3 replies to this topic

[nameless]

I had some blood testing done recently, and am wondering what is considered the optimal level of serum selenium? I read an old post where 150-175 ng/ml was stated as ideal.

My selenium level came in at: 223, with a reference range of 100-340 ug/L.
Is ug/L the equivalent to ng/ml?

If so, it's a bit high, which is odd, since I don't supplement with selenium, besides what's in 1-2 capsules of AOR multi basics, which is under the RDA level.

Some other blood results on the same report:

Mercury 1.9 range 0.0-14.9 ug/L
Arsenic 11 range 2-23 ug/L
Zinc 86 range 70-250 ug/dL (a tad on the low side?)
ANA 27 range 0-99 Au/mL
CoQ10 3.62 range .37-2.20 ug/mL (using dry CoQ10 capsules... makes me think the gelcaps + ubiquinol are unnecessary, so long as you take dry with fats).

and Ds...
25-Hydroxy 29.7 L range 32+
1, 25 53.4 range 15.9-55.6 pg/mL

And it looks like I'll need to take more than 2000IU D/daily. Although when I do, then my 1, 25 always goes over the normal range.

[krillin]

1 mcg/L = 1 ng/ml

Do you eat any brazil nuts? Even the small amount contained in a nut mix provides a lot of selenium. If not, my only suggestion would be to cut back on wheat. Fiddling with CRON-o-meter, wheat was one of my biggest sources.

Here's the best I've found on setting a selenium target.

Arch Intern Med. 2008 Feb 25;168(4):404-10
Serum selenium levels and all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality among US adults.
Bleys J, Navas-Acien A, Guallar E.
Department of Epidemiology, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. jbleys@jhsph.edu

BACKGROUND: Selenium, an essential trace element involved in defense against oxidative stress, may prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. We evaluated the association between selenium levels and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a representative sample of US adults. METHODS: Serum selenium levels were measured in 13,887 adult participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Study participants were recruited from 1988 to 1994 and followed up for mortality for up to 12 years. RESULTS: The mean serum selenium level was 125.6 ng/mL. The multivariate adjusted hazard ratios comparing the highest (> or = 130.39 ng/mL) with the lowest (< 117.31 ng/mL) serum selenium level tertile were 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72-0.96) for all-cause mortality, 0.69 (95% CI, 0.53-0.90) for cancer mortality, and 0.94 (95% CI, 0.77-1.16) for cardiovascular mortality. However, based on spline regression models, the association between serum selenium levels and all-cause and cancer mortality was nonlinear, with an inverse association at low selenium levels (< 130 ng/mL) and a modest increase in mortality at high selenium levels (> 150 ng/mL). There was no association between serum selenium levels and cardiovascular mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In a representative sample of the US population, we found a nonlinear association between serum selenium levels and all-cause and cancer mortality. Increasing serum selenium levels were associated with decreased mortality up to 130 ng/mL. Our study, however, raises the concern that higher serum selenium levels may be associated with increased mortality.

PMID: 18299496

[nameless]

1 mcg/L = 1 ng/ml

Do you eat any brazil nuts? Even the small amount contained in a nut mix provides a lot of selenium. If not, my only suggestion would be to cut back on wheat. Fiddling with CRON-o-meter, wheat was one of my biggest sources.

Thanks for the response. I don't eat brazil nuts at all. Walnuts, mostly... Guess I'll have to go over the things I eat and look for selenium sources. I eat some wheat, but not a ton of it.

Regarding serum levels, is it safe to assume that selenium levels are relatively constant? I mean, if I ate a bunch of food high in selenium one day, would it throw off the testing the next day? Or does selenium build up over time (which is what I assume), so a high serum level wouldn't be due to just eating a lot of selenium-based foods the day before.

[krillin]

Regarding serum levels, is it safe to assume that selenium levels are relatively constant? I mean, if I ate a bunch of food high in selenium one day, would it throw off the testing the next day? Or does selenium build up over time (which is what I assume), so a high serum level wouldn't be due to just eating a lot of selenium-based foods the day before.

Based on what I've read, I agree.

Biological half-life is about 100 days. The body contains single-digit milligrams.