Selenium + Zinc Pharma Nord Training

25th April, 2012

What’s in Selenium + Zinc Pharma Nord?

Each tablet contains: %RDA

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) 2 mg 100 %Vitamin C 90 mg 150 %Vitamin E 15 mg 150 %Zinc 15 mg 100 %Selenium (organic) 100 μg N/A

Do we need to supplement Selenium and Zinc?

Selenium (Se) is generally quite low in European soils. •Traditionally, European supplies of flour came from North America, where levels of Selenium are much higher, no longer the case. It is very easy to be deficient in selenium.

Zinc (Zn) is very commonly deficient in typical Western diets. •Present in foods like shellfish, leafy greens, grains and nuts. •Our consumption of organ meats and shellfish is not particularly high Oxalic & phytic acid present in greens, wholegrains and seeds can interfere with our ability to absorb nutrients such as Zinc, unless soaked overnight.

Why do we need Selenium?

Selenium functions primarily as a component of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase, which works with Vitamin E in preventing free radical damage to cell membranes.

How does it function as an antioxidant?

Selenium donates an electron to the unstable free radical. Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and B6 all serve to regenerate each other, so the antioxidant complex remains stable, thus protecting our cells and tissue from damage.

Where can we get Selenium?Food Sources:Selenium content of food is highly variable because it depends so heavily on soil conditions. In fact, some researchers have concluded that it is not possible to create a valid list of foods and their selenium content for this very reason.

Grown or raised under ideal soil conditions, brazil nuts, salmon, scallops, chicken, eggs, shiitake mushrooms, lamb, barley, and turkey are excellent sources of selenium.

What does Selenium do?

Selenium is metabolised and incorporated into selenoproteins.

Some of these selenoproteins have been identified as having antioxidative activity, while others have structural and transport functions including…

Maintaining cell membrane integrity, modulating fatty acid synthesis, modulating inflammation, protecting developing sperm cells from oxidative damage, modulating sperm maturation, production and regulation of active thyroid hormone, regeneration of antioxidant systems, protecting endothelial cells from oxidative stress, metabolism of skeletal and cardiac muscle, protection of prostate cells from development of carcinoma…

How does Se affect our cancer risk?

In 1984 the Food & Nutrition Board warned that ‘Low Selenium intake or decreased Se concentrations in the blood are associated with increased risk of cancer in humans.’

A large body of scientific evidence demonstrates that cancer mortality increases when dietary intake of Se is suboptimal. Researchers have found low levels of Se & GPx in the blood of subjects suffering from various forms of cancer.Anti-cancer effects of Se are more significant in men than in women and are most important in the prevention of respiratory and gastrointestinal tract cancers.Pharma Nord has been involved in cancer prevention research for many years, using the PN Se yeast...INSERT MORE HERE

How does Se affect our immune health?

Selenium, in it’s vital role in GPx affects all components of the immune system.

Deficiency of Se results in depressed immune function, and inhibits resistance to infection as a result of impaired white blood cell and thymus function.

A study where individuals with normal blood Se levels were given 200mcg/day, resulting in 118% increase in the ability to kill tumor cells and 82.3% increase in activity of a white blood cell known as a ‘natural killer cell’ which kills cacner cells and microorganisms.

This study did not result in significant changes in blood Se levels, but do indicate that the immune enhancing effects of Se in humans require supplementation above normal dietary intake.

How does Se affect our cardiovascular health?

Se supplementation, like any antioxidant, appears to offer protection against heart disease and strokes – particularly due to the effects on GPx activity.

Also Se supplementation increases the radio of HDL to LDL and inhibits platelet aggregation, resulting in better blood flow and a lower chance of clots.

Se seems to offer protection in smokers more than any other group!

How does Se affect inflammatory conditions?

Se & GPx levels are low in patients with RA, eczema, psoriasis and most likely low in most inflammatory conditions.

Because free radicals, prostaglandins & oxidants cause much of the damage to tissues seen in RA, a Se

deficiency results in even more significant damage, due to low levels of GPx.

Clinical studies haven’t clearly demonstrated the Se supplementation alone improves signs and symptoms of RA, but one study indicated that Se combined with Vitamin E (as it is in Selenium+Zinc Pharma Nord) does provide significant benefit.

How does Se affect fertility?

Selenium has a number of functions in terms of fertility. The main one is as an antioxidant, protecting sperm and egg from free radical damage and therefore improving the health male and female reproductive units.The various selenoproteins that selenium forms also

function as a part of the structural base of mature sperm.

Studies have shown that supplementation with selenium and vitamin E decrease semen oxidative load and increase sperm cell motility.

Low intake of selenium also seems to be associated with a greater risk of preeclampsia. 

What happens if we don’t get enough?

• Deficiency symptoms for selenium are difficult to determine and controversial in the research literature.

• With prolonged and severe deficiency, symptoms clearly centre around two of the body areas where oxidative stress is known to take its toll: the heart and the joints

• Low levels of Se are linked to a higher risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory diseases and other conditions associated with increased free radical damage, including premature aging.

What kind of Selenium is best to supplement?

Selenium is available in several different forms;

•Inorganic salts like sodium selenite are less effectively absorbed.•Not as biologically active as organic forms of selenium, such as selenomethionine and selenium-rich yeast. •The preferred form of selenium supplement is either selenomethionine or high selenium content yeast.•Because of the way antioxidants function, they are best taken together with other antioxidants, such as Zinc, Vitamin E etc...

Selenium+Zinc Pharma Nord has documented high bioavailability & high degree of absorption. In one pharmacokinetic study using 77Se-labelled Precise yeast, absorption of selenium was 88,7%

What is so special about the Selenium Pharma Nord produce?

Firstly, Pharma Nord make their own Selenium!

Selenium from PN is an organic, selenium yeast. While this means that it’s more expensive to produce, no other company produces an organic Se yeast to GMP standards in Europe, so to PN they have no choice but to make their own.

GMP status means that every single tablet contains precisely 100 μg.

Pharma Nord's Selenium, ‘SelenoPrecise’ is currently used in the Prevention of Cancer by Intervention with Selenium (PRECISE) study, a population study involving 40,000 test participants from Denmark, Sweden and England.

Who shouldn’t take it?There are some who may not be suited to supplementing with this particular formulation. Included are:

Those with yeast allergies or intolerances.

Anyone with a Vitamin K deficiency and therefore prone to a higher risk of bleeding with large doses of Vitamin E.

Vitamin C supplements cannot be recommended to persons with any iron overload syndrome (e.g. haemochromatosis).

Vitamin C should not be used by persons suffering from renal insufficiency or lack of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase

Drugs:Aspirin: Studies indicate that concurrent administration of aspirin and vitamin C supplements can inhibit the uptake of the vitamin Iron binding therapy: Preparations containing vitamin C may increase the effect of deferoxamin therapy. Anticoagulation medicine: Vitamin E may increase the effect of anticoagulant medicine  

Any safety issues?

Prolonged supplementation at doses in excess of 800 μg/day can produce signs of Se toxicity including depression, nervousness, emotional instability, nausea and vomiting, garlic odour of the breath and sweat and in extreme cases, loss of hair & fingernails.

The safety of a daily intake of 100 - 200 μg selenium is well-established

There is also substantial evidence that Se is essential for proper fetal growth and development and requirements increase during pregnancy. Low Se levels have been linked with SIDS and like heart disease and cancer, SIDS has the highest occurence in areas of the world where Se content of the soil and diet is lowest.