In this modern era, more people are trying to find ways to boost their brain health. This is due to the endless positive effects for taking care of your brain health as you grow older. With that being said, there are several nutrients that help to boost overall brain health. One of the powerful minerals that can help with brain health is selenium.
In this article, we’ll explore the amazing benefits of selenium and how consuming it on a frequent basis can help to improve overall health.
What is Selenium?
Selenium is a mineral that helps to improve our body functions. For instance, selenium can help to boost enzyme function, immune system, thyroid health, and brain health. It’s a powerful antioxidant that can help to protect your body cells against damage caused by oxidative stress.
Selenium, which comes from soil, can be found in most plant-based and animal-based food. There are also several supplements that include selenium, making it easy to consume without consuming dietary foods.
How Selenium Affects Brain Health
The benefits of selenium are endless, especially when it comes to brain health. Selenium supports the overall production of key antioxidants such as glutathione peroxidase, which protects the brain neurons against free radicals caused by brain aging.
Selenium also helps us to maintain proper thyroid hormone levels, which can affect the brain metabolism and mental clarity. When our body has a deficiency in selenium, we can experience mood swings, cognitive function issues or be at risk of neurological disorders.
Benefits of Selenium for Brain Wellness and Cognitive Function
Before you scratch your head trying to figure out whether you need selenium, here are several benefits of selenium you should know about:
1. Protects Against Oxidative Stress
Selenium is important to combat oxidative stress, which is a condition where there is an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants. This can lead to potential cell damage in the brain, thus causing cognitive function problems or other diseases related to the brain.
Selenium will slow down the aging of our brain tissue to ensure we maintain sharp memory and focus by balancing the free radicals in our brain.
2. Supports Mood Regulation
Another major benefit of selenium is that you can prevent the risk of depression, anxiety and irritability. This is because a sufficient amount of selenium can help to boost the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, which is essential to promote good mood.
3. Enhances Cognitive Function
Having the right amount of selenium in our bodies also help to improve cognitive function such as improve our memory, focus, and problem-solving skills. Most people who take selenium supplements have shown positive improvement for mental clarity.
4. May Reduce the Risk of Neurodegenerative Diseases
One of the important benefits of selenium is that it can help reduce the potential risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. They are typically related to inflammation or oxidative damage in our brain.
5. Supports Thyroid Health for Mental Clarity
Maintaining good thyroid health offers benefits to our body such as having good brain function. Hence, selenium actually helps to convert the thyroid hormone T4 into the active form, T3, to positively affect cognitive functions. When we have poor thyroid function, it can lead to brain fog or depression. Therefore, selenium helps to prevent this from occurring.
Recommended Daily Intake for Selenium
Now that you know the health benefits of selenium, it may be tempting to consume as much as possible to improve brain health. However, there is a recommended daily intake, which is around 55 micrograms (mcg) per day for adults. High consumption of selenium can lead to toxicity, so it’s best to maintain a sufficient amount and not exceed more than 400 mcg per day.
That’s also why selenium supplements benefit us to maintain proper dosage so that we don’t go overboard by eating natural food sources which can cause us to exceed the recommended dosage.
Natural Food Sources of Selenium
If you prefer to consume natural food sources of selenium instead of supplements, here are some of the best options to get selenium naturally:
- Brazil nuts
- Tuna and salmon
- Eggs
- Sunflower seeds
- Whole grains
- Chicken and turkey
- Spinach and mushrooms
Symptoms of Overconsumption of Selenium
It’s also important to maintain some precautions as overconsumption can lead to toxicity. To spot symptoms of toxicity, the common signs are fatigue, hair loss and nausea. If you are considering taking supplements, do make sure that the dosage is between 50 to 200 mcg. Consult a professional if you require further information as the dosage also depends on every individual’s needs and current health condition.
Conclusion
It’s safe to say that consuming selenium is essential to improve our overall brain health. After learning about the benefits of selenium, you may feel motivated to take the necessary action by consuming sufficient dosage each day. We’re more than happy to help you support your selenium intake with Eskayvie Mindtropic, supplements for brain health! Our supplement can help to boost your brain health while improving your cognitive functions.