Selenium over range, can’t figure out why!

[dang]

Hey all, hope everyone is doing well today.

I just came back from the Endo, he handed me my results and I noticed that I’m over range with selenium, not just today but even in my last test.

Weird thing is I don’t take selenium, it’s not in any of my supplements, I don’t eat Brazil nuts. The ONLY nut I eat is macadamia nuts. Are those high in selenium? (I also don’t eat any meat other than fish and chicken, as I know apparently beef can contain high amounts). I live in Berlin and I drink the tap water (quite high in minerals could that be it?)

Here are my last 2 results with selenium:

17-10-2018: 125 (50-120)

19-03-2019: 124 (50-120)

As a bonus some of you may remember that my naturopath put me on selenium a few years ago and after 2 months I had toxic levels and went on a few rants on this forum warning others to always get their selenium checked if supplementing. Once I stopped taking it back then my levels went down to normal again, however now it’s been years since I’ve taken selenium, and the past 2 results are the only time I’ve ever gone over range WITHOUT taking any supplements.

Can someone chime in? I’m rather confused!

[dang]

Quick extra note: in terms of fish I don’t eat tuna (due to intolerances) and eat mostly just salmon (quite often to be honest, maybe that could be it)?

[Angel_of_the_North]

Do you eat a lot of mushrooms?

[dang in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

I don’t. I’m intolerant to them 😓

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

The ONLY nut I eat is macadamia nuts. Are those high in selenium?

I got hooked on macadamia nuts when I visited Australia, very moreish!

According to nutrition-and-you.com/macad...

100 g nuts provide 3.6 µg of selenium.

You may have to eat an awful lot of macadamia nuts to overdose on selenium.

And according to healthyeating.sfgate.com/mu...

A 4-ounce cooked salmon fillet provides approximately 41 micrograms of selenium.

So it could be the amount of salmon you eat as it's said we need 55mcg selenium daily.

[dang in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks for the reply! I’m going to have to do a little math to figure out how much selenium I’m getting from Salmon but yea it seems it could be the culprit!

[jgelliss in reply to SeasideSusie]

Great observation SeasideSusie my Selenium went up very high with Salmon . I was told to eliminate it for a while .

The most common clinical signs of chronically high selenium intakes, or selenosis, are hair and nail loss or brittleness. Other symptoms include lesions of the skin and nervous system, nausea, diarrhea, skin rashes, mottled teeth, fatigue, irritability, and nervous system abnormalities.

Highest Sources of Selenium Per 100 Grams

1.

Brazil Nuts

2739 %

2.

Pork Kidney

271 %

3.

Whelk

128 %

4.

Lamb Liver

118 %

5.

Whole Wheat Bread

104 %

6.

Chia Seeds

100 %

7.

Oysters

91 %

8.

Liverwurst

83 %

9.

Sunflower Seeds

76 %

10.

Swordfish

69 %

11.

Mussels

64 %

12.

Octopus

64 %

13.

Cuttlefish

64 %

14.

Mackerel

63 %

15.

Lobster

59 %

16.

Shrimp

54 %

17.

Tuna (Yellowfin)

52 %

18.

Anchovies

52 %

19.

Pork Chop

48 %

20.

Salmon (Sockeye)

[dang in reply to jgelliss]

Thanks for adding this information! I’ve already started taking a break from salmon and looking for other alternatives in my diet. And I have noticed brittle nails and hair problems in the last months, although that might be due to other deficiencies and possibly low ft3 which I also noted on my results. Things have gone a bit out of balance it seems.

[mourneadventurer]

As an out of the box response I’d check your Iodine levels as these 2 minerals counterbalance one another.

[dang in reply to mourneadventurer]

Oh thanks that’s good to know! I will check if my Endo also tested for that by any chance.

Quick follow up question if you don’t mind: since I have Hashimoto’s I’ve always heard not to take iodine, or to use non iodized salt. If my iodine levels are now low due to selenium, would it be then a smart idea to take iodine? Or do I need to find a way to lower my selenium and then the iodine rises itself? (Sorry not sure if you know the answers to these questions but figured I’d give it a shot).

