Low selenium levels in the soil are linked to life-threatening reactions to COVID-19
An international science team from the University of Surrey in England has found a link between low selenium levels in the soil and the risk od COVID-19 infections becoming lethal. Professor Margaret Rayman, who headed the study, has spent decades studying the global lack of selenium that is known to impair the ability of the immune system to tackle virus infections and new epidemics. The farmlands in large parts of the world, including Europe and China, are low in selenium, and it is vital to have more focus on this essential nutrient.
The number of seniors in the world is growing. It hardly comes as a surprise that old people wish to stay mentally and physically fit and enjoy every minute of the of life. Nonetheless, many middle-aged and older people feel tired and lethargic, or they suffer from chronic diseases that impair their quality of life and are associated with shorter life expectancy. In his book, Coenzyme Q10 – An Insider’s Guide, Dr. William V. Judy looks closer at how Q10 is able to delay the ageing process at a cellular level by increasing energy levels, supporting heart health, and preventing atherosclerosis and other chronic diseases that are linked to ageing. Combined supplementation with Q10 and selenium can even delay the risk of early death by over 50 percent. Dr. Judy makes a point of saying how important it is to choose pharmaceutical-grade Q10 that the body can absorb and utilize.
It is commonly known that degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney ailments, and liver diseases are often linked to poor quality of life and shorter lifespan. Supplementing with Q10, possibly in combination with selenium yeast, may have a positive influence on the mentioned conditions and lower your risk of premature death by as much as 50 percent or more. In fact, Q10 can help delay the ageing processes by protecting the heart, cardiovascular system, and cells, according to a large review article published online by NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information). As mentioned in this article, it is essential to use supplements that are pharmaceutical-grade in order to ensure proper absorption in blood and tissue.
Selenium is of vital importance to a strong immune defense. Still, selenium deficiency is a common problem and it increases the risk of viral infections such as influenza and the coronavirus from China, which is feared to turn into a global pandemic. It is a problem that selenium deficiency in infected animals and humans causes the virus to mutate and become more aggressive. Because of selenium’s important role as a powerful antioxidant, being deficient of this micronutrient may leave the body vulnerable to oxidative stress, which can cause tissue damage and complicate the virus infection. It is therefore important to get enough selenium at all times, as it also increases our resistance towards other viral infections such as herpes, HIV, and hepatitis, according to an article published in Nutrients.
Lack of selenium, an essential trace element, may cause thyroid disorders, cardiovascular disease, virus infections, AIDS, infertility, neurological disturbances, and cancer. An estimated one billion people worldwide are selenium-deficient. This is mainly a result of nutrient-depleted soil, which is a real problem in places like Europe. For decades, scientists have been warning about this problem, and a lot suggests that we need more than the officially recommended intake to protect ourselves effectively against disease, according to a review article published in StatPearls.
The mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells that churn out energy in a process that involves oxygen, Q10, selenium, and other nutrients. Around 100 years ago, the German Nobel Prize winner, Professor Otto Warburg, demonstrated that even if cancer can be caused by a number of secondary factors, there is only one primary cause: alterations in the mitochondrial oxygen turnover. In his recent book, Tripping over the Truth, molecular biologist Travis Christoffersen describes how contemporary scientists confirm Warburg’s theories and says that we need to look at prevention and cancer treatment from an entirely different angle. Other studies show that Parkinson’s disease, migraine, senility, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, epilepsy, and other neurological disorders may be rooted in defects of the mitochondria that have many other functions besides delivering energy. It is therefore vital to take care of the mitochondria throughout life. You can read more about the ketogenic diet that optimizes mitochondrial energy turnover in different mitochondrial diseases.
Selenium is a trace element that supports over 30 essential selenoproteins, which have numerous functions. For the first time ever, a study of Mexican children reveals that lack of selenium delays the growth of pubic hairs and the development of sex organs in boys. It is a known fact that the agricultural soil in Mexico is low in selenium and that affects the entire food chain. The same is the case in Europe, for which reason farmers for decades have supplemented livestock with selenium as a way of improving fertility and preventing a number of deficiency problems. The big question is to what extent can selenium deficiency problems explain the impaired sperm quality that has been observed among young men? An estimated 500 million to one billon people worldwide get too little selenium from their diet.
Infertility affects around one in seven couples. WHO considers it a global health problem. One of the leading causes is impaired semen quality, and Danish, Norwegian, and German men have lower sperm quality than any other male populations. Impaired sperm quality may be a result of an unhealthy lifestyle with stress, tobacco, stimulants, and hormone-disrupting compounds. On the other hand, scientists from Mexico have found that supplements of zinc, selenium, Q10, and omega-3 have an effect on the number of sperm cells and their quality. Other studies show that zinc and selenium protect sperm cells and are important for testosterone levels.
Selenium is an essential trace element that is important for the immune defense, metabolism, fertility, nervous system, and cancer prevention. An estimated one billion people worldwide are believed to be selenium-deficient. Because European agricultural soil is low in selenium, we Europeans are more exposed than others. It appears that selenium deficiencies increase our risk of many acute, chronic, and life-threatening diseases, and the official recommendations for daily intake are too low, according to a new article about selenium deficiency, which is published in the scientific American database NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information).