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The
question and answer below highlights the Virtual Faculty at Jennifer
Jensen's Nutrition Power web site.
Question:
Selenium
Some studies show that
selenium is important for people living with HIV/AIDS. Is this true? What
natural sources and/or foods have the highest selenium content?
Answer: Ken Stringer,
Administrator and Webmaster of Jennifer
Jensen's Nutrition Power web site responds: Jennifer wrote about selenium
a number of times as an important antioxidant, especially for Positive
People. So let me jump in here to suggest that you check out Jennifer's
article, Alphabet
Soup. It was a 1996 article on supplements in general, with a section
on the then relatively new information on selenium and HIV. Dead
Doctors Don't Lie is another article which, though it repeats much
of the same information on selenium, is worth a look for other mineral-related
issues.
Chester Myers, PhD,
responds:
Yes, low selenium has been associated with faster HIV disease progression
than has been observed for deficiency than any other vitamin or mineral
examined so far in association/epidemiological type studies. I suspect
we might see similarly bad results for low magnesium, as it has been shown
to be more commonly deficient in HIV disease than most other micronutrients
(vitamins and minerals). The best source of selenium is Brazil nuts, but
there's so much in these that eating too many could cause an overdose.
My recommendation is to rely on a 200 microgram (µg) supplement in
addition to a good multivitamin with minerals. If a person wants to depend
on Brazil nuts for selenium intake, then I think about 4-5 Brazil nuts
a day would be enough. I prefer mixed nuts that include Brazil nuts - these
provide a generally good munchy snack with good quality fat, antioxidants,
and a good source of calories. But make sure there's no allergy to nuts
present.
Sharon Ann Meyer, AS,
AA, DTR, responds: As noted in this issue's feature article, more than
400 µgs of selenium per day may be harmful. Review the effects of
excessive selenium supplementation in Table
3 on page seven.
Also, refer to the article's
references for additional information on selenium. Many of these references
include links to Internet web sites that have lots of valuable information
on selenium and other micronutrients.
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