[mourneadventurer]

When Selenium goes high Iodine will counterbalance low. The question to ask is WHY especially if you are taking an Iodine based thyroid drug!

Always test before supplementing Iodine. Good mineral replacements are ReMyte and ReMag (Botanicahealth)

Having looked at your profile have you considered gut parasites? Dr Jay Davidson and Dr Todd Watts have put together a gut protocol that might be worth considering? Sold in the UK as Cellcore products (beaumedltd.co.uk/wp-content.... Dr Jay has some good podcasts on this as well.

[dang in reply to mourneadventurer]

I’m not taking an iodine based thyroid drug however, I’m just taking levo and T3, no iodine derivatives. I was always told not to take any iodine due to having hashimotos. Whereas I know people who don’t have hashis are often prescribed iodine for thyroid (my sister is an example).

So I’m just a bit confused about a couple things, maybe you can help clarify.

1. As you say there is an inverse correlation between iodine and selenium, does that mean only selenium affects iodine or does iodine also affect selenium? Since I take 0 iodine at all, and haven’t had any for years, this could actually explain something (assuming low iodine causes selenium to rise).

2. Whether or not that’s the case, I’m assuming taking iodine would reverse the issue, however as someone who’s been told to never take iodine by people on this forum and several doctors... I’m not sure what to do. Is there a circumstance when someone with hashis should in fact take iodine?

[mourneadventurer in reply to dang]

My understanding is that it’s like a see-saw when one goes up the other goes down. The only drug I was on was Levothyroxine T4 for 28 years I was told it would give me all the Iodine I needed. When I eventually did a 24 hour Iodine Test I was 2/3 depleted of Iodine! Minerals and vitamins need to be in balance. I found that it was easier to replace the balanced minerals using ReMyte than individually after I got them rebalanced.

[dang in reply to mourneadventurer]

Thats interesting. You may have just given me the answer. I’m definitely going to look into this and see about having iodine tested. Thanks so much!

About your T4 and iodine, one thing I’ve seen (at least here in Germany) is different formulations of levo. And depending on condition doctors will prescribe a certain one. My sister for example doesn’t have hashis and her thyroid issues are due to completely different things than me. She’s prescribed T4 only, but her formula contains an iodine derivative (potassium iodide) and her doctor spoke to her about keeping her iodine levels up, it seems to be crucial to her treatment.

I was given the exact opposite, pure t4/t3 combo and told to stay away from iodine.

[mourneadventurer in reply to dang]

I moved from Levothyoxine T4 to the German supplement Novothral T3/4 . I found the most useful marker to test was reverse T3 it will tell you if you’re not converting T4 to T3 that conversion can be blocked by many things. I decided to go for the low hanging fruit where I was generating inflammation and start digging hence all the gut information.

Amrita Nutrion also stock the Cellcore Bioscience supplements and they post to Germany. They have the full gut cleanse protocol as a pdf.

Best Wishes to both you and your sister and as ever do you own due diligence.

[dang in reply to mourneadventurer]

Thank you and best wishes to you as well!

[dang in reply to mourneadventurer]

Ah Sorry, forgot to reply about the gut question. I have looked into it somewhat, I’ve had biopsies done at the gastro, and have had stool samples done many times (when I get sick they check for bacteria and parasites). Only once did they find i have antibodies to one specific bacteria... I can’t remember what it’s called, but it does have a supposed connection to hashimotos.

[mourneadventurer in reply to dang]

I can recommend Invivo GI Map Test that lets you see the RNA of the active pathogens in your gut. I have just recently done a similar Viome test that also tests gut biosis using RNA but I can’t recommend it as yet as I haven’t received my results. It supposedly takes the gut test to the next level by identifying the missing bacterial groups that synthesize minerals and. Vitamins.

[dang in reply to mourneadventurer]

I’ll have to look into this, it sounds like something that could really be useful for me. Thanks again