Just to show it sometimes takes a lot of selenium to raise bloodlevels. Clearly it is necessary to monitor seleniumlevels when you are sick, for it may take astronomous quantities to reach optimum levels:
"ALTERNATIVES IN CANCER THERAPY"
by Ross, R.Ph. Pelton, Lee Overholser
"Dr. Donaldson discovered that in most of his patients,
normal doses of selenium did not produce much of an increase in the blood levels of selenium. In fact, very high oral doses of selenium were required to bring up the blood levels of selenium in his cancer patients.
In a letter to Nutrition 21 dated May 11, 1979, he indicated, "We are now able, with nearly 100 percent regularity, to increase the blood levels by several fold by giving 1,000 to 2,000 micrograms of selenium daily and then dropping back to a maintenance dose."
In one case, a dosage level of
2,700 mcg/day for two months followed by six weeks of
5,000 mcg/day was required to bring up the selenium blood levels. However, it must be emphasized that selenium is a trace mineral and the doses Dr. Donaldson was using are potentially toxic. Dosages from 2,700 mcg to 5,000 mcg per day could produce symptoms of selenium toxicity-in a normal (healthy) person.
One important aspect of Dr. Donaldson's work is the discovery that
many cancer patients apparently don't absorb selenium well. Potentially toxic levels of oral selenium had to be administered in order to achieve normal blood selenium levels. When normal blood selenium levels were reached, Dr. Donaldson documented
marked improvement in his patients and, in some cases,
remission of advanced cancers. One study in China reported that a daily dose of 500 mcg of selenium over a period of several years is safe for healthy humans. The higher dosage of selenium that appear to be necessary to help cancer patients can be toxic for healthy people.
Dr. Schrauzer reports that dosages of 2,000 to 5,000 mcg per day will produce toxicity symptoms
after several months. However, since the early symptoms of selenium toxicity such as nausea, weakness, and discoloration of the fingernails are hardly ever overlooked, high doses have not been reported to have caused any fatalities."
Glutathione peroxidase is one of the most important antioxidant enzymes in our immune system. This important enzyme is selenium dependent, with each molecule of the enzyme containing four atoms of selenium.
This enzyme protects cell membranes and tissues against the destructive effects of hydroxyl (OH) free radicals, and its antioxidant and anticancer effects are very much dependent on selenium availability
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