Selenium is an essential mineral element to maintain human health. Lack of selenium will directly lead to the decline of human immune ability. More than 40 diseases that threaten human health and life are related to human selenium deficiency, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cataract, pancreatic disease, diabetes, reproductive system diseases and so on. In addition to Enshi, Bama, Rugao, Wentang and other selenium rich counties and cities, as well as Guangxi, Nanhai, Taiwan, most of Guizhou, Eastern Hubei, southern Jiangxi, Eastern Xinjiang, western Gansu and other regions, about 900million people live in low selenium areas. Therefore, the Chinese Nutrition Society lists selenium as one of the 15 daily dietary nutrients and makes a special recommendation. However, selenium in the diet often cannot reach the optimal intake of human body. Therefore, experts suggest that people who pursue health should consider using safe selenium fortified foods or supplements in addition to ensuring their daily selenium intake through a balanced diet in their regular diet.
Why do people need selenium for life? There are mainly the following reasons:
1) The human body cannot synthesize selenium, and the half reduction period of selenium in the human body is also very short
Selenium cannot be synthesized in the human body, and the selenium required for human "metabolism" mainly comes from food (the logical order of selenium in food is: animal organs > seafood > fish > eggs > meat > grain > vegetables > fruits). Animal viscera and eggs contain high selenium, but fat and cholesterol are also high. People should not eat too much. Shrimp, crab and other seafood have high selenium content, but people have low utilization rate. The selenium content of grains, vegetables and fruits is low, which makes little contribution to the selenium intake required by the human body. And the half reduction period of selenium in human body is also very short. In the study of trace elements, the time required for the body to excrete half of the absorbed elements is referred to as "biological half reduction period" to express the rate of biological operation of elements in the body. The biological half-life of some elements is very long. For example, plutonium is about 200 years and cadmium is more than 20 years. It is difficult to be discharged after absorption. The biological half-life of selenium in muscle is 100 days, liver 50 days, kidney 32 days, and serum 28 days, indicating that selenium metabolism is relatively fast, and the human body also needs to constantly supplement selenium.
2) Selenium deficiency in soil
In most areas of China, the selenium content in soil is low, so the selenium content of crops is not high, which leads to the lack of selenium in the whole food chain; There are more than 40 countries lack selenium in the world. 72% of China's regions lack selenium, and there are 22 selenium deficient provinces. Selenium deficiency has seriously threatened the health of our citizens. It leads to the production of low selenium plants and the low selenium food chain, which leads to selenium deficiency in human body. Therefore, most people need an appropriate amount of selenium.
3) Environmental pollution causes us to lack selenium more
With the rapid development of economy, the problem of environmental pollution is becoming more and more prominent. The discharge of industrial waste water and exhaust gas causes selenium to react with some heavy metal elements in soil and water, affecting the absorption of selenium by vegetation. The lack of selenium in many vegetation and crops also leads to the human body unable to obtain enough selenium from the outside world.
4) The occurrence of human pathogenic diseases leads to selenium deficiency
We all know that selenium has the effects of antioxidation, detoxification and detoxification, and improving human immunity. Now the incidence rate of human pathogenic diseases is getting higher and higher. In order to block the process of this virus infection, more and more selenium is consumed in the human body, but more selenium cannot be obtained from the outside in time, so human immunity decreases and people are more likely to get sick. This is a vicious cycle process. At the same time, modern people's bad living habits such as improper smoking and drinking, staying up late on the Internet, eating casually, blindly losing weight and the increase of age lead to the decline of physical function, as well as the insufficient absorption and excessive metabolism of selenium.
Reference link:
https://www.sohu.com/a/232875158_100135217
