Selenium and Cancer
New
Research
Selenium May Protect Against Viruses, Heart Disease, Arthritis,
Hepatitis, and Cancer
by
Susan Turner
Medical Writer
Editor's
Note: Many years have passed since the HMS Crown Monitor
reported the benefits of dual source selenium. Since the
HMS report first appeared, thousands of copies of the first
Monitor have been distributed and, more importantly, the
staff has received many calls from people throughout the
country, saying they had been helped or, in some cases,
become cancer free after adding dual source selenium as
a supplement.
New
research provides evidence that selenium may protect from
serious viral infections and stop the spread of resistant
and deadly viruses in addition to preventing and reducing
cancer.
According
to Edith Gaylord, editor and writer, Health Sciences Institute
Newsletter, recent research indicates that selenium stops
viruses from mutating and becoming more potent.
"When
deficient mice were injected with a flu virus," she
said, "the microbe's potency increased so much that
they suffered from viral symptoms more than three times
longer than infected mice receiving the selenium."
But
she noted that it's not just the flu virus that may function
like this. Some scientists believe this is how E. bola,
HIV, and similar viruses become more powerful and grow resistant
to drugs. In fact, a British researcher suggests that low
selenium levels may even be part of the reason mad cow disease
spread so quickly throughout Europe.
Selenium
is a naturally occurring mineral with antioxidant powers
- and it used to be abundant in the soil. But, "pesticides
and modern farming methods have depleted as much as 80%
of it. Supplementing with it could protect you and your
loved ones from fatal infections,” said Gaylord.
In
pointing out that there are numerous medical studies in-process
around the world, the conclusions of which are yet pending,
or which require additional study, Gaylord says the preliminary
indications are very important in the areas of heart, arthritis,
HIV / AIDS, and, of course, cancer. The National Institutes
of Health, she says, is dedicated to public education regarding
health matters and provides information in the following
examples:
* Selenium and heart disease. Some population surveys have
indicated an association between a lower antioxidant intake
with a greater incidence of heart disease. Additional lines
of evidence suggest that oxidative stress from free radicals
may promote heart disease. For example, it is the oxidized
form of low-density lipoproteins (LDL, often called "bad"
cholesterol) that promotes plaque build-up in coronary arteries.
Selenium is one of a group of antioxidants that may help
limit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and thereby helps
to prevent coronary artery disease.
* Selenium and arthritis. Surveys of patients with rheumatoid
arthritis, a chronic disease that causes pain, stiffness,
swelling, and loss of function in joints, have indicated
that the victims have reduced selenium levels in their blood.
In addition, some individuals with arthritis have a low
selenium intake.
* The body's immune system naturally makes free radicals
that can help destroy invading organisms and damaged tissue,
but that can also harm healthy tissue. Selenium, as an antioxidant,
may help control levels of free radicals and help to relieve
symptoms of arthritis. Selenium and HIV / AIDS. Vitamin
and mineral absorption problems associated with HIV / AIDS
has been shown to deplete levels of many vital nutrients.
Selenium deficiency is commonly associated with HIV / AIDS.
Selenium deficiency has been associated with a high risk
of death from HIV / AIDS.
A study based on 24 children with HIV, who had been observed
for five years, reported that those with low selenium levels
died at a younger age. The study may have indicated accelerated
disease progression . . . Researchers believe that selenium
may be important in HIV disease because of its role in the
immune system and as an antioxidant. Selenium also may be
needed for the replication of the HIV virus (the virus needs
and uses up selenium) and thereby could deplete the host's
selenium or deny the host adequate levels of selenium .
. . Researchers see a need for clinical trials that evaluate
the effect of selenium supplementation on HIV disease progression.
* Selenium and Hepatitis. Selenium is seen to be essential
for healthy immune functioning. Supplementation has been
shown, in some studies, to reduce the incidence of hepatitis
in observed deficient groups. In studies of some non-deficient
populations of elderly people, selenium supplementation
was found to stimulate the activity of white blood cells;
white blood cells are primary vital components of the immune
system.
