Selenium
Selenium was identified as an essential human nutrient in 1979 when Chinese nutrition researchers discovered that people with low body stores of selenium were at increased risk of Keshan disease, a discover of the heart muscle with symptoms that include rapid heartbeat, enlarged heart, and (in severe cases) heart failure a consequence most common among young children and women of childbearing age.
How does selenium protect your heart? One possibility is that it works as an oxidant in tandem with vitamin E.
A second possibility raised b US Department of Agriculture studies with laboratory rats, is that it prevents viruses from attacking heart muscle.
There was one study that the result of a four year involving 1,312 patients previously treated for skin cancer strongly suggested that daily does of selenium in amounts 3.8 times the recommended daily allowance may reduce the incidence of cancers of the lung, prostate, colon and rectum.
Although fruits and vegetables grown in selenium rich soils are themselves rich in this mineral the best sources of selenium are seafood, meat and organ meats (live, kidney, eggs and dairy products.
Selenium
