During pregnancy, the unborn child needs different nutrients for proper development of its brain and nervous system. Even if the mother eats a balanced diet, it can be difficult to get enough selenium for a number of reasons. In a new Italian animal study that is published in Nutrients, scientists have looked closer at selenium’s role during pregnancy and lactation. They observed that even minor selenium deficiencies can have a negative effect on the offspring’s brain development and behavior. This study supports earlier human studies showing how vital it is for the mother to get plenty of selenium during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Q10 has a key role in the cellular energy turnover and also serves as an antioxidant that protects the body against oxidative stress. Disruptions in the energy-producing mitochondria in cells and oxidative stress may also be involved in different types of hormone disturbances that affect the thyroid gland, pancreas, sex glands, pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands. In a new review article that is published in Antioxidants, scientists look closer at Q10’s role with particular focus on hyperthyroidism, type 2 diabetes, and poor sperm quality, all of which can be corrected through supplementation.

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.

Involuntary childlessness has become increasingly common. Many women find themselves in a race against time, and their biological clock keeps ticking louder and louder. Fertility therapies, miscarriages, preeclampsia, and other complications during pregnancy contribute to the physical and emotional burden. In a new Australian study that is published in Nutrients, the authors write about selenium and zinc and how these nutrients play an important role in fertility and a healthy pregnancy. They also address the problems with widespread selenium deficiency and point out that environmental toxins like mercury deplete levels of vital selenium-containing proteins in the body. The scientists point to supplements for fighting deficiencies, just like folic acid and iron are routinely recommended to pregnant women. It pays off to choose selenium yeast with multiple organic selenium compounds and organic zinc to help improve the bioavailability and utilization of the nutrients.

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).