“What is selenium?”, “What causes selenium deficiency?” and “What’s in Selenium?” We have gathered the answers to such questions in our news. Selenium deficiency, which is one of the vital minerals that few people know about, reduces your quality of life by making you a target against diseases. We need to take selenium, which is a mineral that our body cannot produce, extra.
Therefore, nutrition is one of the most important factors in the deficiency of this mineral. It provides most of all these benefits through selenium-containing proteins called “selenoprotein”.
CAUSES EARLY AGING
Selenium fights harmful free radicals in the body, allowing the person to live an age-dependent life. But a selenium deficiency causes a weakening of the immune system, resulting in a deficiency in its ability to fight free radicals. For this reason, your body age may be older than your normal age and you may have to struggle with the effects of aging in earlier years.
Selenium plays an important role in the endocrine, immune and cardiovascular systems. Moreover, it is found in high amounts in the thyroid glands, which provide many functions in metabolism. In fact, enzymes that convert thyroid hormones work depending on selenium.
Selenium is an important mineral even involved in DNA synthesis. It even takes part in many functions in the body, from reproduction to protection against infections. The amount of selenium the body needs varies from person to person. While it’s 55 micrograms a day for people over the age of 14, it goes up to 70 micrograms for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
WHAT IS SELENIUM DEFICIENCY?
Selenium is high in some geographic areas and low in others. The reason for this is that the food eaten gets its selenium content through the soil where it grows. The level of proficiency is determined according to how high this mineral is in the soil.
E.g; The USA has higher selenium-rich soils, while Europe has lower selenium levels. Low selenium is also seen particularly high in Eastern Europe, China and New Zealand. To compensate for this deficiency, many countries have started to add selenium to their fertilizers.
Between 500 million and 1 billion people worldwide are thought to have a selenium deficiency. People on dialysis, those with HIV, are more at risk. People with Crohn’s disease or celiac disease may also encounter a deficiency of this mineral, as it is difficult for people to absorb the selenium they need.
In addition to all these, it has very risky answers to the question of what are the problems caused by selenium deficiency. If enough selenium is not taken, many health problems can arise. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to these signs. Here are the symptoms caused by selenium deficiency…
WHAT DOES SELENIUM DEFICIENCY CAUSE?
INFERTILITY
Selenium deficiency, apart from causing infertility problem, also causes major problems during pregnancy if the woman is pregnant. There is an important relationship between selenium levels and fertility. For this reason, it may be an important step for couples who want children to have the deficiency of this mineral checked. It can also be associated with problems such as low selenium in the early stages of pregnancy, low birth weight, damage to the immune and nervous systems of the fetus.
MUSCLE WEAKNESS
Weakness in the muscles causes many problems. Although the muscles of the skeletal system are usually thought of, this includes our heart muscle. In people with low selenium levels, weak muscles become a cause of pain and fatigue. In addition, this condition can cause heart problems as it also affects the heart muscles.
HAIR LOSS
Thyroid hormones play an important role in hair growth and regeneration. For this reason, the slow processing of thyroid hormones without selenium also shows its effect on hair follicles. Depending on this reaction, your hair may shed much more than usual.
WEAKNESSED IMMUNE SYSTEM
Low selenium makes a person susceptible to infectious diseases. It can even bring harmless bacteria to the level of a life-threatening disease. For this reason, it is very important to determine the ratio of selenium in the body, the deficiency of which causes serious problems. The researchers reveal that this occurs in cases of Keshan disease in China, where the soil appears to be deficient in selenium. This disease is caused by the combination of the coxsackievirus, which is responsible for selenium deficiency and hand, foot and mouth disease.
FOG MIND
Deficiency in selenium intake produces changes in mental status. This condition, specifically called a mental fog, is not considered self-explanatory, but when combined with other symptoms, experts say it can explain the problem. Moreover, studies have found that selenium deficiency is associated with a weaker cognitive function in older adults.