Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Selenium status has a complex, non-linear relationship with diabetes risk, where both deficiency and excess (high serum levels) may be associated with adverse metabolic outcomes depending on geographic and baseline status.
Do not supplement with selenium unless you live in a selenium-deficient area or have a confirmed deficiency. High selenium levels may actually increase diabetes risk. Focus on getting selenium from a varied diet, and consult a doctor for testing if you are considering supplementation.
LimitedQualifiesLOW confidence
Conversely, Se treatment at 0.2 µmol/µL in drinking water of non-obese diabetic mice for 3 weeks exhibited low serum glucose levels and improved lipid metabolism... Conversely, in Northern Taiwan... higher serum selenium levels were positively associated with increased risk of diabetes.
Why this rating
Conflicting results across studies (some show benefit, others show risk with high levels), making it difficult to recommend universal supplementation.
Source
Role of Minerals and Trace Elements in Diabetes and Insulin Resistance
Pallavi Dubey et al. · Nutrients · 2020
DOI 10.3390/nu12061864
narrative_reviewCited 397×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Deficiencies in trace elements (specifically magnesium, zinc, chromium, and selenium) are associated with impaired glucose metabolism and insulin resistance, while supplementation or restoration of these levels can improve insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance.Moderate
- High body iron stores (indicated by high serum ferritin) are positively correlated with an increased risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes and insulin resistance, likely due to oxidative stress.Moderate
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