What is Selenium?
Selenium is an essential trace element the body needs for good health and proper functioning. It is found in soil and water and is bioconcentrated by plants from the soil. Plants and animals that live in places where the soil is rich in selenium have high amounts of this mineral.
Selenium exists in inorganic and organic forms. Inorganic selenium occurs in the soil as selenite and selenate while organic selenium occurs as selenoproteins such as selenocysteine and selenomethionine. Plants accumulate inorganic selenium from the soil and converts this to organic form, which is consumed by animals and man.
In the body, selenium is incorporated with aminoacids like methionine to form selenomethionine. It is mostly stored as proteins in the skeletal muscles, which account for up to 46% of the total selenium found in the body. Other forms of organic selenium may be converted to selenophosphate for the synthesis of other selenoproteins.
Selenium is essential as a cofactor of certain enzymes that help maintain normal body functions. For example, it aids in the reduction of glutathione peroxidase enzymes, which have antioxidant activity. It also acts as a cofactor of thyroid hormone enzymes and is therefore important in all thyroid gland activities.
Selenium Food Sources
Selenium rich foods include seafoods, organ meats, muscle meats, dairy products, cereals and grains, breads, poultry, and eggs. Nuts, especially Brazil nuts and walnuts, are excellent selenium foods. Eating just 6-8 pieces of Brazil nuts can supply more than 700% of the daily value (DV) of selenium recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Many types of fish, like cod, tuna, halibut, sardines, herring, and red snapper are good selenium...
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...the amount of selenium one needs for adequate nutrition in most healthy people have been defined as:
Group
Recommended Dietary Allowance
(micrograms/day)
Children 0-3 years
10 to 20
Children 4-8 years
20 to 30
Children 9-13 years
40
Above 14 years
55
Pregnant women
60 to 65
Breastfeeding women
70 to 75
Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL) for Selenium:
Groups
UL
(micrograms)
Birth to 6 months
45
7–12 months
60
1–3 years
90
4–8 years
150
9–13 years
280
14–18 years
400
19+ years
400
Pregnant
400
Lactating
400
Works Cited
WebMD. Selenium. http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/lifestyle-guide-11/supplement-guide-selenium
NIH. Selenium. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/
Mayo Clinic. Selenium Supplement (Oral Route).
http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/selenium-supplement-oral-route/description/drg-20063649
Vitamin B12 deficiency limits selenium methylation and excretion resulting in higher tissue selenium levels and subsequent toxicity. It occurs in people whose digestive systems do not adequately absorb the vitamin from the foods they eat. Vegetarians who eat eggs and milk products are the most at risk because, on average, they consume less than half the adult vitamin B12 Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) while strict vegans (who don't eat any animal products, including meat, eggs, or milk) are at an even greater risk. Vitamin B12 is important since it works with the vitamin folate to make the body’s genetic material and help keep levels of the amino acid homocysteine in check which helps to decrease heart disease risk. It is also essential in the production of red blood cells which carry oxygen through the blood to the body’s tissues. Life Extension gives offers some of selenium supplements. Babies who are born of parents with low selenium and vitamin B12 rich foods are at risk of anaemia.
Haggett E, Magdesian KG, Maas J, Puschner B, Higgins J, Fiack C. Whole blood selenium concentrations in endurance horses. Vet J. 2010;186(2):192–6. doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2009.07.017.
Dietary supplements are elements you can eat or drink. A dietary supplement can be inorganic, vitamin, mineral, herbs, amino acids, and can contain all or parts of these elements. Supplements are to be added to a person’s diet and should not be taken in place of food. Dietary supplements can come in pill, liquid, capsules, and even tablet form. You can purchase dietary supplements at most stores, and they
Vitamin B12 is only found in animal products like eggs, meat, shellfish, and dairy and many groups of people
Even though silica is in abundance in the earth’s crust, it is considered a trace mineral and there are very few foods t...
