Is selenium an important element in preventing heart disease and fighting cancer? Eat 5 kinds of food properly and not be afraid of selenium deficiency

“Eat more selenium-enriched rice, it can fight cancer!”

Aunt Zhao went to the street to buy rice today, and the salesperson diligently pulled Aunt Zhao aside , introduced the selenium-enriched rice, saying that it can fight cancer.

“Your rice is too expensive! It’s not made of gold!” Aunt Zhao looked at the price and was startled, she actually asked for 35 yuan per catty , The rice that her own family usually eats is about 3.5 yuan a pound.

“Selenium-enriched rice is different from ordinary rice. It contains a lot of selenium, which is an essential element for preventing cancer and heart disease!” After saying this, The salesperson showed Aunt Zhao the products and product descriptions of selenium-enriched rice in detail.

After reading it, Aunt Zhao’s doubts disappeared, and she decided to buy a 5-jin bag and try it at home.

Selenium element, everyone should be familiar with it, this is a kind of net red trace element , There are many kinds of selenium-enriched products on the market. As long as any food is stained with selenium, its value will double. But can selenium-enriched rice and selenium-enriched products really fight cancer?

I. The trace element selenium can “poison” cancer cells?

July 2020,University of Massachusetts Medical Schoolresearchers at Nature Metabolism(Nature Metabolism) published a research article on the role of selenium in cancer. The researchers disrupted the utilization of selenium by cancer cells by inhibiting the metabolic enzyme SEPHS2 in the selenocysteine ​​biosynthesis pathway, and found that cancer cells eventually died from selenium poisoning.

In addition to killing cancer cells, selenium also has the following effects:

1. Improve immunity< /span>

If the body lacks selenium for a long time, then the immune function will be compromised. Because, selenium can enhance the immune system’s ability to recognize viruses, foreign bodies and lesions in the body, while selenium can improve the immune system cells The ability of phagocytosis and sterilization can improve the immune function of the body.

2. Cardiovascular protection

Selenium is a strong antioxidant that can help The body promptly removes harmful free radicals in the body to achieve anti-aging effects. Therefore, selenium can not only help prevent the aging of blood vessels in the human body and reduce the occurrence of arteriosclerosis, but also help regulate cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the body , so as to achieve the effect of reducing thrombosis.

Second, the question is, can eating more selenium-rich rice fight cancer?

Every time I go to the supermarket to buy rice, I will see that ordinary rice costs only a few yuan per pound, while selenium-rich rice costs tens of yuan per pound. Why is selenium-enriched rice so expensive?

The content of selenium in ordinary rice is approximately 0.01-0.03 mg/kg , and the national standard stipulates that the content of selenium in selenium-enriched ricecannot be less than 0.07 mg per kilogram. Therefore, in the process of planting selenium-enriched rice, in order to ensure that the selenium content reaches the standard, artificial selenium supplementation and farmland selenium fertilizer are required. This requires more labor input, resulting in relatively high production costs, so its price will be more expensive than ordinary rice.

But can eating more selenium-rich rice prevent and fight cancer?

Ruan Guangfeng, Director of the Business Department of Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Centerpoints out that a normal diet can To meet the human body’s needs for selenium, there is currently no scientific evidence to show that selenium supplementation alone can effectively prevent cancer, but too much selenium supplementation is harmful to the body , which can cause nausea, vomiting, hair loss, etc.selenium poisoning Reaction.

Third, eat several kinds of food in daily diet, not afraid of lack of selenium

The food sources of selenium can be mainly divided into two categories, namely animal food sources and plant food sources. Many common foods in daily life contain selenium, and ordinary people do not have much need to buy “rich foods”. Selenium” products, you can ensure the intake of selenium through a balanced diet.

1. Animal viscera

in animal viscera Heart, liver, kidneyAll contain more selenium, for example, every 100 grams of pig kidney contains 156.7 micrograms of selenium.

2. Aquatic products

in aquatic products Fish, lobster, and shells all contain high amounts of selenium, such as hairtail per 100 gramsThe content of selenium is 26.6 micrograms, 86.6 micrograms of selenium per 100 grams of oysters, and 56.4 micrograms of selenium per 100 grams of shrimp.

3, pork

We often eat pork. Pork is rich in selenium. In every 100 grams of pork, the content of selenium is as high as 11 micrograms, which is higher than other foods.

4. Eggs

Eggs are the egg products we usually eat.< /span>Each 100 grams of eggs contains 33.6 micrograms of selenium, which is higher than pork. And eggs are more easily digested and absorbed by the human body, so if you want to supplement selenium, you can eat more eggs.

5, nuts, beans

Nuts and beans are also high in selenium The selenium content of fried white pumpkin seeds is 27.03 micrograms/100 grams, the selenium content of soybeans is 6.16 micrograms/100 grams, the selenium content of safflower beans is 19.05 micrograms/100 grams, and the selenium content of flower peas is 19.05 micrograms/100 grams. The amount is 9.72 micrograms/100 grams, and the selenium content of tiger skin kidney beans is 9.75 micrograms/100 grams.

It is worth noting thatAlthough animal offal and eggs are high in selenium, they are also high in fat and cholesterol. Excessive consumption can easily cause symptoms such as obesity, hyperlipidemia, and high blood pressure, so it is not advisable to consume too much every day, especially for children and the elderly.

4. What are the symptoms of selenium deficiency?

Selenium is a rare trace element necessary for the human body and plays an important role in metabolism and blood circulation. If the human body is deficient in selenium for a long time, it will seriously affect the health of the body. Different groups of people with selenium deficiency will have different symptoms.

1. Children

Children are in the period of growth and development. It is easy to suffer from osteoarthritis and Keshan disease. Among them, Keshan disease is a myocardial disease, which is related to cardiac insufficiency or arrhythmia. In severe cases, it can affect organs such as the lungs.

2. Adolescents

Adolescents who lack selenium will lead to muscle atrophy. It affects the development of bones to a certain extent, and the common manifestations are growth retardation and so on.

3. The elderly

If the elderly are deficient in selenium, they will increase the risk of dementia. Risk, and the body’s ability to fight the virus will also become weak, increasing the risk of infection with highly pathogenic viruses.

Selenium should be supplemented scientifically on a daily basis, following the four principles of supplementing the amount of deficiency, supplementing quantitatively, adhering to the correct method of taking, and supplementing with food and medicine. If it is used for disease prevention and health, it is generally recommended that the daily intake of selenium is 50-250 mg; if it is used for treatment of diseases, the dose of selenium supplement may be larger, and it should be taken according to the doctor’s advice.

References:

[1]Carlisle A E, Lee N, Matthew-Onabanjo A N, et al. Selenium detoxification is required for cancer-cell survival . Nature Metabolism. 2020, 2, 603–611

[2]The price ranges from a few yuan to dozens of yuan. The more expensive the rice, the better it must be? .Science and Technology Daily, 2018-05-24

[3] Can eating more “selenium-rich” foods fight cancer? There is no scientific basis. Scientific rumors, 2020-05-28

[4] Chinese people are seriously deficient in selenium! However, the amount of selenium supplementation in the human body is very close to the amount of poisoning. How to supplement it here. Dahe Daily Health News, 2020-01-18

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