Selenium 200mcg by Protocol for Life Balance

A 200 mcg selenium capsule suits adults whose Selenium or RBC Selenium has tested low, or whose diet supplies little: people eating mostly plant foods grown in low-selenium soil, those with absorption problems, and people on dialysis. It is also the amount studied in people with raised Anti-TPO antibodies, a use that belongs with your clinician. If your level is already in range you do not need this much; most adults eating a mixed diet get enough from food.

Selenium is a trace mineral built into selenoproteins. These include the glutathione peroxidases, which protect cells from oxidative damage, and the deiodinases, which convert the thyroid hormone T4 into active T3. This product supplies selenium as L-selenomethionine, the main form found in food. It is absorbed well and is stored in body proteins in place of methionine, so levels rise steadily and fall slowly.

Take 1 capsule daily, or as directed by your health professional. One capsule provides 200 mcg of selenium. It can be taken with or without food; a meal is easier on the stomach. Count selenium from every source: a multivitamin, a thyroid formula and Brazil nuts each add to the total, and the adult upper limit from all sources is 400 mcg a day.

Selenium has a narrow margin between enough and too much. Long-term excess causes selenosis: garlic-smelling breath, a metallic taste, brittle nails, hair loss, nausea and nerve symptoms. Some long-term trial data also suggest that 200 mcg a day, taken for years by people who were not low, is linked with a higher rate of type 2 diabetes. Use this dose for a defined period guided by a lab result, not indefinitely. If you are pregnant, nursing, on prescription medicines or have kidney disease, check with your clinician first.

Blood selenium responds within 6–12 weeks, so retest Selenium after about three months and step down to a lower dose or to food sources once you are in range. You are unlikely to feel a difference unless you were low. Compared with sodium selenite, selenomethionine raises blood levels more, which is useful for repletion and a reason not to overshoot.