Selenium is an essential mineral that your body requires for critical functions. Certain people might be deficient in selenium and could need to take a supplement. Consult your physician before taking a selenium supplement to discuss the risks, proper dosage and negative interactions with any medications that you’re taking.
Benefits
One of the many benefits of selenium is that it might help to clear up acne. Selenium’s actions in treating acne are likely due to its important role in your body’s natural antioxidant activities. Selenium helps to produce glutathione peroxidase, which interacts with vitamin E to protect your body’s cells from free radicals, explains the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Selenium also appears to support proper thyroid function, which could influence hormone-related acne, notes the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Other Uses
Selenium has potential uses in treating or preventing other health problems, including heart disease, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and infertility in men, says the University of Maryland Medical Center. Selenium might also help your immune system to function properly and help to treat or prevent certain types of cancer, according to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Other benefits of selenium include supporting HIV treatments, as well as helping to treat anxiety, depression, neurological disorders, cataracts, ulcers, psoriasis and osteoarthritis. No conclusive medical evidence supports the use of selenium to effectively treat or prevent any health problem, however.
Dosage
The recommended daily intake of selenium for adults is about 55 micrograms, but studies have used therapeutic doses of 100 to 200 mcg per day, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, the daily intake is higher, at about 60 mcg and 70 mcg, respectively. Before you begin taking any dosage of selenium, talk with your doctor about the amount that’s right for you.
Considerations
Most people obtain enough selenium from their diet, says the University of Maryland Medical Center. You get selenium from meats, fish and seafood, dairy, vegetables and whole grains. Certain risk factors might make you more likely to have a selenium deficiency, however. If you smoke cigarettes, take oral contraceptives, drink alcohol, or have Crohn’s disease or another condition that causes poor mineral absorption, you may need to take a selenium supplement, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Also, certain medications can reduce selenium levels in your body, such as valproic acid, corticosteroids, clozapine, stomach-acid reducers and chemotherapy drugs like cisplatin. Ask your doctor about taking selenium if you have any of these types of risk factors.
Warnings
Most of the dangers regarding selenium supplements involve taking too much. Toxic levels of selenium are 900 mcg or more per day, which can cause emotional problems such as depression, nausea and vomiting, as well as hair loss, says the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Taking too much selenium over long periods of time can cause high cholesterol or diabetes, as well. Selenium can also interfere with certain medications and might reduce your absorption of vitamin C. Selenium can increase the effects of blood-thinning medications such as Coumadin and aspirin, which may lead to bleeding. Selenium can also prolong the effects of sedatives such as barbiturates, and can decrease the effectiveness of cholesterol-lowering drugs such as Lipitor.
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