Too much selenium intake may cause selenium poisoning.

Selenium poisoning can occur to varying degrees in people as a result of consuming food and water high in selenium or performing certain tasks that often expose them to selenium. Poisoning can also occur in animals when they ingest pasture or other feeds high in selenium.

A syndrome known as "stumbling blindness" occurs in acute poisoning. It is characterized by blindness, abdominal pain, salivation, and eventually death from respiratory distress due to muscle paralysis.

Chronic poisoning is characterized by hair loss, hoof loss, horn deformation, long bone and joint erosion, limb stiffness, lameness, heart atrophy, cirrhosis of the liver and anaemia, which is known as "selenium poisoning of livestock or alkali disease".

Extended information

Selenium role

1, antioxidant effect Free radicals are known as "the source of all diseases". Excessive free radicals and lipid peroxidation will damage the collective metabolism and jeopardize the survival of the body. Selenium is an important component of glutathione peroxidase.

It plays a very important role in the scavenging of free radicals and lipid peroxidation. Studies have confirmed that selenium, in synergy with zinc, copper and vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin C, carotene, etc., has a scavenging capacity for free radicals that is hundreds to thousands of times higher than selenium alone.

2. Anti-aging effect Excess free radicals accumulate in the body and can damage human tissues and organs, thus leading to aging. The antioxidant effect of selenium can help remove some of the free radicals. After proper supplementation of selenium preparations, you can slow down the aging process and prolong your life. Studies have found that the blood selenium content in the body of long-lived elderly people is 3 to 6 times higher than that of the general population.

3, anti-tumor effect Selenium can drop the body's immune function, enhance the ability to fight diseases, and can inhibit the growth of tumor cells, enhance the degradation of carcinogens, reduce the side effects of radiation, chemotherapy. Thus, it can effectively prevent and reduce the occurrence and progress of tumor. Research has confirmed that selenium supplementation can significantly reduce the incidence of lung cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer and so on.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Selenium Poisoning