What is Selenium?

Selenium is a trace element which is commonly found in soil, and it is needed in tiny amounts in order to be healthy. It is required for various bodily processes and is located in virtually every cell of your body, particularly in the kidneys, liver, spleen, testes, and pancreas.

Selenium functions as an antioxidant which fights free radicals in the body which damage DNA. It is often connected with Vitamins E and C as nutrients which aid in fight against cancerous cells, heart disease and the aging process. Selenium has been widely utilized to battle viral infections and may potentially impede the progress of AIDS/HIV. Additionally, it contributes to overall good health by aiding normal liver function.

Additional health benefits associated with selenium include helping to protect against heart disease, guarding the body against the effects of toxic minerals, and neutralizing the negative effects of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and fats. It may also help to improve male potency and is integral to maintaining healthy hair, skin and eyes.

The Health Benefits of Vitamin K

Vitamin K is a crucial nutrient which is serves important roles, including helping to build strong and healthy bones, and promoting healthy blood clotting. The majority of people are able to get enough vitamin K through eating a well-balanced and varied diet, but there are some people who could benefit from taking a vitamin K supplement.

Vitamin K has a wide range of health benefits. One of the most fundamental roles of the vitamin is for healthy blood clotting. Blood clotting stops excessive bleeding. Bruising very easily, excessive bleeding from nose-bleeds, heavy menstrual bleeding, bleeding from the gums, or even bleeding from the digestive tract could all be indications of too little vitamin K in the body.

Vitamin K is also very beneficial for bone health. It works to help maintain proper calcium levels within bone tissue. This is necessary for preventing weak/brittle bones and for forming new bone. While vitamin K promotes calcium in bones, it also inhibits the calcification of body tissue, especially blood vessels, by supporting the function of a particular protein called MGP.

Optimal liver functioning also requires sufficient amounts of vitamin K to be present in the body. Another vitamin K benefit is converting glucose into glycogen, which is energy stored in the liver. It is also possible that this vitamin may help to protect the liver against cancer.

Vitamin and Mineral Supplements for Boosting Your Immune System

Providing adequate nutrition for your immune system to utilize is one of the primary ways you can help it to boost its disease-fighting powers. Immune boosting nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, work in a variety of ways to strengthen your body's defenses. They help to increase the number of white cells in the body, and help these cells to fight sickness and disease more effectively. Immune boosters can also aid in helping your body to eliminate various substances which slow the body down.

Following are four of the most highly-recommended vitamins and minerals which can help you to reduce the number of days missed from work and school due to illness.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is at the top of the list of immune boosting nutrients for a number of reasons. There has been more research regarding the immune-boosting effects of Vitamin C than any other vitamin, mineral, or nutrient. Vitamin C supplements are cheap to produce, and they are also readily available in a variety of widely-available fruits and vegetables.

Vitamin C helps to increase the body's production of infection-fighting white blood cells and to increase the level of interferon, an antibody which coats the surface of cells, preventing viruses from entering. Vitamin C also helps to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by increasing the level of HDL, or good cholesterol, while at the same time rreducing blood pressure and disrupting the process which causes fat to be converted into plaque in blood vessels.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an important antioxidant and immune system booster which doesn't get as much attention as vitamin C, yet it is still highly important.

Vitamin E aids in the stimulation of the production of natural killer cells - the cells which search out and destroy germs and cancer cells. Vitamin E also stimulates the production of B-cells, the immune system cells which create antibodies that kill bacteria. Vitamin E supplementation may also fight the reduction in the immune system's response commonly seen in the elderly. Vitamin E has been connected to lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. In the Harvard School of Public Health study of 87,000 nurses, vitamin E was found to reduce the risk of heart attacks by 50%.

Zinc

Zinc is a valuable mineral which stimulates the production of white blood cells which fight infection, and also helps them to fight more aggressively. Zinc also increases the number of killer cells which help fight cancer and stimulates white cells to release more antibodies. Zinc has also been found to reduce the growth rate of cancer.

Zinc helps to create larger numbers of T-cells, which fight infections, particularly in the elderly, who can often be zinc deficient, and whose immune systems can often be weak from age.

For babies and children, some evidence has shown that zinc supplements may reduce the number of acute respiratory infections, but this is not proven. The best source of zinc for babies and children is cereal fortified with zinc.

Selenium

Selenium serves to increase the number of natural killer cells in the body and also helps to create cancer-fighting cells. The best dietary sources of selenium are sea food (red snapper, tuna fish, lobster, shrimp), whole grains, brown rice, eggs, cottage cheese, chicken (white meat), sunflower seeds, and garlic.

Avoiding Vitamin D Deficiency

Vitamin D is a crucial nutrient for aiding in the maintenance of strong, healthy bones due, in part, to its function of helping the body to better absorb calcium. Vitamin D has also been proven to be particularly important for women who are pregnant, with sufficient intake levels of the vitamin being associated with a reduction in the number of underweight infants and premature births.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning that the body can store it long-term. However, it is estimated that more than half of Britain's population is deficient in the vitamin.

The main problem is that people do not obtain most Vitamin D from dietary sources, but rather, the epidermis produces about 90% of it with the help of adequate exposure to sunlight.

In winter months, and in locations which are often overcast, we get less exposure to sunlight and the sun tends not to be less strong.

Getting enough Vitamin D through diet alone is difficult, but essential when exposure to sunlight is limited. Excellent sources of Vitamin D are oily fish (e.g. mackerel, trout, and tuna) liver, mushrooms, and dairy products.

Black and Asian people do not manufacture Vitamin D as readily as Caucasians, as their natural pigmentation blocks out much of the UV light needed.

Physicians recommend 2 or 3 periods of direct exposure to sunlight per week throughout the summer months. This may help the body to make enough Vitamin D to last throughout the winter months.