• Selenium and General Health
• glutathione peroxidase
• pregnancy and fertility problems
• fall of fertility

Selenium and General Health

Selenium is essential for the production of glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx or GPX) which is a major detoxifier of chemical toxins, including insecticides, petrochemicals, and other natural and man-made toxic chemicals. Proper thyroid function requires adequate amounts of B-vitamin compounds, zinc, iodine, and copper. B12 Deficiencies and Thyroid functions are closely related.

The importance of selenium to health high, citing the trace mineral's potential to reduce the risk of thyroid problems, pregnancy and fertility problems, heart disease, and progression of HIV to AIDS, among other important findings.

Hypothyroidism is the disease state in humans and animals caused by insufficient production of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland. Use of Selenium for Hypothyroidism is widely recognized in the medical community. Function of thyroid and weight gain is closely related.

According to the review study, diet and geographic location can impact the amount of selenium you are getting. Selenium is an essential trace mineral found in the soil. Typically, crops will convert selenium into organic forms that can be absorbed nutritionally by humans. Getting sufficient quantities of selenium may increase thyroid hormone metabolism, improve fertility, help fight cancer, and reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and arthritis.

The author of the study, ("The importance of selenium to human health," The Lancet, Volume 356, Number 9225, 15 July 2000), Margaret Rayman, a professor of nutritional medicine at the University of Surrey in Guildford, England, began focusing on selenium several years ago, after her research into the condition known as preeclampsia showed that low selenium levels were a common denominator in all the women in the study. Her research went on to discover that in the UK, and in Europe as well, selenium levels were abnormally low overall. Rayman found that dietary consumption of selenium had dropped 50% in the past two decades, a time period during which the UK had reduced it imports of selenium rich North American wheat in favor of selenium poor European wheat.