Have you ever stopped to think about whether you’re consuming all the nutrients your body needs on a daily basis?
It can be a bit overwhelming.
With more than 17 essential vitamins and minerals required for normal function, it can get a bit mind-blowing to try to pack them all into a day’s works—it seems a bit like a full-time job.
But it doesn’t have to be.
Most of the nutrients we need can be obtained through the food we eat (assuming we’re eating unprocessed, whole foods), but in cases where maybe you slipped off the healthy food wagon, we’ve got a couple of solutions for that.
So, in the interest of vitamins and minerals, let’s talk about one that’s generally kept off the radar but definitely shouldn’t be—selenium.
What Is Selenium?
Selenium rarely makes the list of the top minerals to support a healthy body, but it should. It’s a trace mineral that’s required in relatively small quantities to make selenoproteins, but plays a role that’s anything but small.
And as much as we’d love to think that you can get adequate selenium only through food, there are a few impediments to that:
- Soil quality
- Rainfall
- Evaporation
- pH levels
These factors all work together to influence selenium concentration in your food, so while you may think you’re getting enough from the brown rice and baked beans you eat daily, where you live could interfere with that 1.
Why Take Selenium
- Boosts your immune function — Studies show that it’s not just zinc, vitamin D, and vitamin C that keep the immune system running. Selenium is a critical component of many immune tissues, including the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes 2. Low selenium levels can severely interfere with the function of key immune cells like B cells, T cells, lymphocytes, and natural killer (NK) cells that your body needs to protect itself against invading pathogens.
- Supports reproduction (for men and women) — Looking to conceive? Selenium is your friend. The job is geared more towards men due to selenium’s role in supporting sperm function, growth and development, and motility, but it’s also needed to synthesize testosterone 2, 3. Low levels of T are also associated with increased fat mass and weight gain.
- Keeps your brain sharp — Stack it with other nootropics, and selenium gives you the complete package. Low levels of selenium have been linked to a decreased turnover rate of neurotransmitters needed to balance mood and support cognitive function 2.
- Protects your cells — This role is probably the most notable—an antioxidant. Selenium works to neutralize free radicals caused by environmental toxins, exercise, food, and normal metabolic processes that can harm cells and cause long-term damage, not to mention wrack up oxidative stress and inflammation—both of which are indicated in a long list of chronic diseases. It’s a key component of some of the most critical antioxidant enzymes, including glutathione peroxidase (GPx), thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), and iodothyronine deiodinases (IDD) 4.
- Regulates your thyroid — Where weight gain is concerned, this one is gold. Your thyroid is the organ responsible for controlling your metabolism, and if it’s not running as well as it should due to hormone insufficiency, your weight is going to suffer. For your thyroid to run efficiently, it needs sufficient levels of thyroid hormones—and that’s where selenium comes into the picture. Research shows that low selenium intake may compromise thyroid hormone-metabolism and exacerbate hypothyroidism 2. Why? Because it’s required for the conversion of T4 to its active form, T3. Selenium is incorporated into iodothyronine deiodinases and plays an essential role in the metabolism of thyroid hormones 5.
Can Selenium Cause Weight Gain?
Despite what you may have heard through the grapevine, selenium doesn’t cause weight gain—it may actually support the opposite.
Because of its role in regulating and supporting thyroid function, the gland that controls your metabolism, it may help to regulate metabolic rate and burn more calories rather than pack them on. Its antioxidant function also plays a role in thyroid health.
Selenium acts as a powerful antioxidant for the thyroid, helping to remove reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated during the production of thyroid hormones 5.
When you’re low in this important mineral, it may impair function of the thyroid gland, and you’re going to experience symptoms of hypothyroidism—cold hands and feet, constipation, fatigue, low energy, dry skin, thinning hair, eyebrow hair loss, and of course weight gain.
So, how do you prevent that?
It’s easy. You ensure you’re consuming enough selenium.
Aside from diving into a diet high in selenium-rich foods like Brazil nuts, beans and legumes, and sunflower seeds (or lean meats, eggs, poultry, and seafood for the non-vegans out there), there’s another option that just may do your metabolism a bit of extra good if weight loss is your goal—PL-Immune and PL NutriGenesis Multi.
There’s two reasons for that.
First, your immune system is the security guard of your body, and if it’s not on duty, you’re going to be susceptible to a lot more than weight gain.
So, avoid the hassle entirely by supporting your immune system 24/7 with PL-Immune. It’s more potent, more powerful, and more effective than any other immune booster on the market.
PL-Immune combines six powerful ingredients that deliver full-spectrum immune support for peak performance by restoring and maintaining vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant levels critical to proper immune function.
And it does this using NutriGenesis selenium designed for maximum bioavailability and maximum support.
And if you want to take it a step further, support optimal body-wide function and all of your weight-loss fat-burning pathways with a daily multivitamin to cover all of your bases.
But we’re not talking about any old pharmacy multi—we’re talking about Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi - the only multivitamin designed for optimal human performance.
Multi contains 17+ essential daily vitamins and minerals—including 125mcg (227% RDA) of selenium—supported by natural cofactors like probiotics, fiber, enzymes, and antioxidants to enhance bioavailability and health-supportive activity. It’s an ultramodern multivitamin designed for people who lead active lives.
Summary
Long story short, supplementing with selenium won’t cause weight gain. Rather, if you’re not supplementing with it, that is what actually could.
Because of its key role in the health of the thyroid gland and thyroid hormone metabolism, selenium plays a vital role in how your body handles energy. So, lack of it means it’s probably going to show.
The great thing is that meeting your needs is simple. Stack PL-Immune with PL NutriGenesis Multi daily, and all the pathways that support fat-burning and weight loss will be covered. It’s clean and simple supplementation that works.
References
- GD Jones, B Droz, P Greve, et al. Selenium deficiency risk predicted to increase under future climate change.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2017;114(11):2848-2853.
- MP Rayman. The importance of selenium to human health. Lancet. 2000;356(9225):233-241.
- R Scott, A MacPherson, RW Yates, B Hussain, J The effect of oral selenium supplementation on human sperm motility.Br J Urol. 1998;82(1):76-80.
- U Selenium: its role as antioxidant in human health. Environ Health Prev Med. 2008;13(2):102-108.
- M Ventura, M Melo M, F Selenium and Thyroid Disease: From Pathophysiology to Treatment. Int J Endocrinol. 2017;2017:1297658.
