Research
Micronutrients & recovery
In conditions of limited selenium supply, intestinal bacteria compete with the host for selenium, reducing host selenoprotein levels by two to three times.
If you have low selenium levels, be aware that your gut bacteria may compete for it. Ensuring adequate selenium intake through diet or supplementation can help maintain your own selenoprotein levels.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Intestinal bacteria can remove selenium from the host resulting in two to three times lower levels of host’s selenoproteins under selenium-limiting conditions.
Why this rating
Based on experimental studies cited in the review.
Source
Selenium in Human Health and Gut Microflora: Bioavailability of Selenocompounds and Relationship With Diseases
Rannapaula Lawrynhuk Urbano Ferreira et al. · Frontiers in Nutrition · 2021
DOI 10.3389/fnut.2021.685317
narrative_reviewCited 218×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Selenium deficiency alters gut microbiota composition and function, leading to a phenotype that increases susceptibility to cancer, thyroid dysfunction, inflammatory bowel disease, and cardiovascular disorders.Good
- High-dose selenium supplementation (200 µg/day) as selenized yeast or L-selenomethionine has shown mixed results in cancer prevention trials, with some showing reduced risk and others showing no benefit or increased risk.Good
Related findings · Micronutrients & recovery
- Trans fats (industrial trans-fatty acids) are unequivocally harmful and should be completely avoided as they raise LDL-C, TGs, and Apo B while lowering HDL-C.Strong
- For menopausal women with osteoporosis, first-line pharmacologic therapies include alendronate, risedronate, zoledronic acid, and denosumab for the prevention of hip, nonvertebral, and vertebral fractures.Strong
- Folic acid fortification of flour prevents neural tube birth defects, and mandatory fortification is more effective than voluntary supplementation alone.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →