Selenium

"Strengthen immunity and lots of problems go away."  

That insight comes from a previous e-Alert in which HSI Panelist Dr Allan Spreen, discussed the merits of combining vitamin E and the mineral selenium.   

Dr. Spreen: "Both selenium and vitamin E are intimately associated with stimulation of the part of the immune system dealing with production of immunoglobulins." 

What got me thinking about selenium and vitamin E? I came across a new study that suggests selenium may provide powerful protection against a cancer that affects mostly men.   

Bladder benefits 

Based on the results of previous dietary studies that have shown selenium to have potential cancer- fighting properties, a team of scientists at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium launched a study to assess the effect of the mineral on bladder cancer.   

STUDY ABSTRACT

Researchers recruited 178 subjects who had been diagnosed with bladder cancer
More than 360 healthy subjects were also recruited
Analysis of blood samples revealed that subjects with more than 96 micrograms per litre (mcg/L) of selenium, reduced their
risk of bladder cancer by 70 percent, compared to subjects who had less than 82.4 mcg/L 
Risk was cut by more than half among those whose selenium levels were between 82.4 and 96 mcg/L  Writing in the September
2006 issue of the International Journal of Urology, the researchers noted that bladder cancer risk was lowered 14 percent for every
10 mcg/L increase of selenium.  

Putting a lid on p53

This isn't the first time I've reported about research on selenium as a cancer-fighter.   

In a past e-Alert, I told you about a colorectal tumour study from the University of Arizona in the US in which medical records and blood tests from more than 1,700 subjects were analysed to determine tumour developments and selenium concentrations.

Results showed that those with the highest blood selenium values had "significantly lower odds" of developing a colorectal tumour when compared to subjects with the lowest selenium levels.   

The researchers also noted that each of the three trials from which they gathered data indicated selenium's protective effect against the recurrence of tumours, and that subjects with the highest selenium levels had more than a 40 percent reduced risk of tumour recurrence compared to subjects with the lowest levels of selenium.   

Neither this study nor the Belgium study was designed to investigate the mechanism by which selenium might offer protection against cancer. But in another past e-Alert I told you about two studies that offered clear evidence that high selenium levels were associated with the activation of a key tumour-suppressing gene called p53. Dr. Martin L. Smith (the author of one of those studies) noted that daily intake of selenium probably needs to be around 200mcg to ensure adequate protection.   Brazil nuts can't be beaten for their rich selenium content: they contain more than 800 mcg of selenium per ounce.

..and another thing

Eggs. I'm a big fan..................

Remember the egg scare at the end of the 20th Century? Some mainstream nutritionists decided that the cholesterol in eggs posed a national health hazard. Dire warnings were posted. SWAT teams were called in. The egg became a public enemy.   

Thank goodness that hysteria has passed and we can again enjoy the omelet, the hard-boiled, and the scrambled without fear.   Two recent studies help put to rest the mania over cholesterol, while illustrating how eggs can also benefit vision health.   As reported in NetDoctor, study number one tested two levels of egg intake, versus zero egg intake, in a cohort of 24 women.

Cholesterol levels rose in the zero intake group. Meanwhile, lutein and zeaxanthin levels increased in the two egg groups, but cholesterol levels did not.   As I've noted in previous e-Alerts, lutein  and zeaxanthin are carotenoid antioxidants necessary for general vision health and for lowering the risk of age-related macular degeneration.   

In the second study, researchers asked 33 subjects over the age of 60 to eat one egg each day for five weeks. Cholesterol levels didn't budge, but blood samples showed that lutein  levels increased by more than 25 percent, and zeaxanthin levels increased by nearly 40 percent. 

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Sources:  "Selenium is Inversely Associated with Bladder Cancer Risk: A Report from the Belgian Case-Control Study on Bladder Cancer" International Journal of Urology, Vol. 13, No. 9, September 2006, Blackwell- synergy.com "Selenium and Colorectal Adenoma: Results of a Pooled Analysis" Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 96, No. 22, 11/17/04, jncicancerspectrum.oupjournals.org"One Egg Per Day Boosts Eye Health" NetDoctor, 9/22/06, news.netdoctor.co.uk   
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