Selenium Fights Cancer & Heart Disease

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Selenium Fights Cancer & Heart Disease

 

by Frederic J. Vagnini, MD

 

People with diets low in this trace mineral have a two to three

times greater risk of heart disease that those with diets rich in it.

 

http://www.willner.com/article.aspx?artid=133

 

 

Individuals with diets low in selenium have a two to three times

greater

risk of heart disease than those with diets rich in selenium. This

trace

mineral is important for heart patients because it performs a number

of

functions: 1) it acts as an antioxidant, preventing free radical and

oxidative damage; 2) it improves the lipid profile, increasing the

ratio

of the good HDL cholesterol to LDL cholesterol; and 3) it inhibits

platelet aggregation (dotting). In one clinical study, patients with

blockages of three coronary arteries had low blood selenium levels;

those free of blockage had high selenium levels.

 

But beneficial as selenium is to heart patients, it is as a cancer

fighter that selenium appears to do a most remarkable job.

Researchers

undertook an investigation of the reported link between selenium and

skin cancer. They failed to discover a strong association, but in

the

course of their work they were astonished to find that patients

given

selenium had radically reduced rates of several other types of

cancer.

Inpatients taking 200 micrograms of selenium daily, the risk of

prostate

cancer plummeted by 64 percent, colon and rectal cancer dropped by

58

percent, and the lung cancer decreased by 45 percent. The overall

mortality rate from cancer among patients taking selenium

supplements

was 50 percent lower than among people not taking them. Clinical

trials

are now underway to determine if these findings can be duplicated.

 

Some investigations have demonstrated that selenium can dramatically

improve arthritis. Prostaglandins produce the inflammation of

arthritis,

and selenium helps to control prostaglandins by controlling the free

radical damage that causes their production. Low levels of selenium

also

have been associated with cataracts, eczema, premature aging,

arthritis,

and psoriasis. Depressed immune function and impaired resistance to

infection have also been attributed to low levels of selenium.

Although

chronic low levels of this trace mineral are common, a true

deficiency

is rare and usually occurs in parts of the world where the levels in

the

soil are low. Then, a severe heart disorder called Keshan disease

can

occur. The amount of selenium in the soil affects the amount of it

in

the food we eat. The effective forms of the supplement are organic,

and

include selenium-rich yeast and seleno-methionine The National

Academy

of Sciences has established a safe and effective range for selenium

of

50 to 200 micrograms daily.

 

[an excerpt from " Cardiovascular Wellness, " The Newsletter of Dr.

Frederic J. Vagnini, Vol V, No. 11]

 

Dr. Vagnini is a Board Certified Cardiac/Thoracic Surgeon, who after

25

years of conventional medical practice, expanded his area of

expertise

to include Preventive Medicine and Clinical Nutrition.

 

He hosts a popular radio program, the Heart Show, airing from 4-5

pm,

Sunday, on WOR Radio.

 

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets