects, 50 percent received 200 mcgs of selenium a
day while the others received placebos. After four years
of supplementation, the incidence of liver cancer was 45%
lower in the group treated with selenium.
But
it was not until the AMA's recent publication of Dr. Larry
Clark's double blind study, initially sponsored by Nutrition
21 and then completed because of a timely grant from the
American Institute of Cancer Research and funding from the
American Cancer Society and National Institute of Health,
that America became aware of the protective benefits of
selenium supplementation. In fact the FDA had only two years
earlier stated that selenium was toxic and should not be
allowed to be sold freely and was attempting to remove it
from store shelves. Thanks to the efforts of the Life Extension
Foundation and the protest by the American public at large,
Congress passed a bill in 1994 limiting the FDA's jurisdiction
over the sale of natural dietary supplements.
Dr.
Clark began his selenium study with the aid and cooperation
of dermatologists and dermatology clinics in the southern
states along the Atlantic coast (where soil selenium levels
are relatively low and skin cancers are high). The initial
objective of the research was to determine a correlation
between selenium supplementation and skin cancer.
Of
the 1,312 patients in the study, 50 percent received 200
mcgs of selenium daily and 50 percent received sugar pills.
Dr. Clark found that selenium supplements didn't have any
effect on skin cancers, but halfway through the study the
researchers decided to look at other forms of cancer and
the number of deaths caused by cancer. The findings were
so dramatic that the double blind study, which was scheduled
to end in 1998, was stopped early for immediate publication.
Selenium
Combats Cancer and Premature Aging
There
are several reasons for the protective effect of selenium.
Selenium activates an enzyme in the body known as glutathione
peroxidase that protects against the formation of free radicals
- loose molecules that can damage DNA and cause cancer through
cell mutation. It likewise enhances the antioxidant properties
of Vitamin E. Thus, selenium and Vitamin E are very powerful
when taken together.
In
other studies, selenium has shown to significantly reduced
the risk of coronary disease at very low microgram doses.
In addition to having remarkable anti-aging properties,
selenium is a natural anti-inflammatory agent and has been
used to successfully obtain beneficial clinical results
in about 40-45% of rheumatoid arthritis patients.
The
best Selenium for maximum absorption is from a dual source
- organic and inorganic. HMS is now offering a premium dual
source selenium in which each source has been shown to produce
specific disease prevention effects. One source provides
defense against certain forms of cancer, while the other
slows premature aging.
Dual
Source Selenium is available via mail from HMS (800-867-7897)
or through doctors and some health food stores. This is
not the same as drug store and super market products, which
usually are single source yeast products that contain virtually
no selenomethionine and are not effective in increasing
selenium levels in the blood
Caution: In doses above 2,000 mcg. selenium can be toxic.
Consult with your physician on doses over 600 mcg
Angstrom Minerals Product And Price List
The information on this page has been extracted from http://www.hmscrown.com/selenium.htm
