Nutritional supplements for fertility: selenium


        NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS FOR FERTILITY: SELENIUM

Selenium is a mineral. As an antioxidant, it protects you against highly reactive chemical fragments called free radicals. These free radicals have been linked to cancer, coronary heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis and premature ageing. They speed up the ageing process by destroying healthy cells as well as attacking collagen (the 'cement' that holds cells together), which is found in bone, cartilage and connective tissues like skin.
Free radicals are created when oxygen becomes unstable during normal biochemical reactions in the body. They can also be formed by other sources, such as fried, blackened or barbecued food, radiation, exhaust fumes and smoking.
Antioxidants, such as selenium, are essential in your diet because they can disarm these harmful free radicals. With its protective effect, selenium can prevent chromosome breakage, which is known to be a cause of birth defects and miscarriages. It can also protect against poisoning from heavy toxic metals such as cadmium and lead which can affect the development of sperm.
Good levels of selenium are essential to maximize sperm formation and are also needed for optimum testosterone production. In one double-blind trial, selenium supplementation resulted in an increase in fertility from 17.5 per cent to 35.1 per cent in sub-fertile men.
Out of 41 men volunteering to be sperm donors in one study, 23 had normal sperm counts and 18 had low sperm counts. Blood selenium levels were significantly lower in the men with low sperm counts.
Because selenium is needed for healthy sperm formation, it is especially advisable to supplement with selenium when semen analysis shows a high percentage of abnormal sperm. As a powerful antioxidant, selenium can also protect against possible DNA damage to sperm.
Selenium should be found in the soil where our food grows but unfortunately we can no longer rely on this. Because there are no obvious signs of deficiency, you don't know you're not getting enough until it is too late. It is therefore much safer to take a supplement.

You should take l00 mcg of selenium a day.
Your partner should take l00 mcg of selenium a day.

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WOMEN’S HEALTH
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