* Selenium and Prostate Cancer. On August 22 1998, CNN's
Elizabeth Cohen reported that some 40,000 men die every
year from prostate cancer, but a new study . . . published
by the National Cancer Institute, found men who had the
highest intakes of the mineral selenium cut their cancer
rates by one-half to two thirds compared to men with the
lowest intakes of selenium. "The notion that vitamins
and minerals might prevent prostate cancer is a particularly
exciting thing," said Dr. Philip Taylor of the National
Cancer Institute.
In a study based on analysis of toe clippings to determine
which subjects had the most selenium in their diet, researchers
found that subjects with the most selenium in their diet
developed 65% fewer cases of advanced prostate cancer than
did men with the lowest levels of selenium intake (analysis
of hair clippings and nail clippings is useful in certain
analytical studies).
* Selenium and Other Cancer. The traditional medical research
on selenium has continued and there is more and more evidence
that dual source selenium (designed to have a high impact
on blood serum levels) is indeed one of the most important
and effective supplements to help prevent, treat, or even
reverse cancer.
In articles, December 24, 1996*, both the American Medical
Journal and CNN reported that “. . . selenium may lower
several cancer risks. The study was designed to look at
selenium's effect on skin cancer, but researchers found
that while it made no measurable difference there, the mineral
did have effects on other types of cancers.
"It really looks like the longer you take the supplement,
the more effective it might be in preventing cancer,"
said University of Arizona epidemiologist Larry Clark, MD,
who led the study. Selenium may work as an antioxidant,
like vitamin E, to help prevent damage to genes that can
lead to cancer. The mineral is known to preserve the elasticity
of body tissues and is important for proper function of
the immune system . . . In the selenium group, there were
50 percent fewer cancer deaths than in the placebo group,
researchers reported in Wednesday's Journal of the American
Medical Association. But the researchers cautioned that
their results need to be replicated . . . The daily supplement
pills used by University of Arizona researchers contained
200 micrograms of selenium, about three times the current
recommended daily allowance. "It was still within the
limits of what the Food and Drug Administration considers
safe and adequate, Clark said.”
Another double-blind study that included over 1,300 people
found those given 200 mcg of yeast based selenium per day
for 4.5 years had a 50% drop in the cancer death rate compared
with the non-selenium-placebo group.
* Selenium and what it does. Selenium activates an antioxidant
enzyme (called glutathione peroxidase) which seems to help
protect the body from some types of cancer. Yeast derived
forms of selenium have induced programmed cancer cell death
in test tube studies and in some animals.
* Selenium, avoid high levels. One minor problem is that
very high levels of selenium can be harmful, causing nails
and hair to become brittle and can cause neurologic problems.
An adult intake of 200 mcg of selenium per day is recommended
by many doctors. In the presence of iodine-deficiency-induced
goiter, selenium supplementation has been reported to exacerbate
low thyroid function Certain medications may interact with
selenium so it would be prudent discuss the use of selenium
and your current medication(s) with your doctor or pharmacist.
* Selenium's food sources. According to the National Institutes
of Health, plant foods are the major dietary sources of
selenium in most countries throughout the world. The amount
of selenium in soil, which varies by region, determines
the amount of selenium in the plant foods that are grown
in that soil. Researchers know that soils in the high plains
of northern Nebraska and the Dakotas have very high levels
of selenium. People living in those regions generally have
the highest selenium intakes in the United States. Soils
in some parts of the world have very low amounts of selenium
and dietary selenium deficiency is often reported in those
regions.
Selenium also can be found in some meats and seafood. Animals
that eat grains or plants that were grown in selenium rich
soil have higher levels of selenium in their muscle. In
the United States, meats and bread are common sources of
dietary selenium. Some nuts, especially Brazil nuts and
walnuts, are good sources of selenium.
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The information on this page has been extracted from http://www.hmscrown.com/Selenium_update.html
