Foods with Selenium

If more people knew about the health benefits of selenium, more will be stocking their kitchens with foods with selenium. It’s a mineral that the body cannot manufacture so your body depends on your diet for a supply. No one can maintain their well-being without a regular intake of it and fortunately, it can be easily ingested if you know the right foods to eat. Without it, it won’t be long before you experience discomfort and pain in your joints, hair problems and a host of other health problems as a result of thyroid malfunction.

Taking care of your thyroid glands is not as popular as caring for your heart or liver, but neglecting it can yield devastating results. The thyroid’s job is to produce hormone that keep calcium and metabolism in check. You might have heard someone complaining about their inability to lose weight because of a thyroid problem or joint pain because of lack of selenium. This is because weight gain is a common symptom but others include white in fingernails, unhealthy hair, painful muscles, cancerous growths and diseases because of roaming free radicals. Widening your menu to include foods with selenium can lessen these symptoms sometimes without the need of medication.

Common Foods with Selenium

Foods with selenium are not hard to find and it is likely you’re already eating them. The most usual foods are fish, sea food and pork. It is obvious that some foods contain larger amounts of selenium than others and the way they are prepared will also influence the content. The best fish is tuna, swordfish and herring. If you want to increase your intake through sea food, your best options are fresh lobsters, crabs, prawns and shrimp. If you’re going eat pork, have it as pork chops or bacon. Whenever you possibly can, grill, boil or steam these foods for maximum nutrition. Deep-frying foods with selenium can compromise their quality.

Other great foods are shellfish like oysters, mussels and whelk. Animal liver, cow, chicken or lamb, is one of the top selenium foods and can be enjoyed with rice or wheat or rye products. Great snacks can be sunflower seeds and Brazilian nuts because not only do they contain rich selenium content, they have other great health benefits too. Most of these foods can be consumed as part of main meals and easily prepared. Keep in mind that the fresher you serve them, the healthier they will be.

Recommended intake of Selenium in food

Just like with any other mineral, too much of it can cause more harm than good. An overdose of selenium can give you a runny stomach, horrible breath and unsightly hair loss. It is highly unlikely that the amount contained in the food will lead to an excessive dosage. This mostly occurs with people who take selenium supplements in tablet form instead of those who have a diet of foods with selenium.

The current recommended dosage is 70 micrograms but your dosage will depend on the severity of your symptoms and intensity of your deficiency.