What is selenium?
Selenium is a naturally occurring mineral that is essential to good health but required only in small amounts. Selenium is needed by the body to make proteins essential to protect the body and regulate hormone and immune function.
Selenium is useful in a wide variety of everyday products: plastics, paints, inks and anti-dandruff shampoo.
How does selenium get into the body?
The most common way to obtain selenium is from the foods we eat. Food sources include meat, fish, grains, cereals, and nuts. These natural sources of selenium are sufficient to provide our daily dietary needs.
How did selenium get into the Total Body dietary supplement?
Selenium is added to many supplements because it is an essential element in the body. This ensures that the essential minerals and vitamins are available for good health. The Food and Drug Administration set guidelines called the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) to help people adjust their dietary intake. At this time, it appears that selenium was added to this supplement at high levels that are actually harmful to the body.
What does selenium do to the body?
Selenium is essential to the body but can be harmful at high doses. Short-term oral exposure to high concentrations of selenium may cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Chronic oral exposure to high concentrations of selenium compounds can produce a disease called selenosis. The major signs of selenosis are hair loss, nail brittleness, and neurological abnormalities (such as numbness and other odd sensations in the hands, arms, legs, or feet). Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rashes, and irritability have also been reported.
How can selenium affect my children's health?
The effects of selenium are expected to be similar to an adult's symptoms.
What are the long term effects of selenium poisoning? Can selenium cause cancer?
There are no expected long-term effects after high levels of dietary exposure. The adverse effects of selenium such as loss of hair and nail brittleness and discoloration may take a long time (weeks) to be reversed, but should eventually resolve on their own. Dietary forms of selenium have not been shown to cause cancer.
What can I do now that I am exposed?
There are no generally accepted treatments for selenium poisoning. Individuals are advised to stop taking the supplements and follow a healthy, well-balanced diet. You should consult your healthcare provider regarding supportive treatment for certain signs of illness, such as diarrhea or neurologic symptoms.
Is there a medical test to show whether I have been exposed?
Selenium is primarily a clinical diagnosis. A history of taking more than normal amounts of selenium, while showing signs and symptoms of selenium toxicity, is strongly suggestive of poisoning.
Low levels of selenium are normally found in body tissues and urine. Blood and urine can be tested for selenium and are most useful for people who have recently been exposed to high levels. However, these tests are not usually available at your doctor’s office and none of these tests can predict whether you will experience any health effects. Since there is no treatment for selenium poisoning, the tests are not considered to be clinically useful.
Is there any treatment for selenium poisoning?
Care for patients suffering from selenium poisoning is usually aimed at treating symptoms. There is no specific antidote or treatments for selenium poisoning. Anyone who has ingested mineral supplements containing selenium and suffering from the symptoms of selenium poisoning should stop taking these products immediately. High levels of selenium are naturally eliminated from the body. However, it may take many weeks for selenium to return to normal levels. Any person who suspects that they ingested too much selenium should call the Poison Control Center (see below) or healthcare provider.
Should I avoid all selenium for now?
You should eat a proper well-balanced diet and take daily supplements or multi-vitamins as directed by your healthcare provider.
What should I expect when I go to a healthcare provider?
There are no specific antidotes or treatments for selenium poisoning. If your physician should make this diagnosis, he/she can give you health advice on proper diet and vitamin and mineral supplementation.
What should I do if I have this product in my home?
Do not continue taking it. You can either return it to the point of purchase (that is, where you bought it) or throw it out in an outside trash can.
Will anyone test the supplement?
The FDA has already collected a sufficient quantity of product for testing and is not currently accepting product for testing. If you want to have the product tested, you will need to contact a private laboratory and have it tested at your own expense.
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