... like tuna, mackerel, and salmon. some dairy products, orange juice, soy milk, and some cereals. The only mineral that was the least of the 100% recommended by my DRI was potassium, Which I plan to get from bananas like I stated before, avocados and cantaloupe.
Of 22 amino acids, 8 or 9, are considered essential because our bodies can't manufacture them. These are tryptophan, lysine, methione, phenylalaine, threonine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, and histadine. Leucine "serves as a substrate for muscle metabolism during periods of cellular energy depletion" and promotes healing of the skin and broken bones as well as improving alertness. Tryptophan, whose benefits include calming, stimulating the release of growth hormones, and cholesterol reduction, is the only essential amino acid whose free form is not currently available in the U.S. lsoleucine helps in the formation of hemoglobin and is used by the muscles for energy. Valine, which promotes muscle coordination, remains unprocessed by the liver allowing it to go directly to muscles. Histadine dilates blood vessels, helps to alleviate symptoms of arthritis and ulcers, and helps in the production of red and white blood cells.
These last two years, however, I started to gain weight and have become concerned with my diet. Changing my poor eating habits has been difficult for me, however, having this assignment has taught me that it is not as difficult as I previously imagined. Nutrition experts in the United States and Canada have a list of standards with four list values. These list values are called the Dietary Reference Intakes. The DRI committee sets these values for vitamins, minerals, calories, and nutrients.
Potassium is one of the most important elements in human diet. To begin with, potassium works with sodium for various reasons. For example, it helps to regulate body waste, control heart rhythms, and assist in reducing high blood pressure. It also aids in clear thinking by sending oxygen to the brain. This element is crucial to the maintenance of the nervous system and the muscular system. Potassium is an electrolyte, and therefor regulates the balance of fluids inside and outside the cells, including blood.
Vitamin, any of the organic compounds required by the body in small amounts for metabolism, to protect health, and for proper growth in children. Vitamins also assist in the formation of hormones, blood cells, nervous-system chemicals, and genetic material. The various vitamins are not chemically related, and most differ in their physiological actions. They generally act as catalysts, combining with proteins to create metabolically active enzymes that in turn produce hundreds of important chemical reactions throughout the body. Without vitamins, many of these reactions would slow down or cease. The intricate ways in which vitamins act on the body, however, are still far from clear.
Iron has two forms: heme and nonheme. “Plants and iron-fortified foods contain nonheme iron only, whereas meat, seafood, and poultry contain both heme and nonheme iron. Heme iron, which is formed when iron combines with protoporphyrin IX, contributes about 10% to 15% of total iron intakes in western populations” (National Institute of Health, 2016). The best sources of iron are found in “lean meat and
Vitamin E in all its forms, functions predominantly as an antioxidant by protecting cells from free radicals in the body. Vitamin E works as an antioxidant by donating a hydrogen atom from a hydroxyl group to a free radical within the body. Vitamin E also plays a role in immune system function and protects cell membranes and regulation of gene expression. Vitamin E has been studied to uncover other medical usages, including prevention or treatment of many health conditions [1].
Chang-Hwan Oh. "Selenium content in representative Korean foods." Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 22.2 (2009): 117-122. Web. 6 Dec. 2013.
Zinc is an essential trace element for many living organisms. While this can be said about other essential metals, zinc is unique in its physiochemical properties that give it the ability to interact with donor groups of different ligands, resulting in a broad range of stability constants and diversity of the biological functions and processes that zinc is involved in. It was discovered and recognized as a new metal in the eightieth century, While its biological essentiality was found by Raulin for the growth of Aspergillus niger In 1869 [1]. In 1933 Zinc was found essential for the growth of animals while studying its effect on rats. [2]
Proteins (macronutrient), which are found in animal products, nuts and beans, they help to build new cells, maintain tissue and synthesis new proteins essential for performing basic bodily functions. Proteins are in abundance in the human body and are present in the outer and inner membranes of all living cells (Dummies, 2018). Proteins are essential for building new cells, maintaining tissue and helping new proteins needed for basic bodily function (