What happens if women are deficient in selenium?

Selenium is an essential nutrient for the human body. Many years ago, selenium was considered a toxic element. However, after years of research, it was found that selenium is beneficial to human health. Once the human body is deficient in selenium, many adverse symptoms will appear. Few people in real life can deliberately supplement selenium, and it is too late to supplement after symptoms appear. So, what happens if women are deficient in selenium?

Symptoms of selenium deficiency

In my country, endemic diseases caused by selenium deficiency have spread to more than ten provinces and autonomous regions from the northeast to the southwest. It has been found that Keshan disease and Kashin-Beck disease are closely related to selenium deficiency. Keshan disease often occurs in the growing and developing childhood, most commonly between 2 and 6 years old, but also occurs in women of childbearing age. It mainly affects the heart, causing arrhythmia, tachycardia or bradycardia and cardiac enlargement, and finally leading to heart failure and cardiogenic shock. The main pathological changes of Kaschin-Beck disease are degeneration and necrosis of chondrocytes at the bone ends, muscle atrophy, and influence on bone growth and development. The disease mostly occurs in adolescents. In areas with low selenium content in the soil, patients with a disease medically known as "muscle syndrome" have also been found, which manifests itself in muscle pain and fatigue in walking. In addition, 17 common diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cataracts, decreased fertility, and prostate cancer are related to selenium deficiency.

The dangers of selenium deficiency

my country is a country with serious selenium deficiency, so scientific and orderly selenium supplementation is an urgent task for Chinese residents to improve their dietary structure! Selenium is called "the fire of life" by scientists. 42 diseases such as human cancer, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, mental retardation in children, and Alzheimer's disease are related to selenium deficiency. 70% of my country's regions are selenium deficient.

Selenium deficiency in the human body can lead to a decline in the above-mentioned human functions. Recent statistics show that when the human body is selenium deficient, the risk of infection with highly pathogenic viral diseases increases significantly.

When the human body is deficient in selenium, the pathogenicity of common viruses will increase. For example, coxsackieviruses can cause polio-like symptoms, such as fever and rash, in people with colds, without the paralysis. Scientists have isolated Coxsackievirus from the blood and tissues of Keshan disease patients and confirmed that Keshan disease is caused by a more toxic Coxsackievirus.

Other viruses, such as the common cold, HIV, Ebola, smallpox, and hepatitis, have similar sensitivities to selenium deficiency. For example, research from the University of Miami has shown that the mortality rate of HIV-infected people with selenium deficiency is more than 20 times higher than that of HIV-infected people with selenoenzyme.

What to do if you are lack of selenium

Selenium deficiency can be supplemented through food supplements and medicine supplements. Selenium supplementation for the human body should be based on the test results of trace elements in the body and follow the principle of "supplement as much selenium as required, do not supplement if not required, and use food supplementation as the main method and medicine supplementation as the auxiliary method".

Foods rich in selenium in daily life include seafood, meat (especially animal kidneys), rice, cereals, etc. Eggs contain more selenium than meat. For example, in every 100 grams of food, pork contains 10.6 micrograms of selenium, eggs contain 23.3 micrograms of selenium, duck eggs contain 30.7 micrograms of selenium, goose eggs contain 33.6 micrograms of selenium, ginseng contains 15 micrograms of selenium, and peanuts contain 13.7 micrograms of selenium. Foods rich in selenium include brewer's yeast, wheat germ, garlic, asparagus, mushrooms and sesame, as well as many seafood such as prawns, tuna, sardines, etc.

There are many ways to supplement selenium. Animal organs, seafood, fish, eggs, meat, etc. are good sources of selenium. Eating more of these foods can supplement selenium safely and effectively. However, some people have poor absorption function and therefore need to take selenium-containing dietary supplements to supplement it. There are many kinds of selenium-containing health products and foods, namely selenium nutritional supplements, sold on the market. Whether eating these selenium-containing products can correct selenium deficiency depends mainly on their selenium content. According to observations: Daily supplementation of more than 25 micrograms of selenium from food for adults in my country has health benefits; daily supplementation of 50 micrograms or more of selenium from food for adults who are selenium-deficient for 2 to 3 months can correct the deficiency.

It is worth noting that many health products contain not only selenium, but also other ingredients, such as minerals, vitamins, etc. Therefore, when taking it, you must be clear about the content and combine it with your diet and medications to avoid overdose or conflict with medications.