Can selenium supplementation help eliminate HPV?

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With the popularization of knowledge about HPV, many people have realized its harm to the human body. Many people feel terrified after being infected with HPV, and are eager to find treatment drugs and solutions. "Improving immunity through selenium supplementation, thereby eliminating HPV virus" is a method widely circulated on the Internet. When entering the keywords "HPV" or "immunity" in some e-commerce companies, a related word "selenium" will pop up at the same time, and related products are even more dazzling. So, is selenium supplementation really effective in improving immunity and eliminating HPV?

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analyze

Let me first tell you the answer, which is no. So far, there is no drug that can effectively eliminate HPV, and selenium supplementation cannot directly eliminate HPV.
HPV virus mainly relies on human immunity to eliminate
HPV, or human papillomavirus, infects only humans. It has more than 200 subtypes, which can be divided into skin and mucosal types according to their tissue tropism. The latter is further divided into high-risk and low-risk types. High-risk HPV is associated with 99.7% of cervical cancer, while the latter is mainly associated with genital warts. In addition, HPV is also associated with precancerous lesions and cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus, male penis, and oropharynx.

Although HPV is closely related to these tumors, we don't need to be afraid of it. It may take 5 to 10 years or even longer for HPV infection to eventually become cancerous. During this process, we can take some measures to reduce the risk of cancer.

Copyrighted image library, unauthorized reproduction. Cervical lesions usually start with HPV infection ⇒ chronic cervicitis (chronic mucosal inflammation) ⇒ CIN1 ⇒ CIN2 ⇒ CIN3 ⇒ cervical cancer. CIN1-CIN3 are precancerous lesions. If they progress to CIN2-CIN3, we will consider cervical conization and other means to prevent the progression of the lesion. Before that, we mainly rely on the body's immunity to eliminate the virus.

The relationship between selenium and immunity

Selenium is an important ultra-trace element with many biological effects in the human body. More than 30 selenoproteins have been found, which are involved in many pathways of human metabolism. When the body's antioxidant function cannot remove free radicals in time, aging will be significantly accelerated. As an important component of glutathione peroxidase, selenium can reduce the generation of free radicals and remove them in time, delaying the aging of the body through antioxidant effects.

Studies have found that some tissues with hematopoietic and immune potential (including liver, spleen and lymph nodes) contain relatively large amounts of selenium, and indirect evidence suggests that it may be associated with some immune functions. When the selenium stored in the tissue is depleted, cellular immune function will be impaired, and this phenomenon also occurs in HIV-infected people. If selenium is severely deficient, it can lead to skeletal muscle dysfunction and myocardial damage, and may also cause psychological illness, impaired immune function, macrocytosis, and whitening of the nail bed. In addition, proper selenium supplementation has a positive effect on the thyroid function and cardiovascular system of some people.

Can selenium supplementation eliminate HPV?

In the field of tumors, although epidemiological statistics and animal studies have found that selenium may have the effect of preventing cancer, randomized controlled trials in humans have not found that selenium can reduce the total mortality or incidence of cancer. There is currently no scientific evidence to support that selenium can directly eliminate HPV virus or reduce the risk of cervical lesions associated with it. So far, major relevant guidelines or evidence-based medicine databases have not linked selenium supplementation with the elimination of HPV or the reduction of cervical cancer incidence, and have not even mentioned it. Of course, medicine is constantly developing, and we also look forward to subsequent high-quality research to verify the correlation between high selenium status and HPV virus.

Copyrighted image library, unauthorized reproduction. Excessive selenium supplementation may cause poisoning

Selenium is an ultra-trace element that is essential for maintaining normal human life activities. According to the recommendations of the "Dietary Reference Intake of Chinese Residents (2023 Edition)", the recommended selenium intake for adults is 60ug/d, and the maximum tolerable dose is 400ug/d. If it exceeds 910ug/d, there is a risk of selenium poisoning.

Since ug is a very small unit of measurement, the safe zone between the amount of selenium supplementation and the amount that causes poisoning is very narrow, and there is a risk of overdose if you are not careful, which is why it is called an "ultra-trace element."

Selenium poisoning may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, changes in nails, mental state changes, vision loss and peripheral neuropathy. Therefore, we recommend that you get selenium from food, which is relatively safe. For example, fish, shellfish, liver, red meat, eggs and dairy products have relatively high selenium content. You can take them appropriately, but don't take too much. Balanced nutrition is the most important. People who are really deficient in selenium also need to supplement under the guidance of a doctor.

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The correct way to prevent HPV

Back to the issue of HPV, since selenium supplementation has no practical significance, how should we deal with it? Scientists have done two things to minimize the harm of HPV:

1. The HPV vaccine was invented to block HPV infection at the source and reduce the risk of cancer. For example, the nine-valent vaccine can prevent 90% of cervical cancer.

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2. Regular cervical cancer screening strategies can detect cervical lesions in a timely manner, intervene early, and avoid worsening of the disease.

These two measures have greatly reduced the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer, making it the only cancer with a clear cause that can be prevented. In addition, what we can do is to have a balanced diet, exercise properly, have a regular schedule, ensure sleep, and reduce stress, so as to improve resistance and eliminate HPV virus.

in conclusion

HPV infection is closely related to cervical cancer, which is mainly eliminated by the body's immune system. Selenium supplementation cannot effectively eliminate HPV virus. In addition, proper selenium supplementation is beneficial to health, but excessive selenium may have obvious side effects on the human body. It is recommended that you do not blindly follow the trend to supplement.

References

【1】Schiffman M, Castle PE, Jeronimo J, Rodriguez AC,

Wacholder S. Human papillomavirus and cervical cancer. Lancet. 2007 Sep 8;370(9590):890-907. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61416-0. PMID: 17826171.

【2】Institute of Medicine (US) Panel on Dietary Antioxidants and Related Compounds. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2000. PMID: 25077263.

【3】 Look MP, Rockstroh JK, Rao GS, Kreuzer KA, Spengler U, Sauerbruch T. Serum selenium versus lymphocyte subsets and markers of disease progression and inflammatory response in human immunodeficiency virus-1 infection. Biol Trace Elem Res. 1997 Jan;56(1):31-41. doi: 10.1007/BF02778982. PMID: 9152510.

【4】Ishida T, Himeno K, Torige Y, Inoue M, Wakisaka O, Tabuki T, Ono H, Honda K, Mori T, Seike M, Yoshimatsu H, Sakata T. Selenium deficiency in a patient with Crohn's disease receiving long-term total parenteral nutrition. Intern Med. 2003 Feb;42(2):154-7. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.42.154. PMID: 12636234.

【5】Vinceti M, Filippini T, Del Giovane C, Dennert G, Zwahlen M, Brinkman M, Zeegers MP, Horneber M, D'Amico

R, Crespi CM. Selenium for preventing cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Jan 29;1(1):CD005195. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD005195.pub4. PMID: 29376219; PMCID: PMC6491296.

【6】UpToDate: Overview of dietary trace elements

This article is a work supported by Science Popularization China Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer: China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Weng Ruopeng, attending physician, Zhejiang University Affiliated Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital

Reviewer: Lan Yibing, deputy chief physician, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine

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