What are the benefits of selenium?

Here is the proving of the remedy SELENIUM as given in The Homeopathic Materia Medica By Dr.William Boericke :-

SELENIUM METALLICUM
The Element Selenium
(SELENIUM)

Selenium is a constant constituent of bones and teeth.

Marked effects on the genito-urinary organs, and often indicated in elderly men, especially for prostatitis and sexual atony. Great debility; worse, heat. Easy exhaustion, mental and physical, in old age. Debility after exhausting diseases.

Mind.--Lascivious thoughts, with impotency. Mental labor fatigues. Extreme sadness. Abject despair, uncompromising melancholy.

Head.--Hair falls out. Pain over left eye; worse walking in sun, strong odors and tea. Scalp feels tense. Headache from tea drinking.

Throat.--Incipient tubercular laryngitis. Hawking and raising transparent lumps of mucus every morning. Hoarseness. Cough in morning, with expectoration of bloody mucus. Hoarseness of singers. Much clear, starchy mucus (Stann).

Stomach.--Desire for brandy and other strong drink. Sweetish taste. Hiccough and eructations after smoking. After eating, pulsation all over, especially abdomen.

Abdomen.--Chronic liver affections; liver painful, enlarged, with fine rash over liver region. Stool constipated, hard and accumulated in rectum.

Urinary.--Sensation in the tip of urethra as if a biting drop were forcing its way out. Involuntary dribbling.

Male.--Dribbling of semen during sleep. Dribbling of prostatic fluid. Irritability after coitus. Loss of sexual power, with lascivious fancies. Increases desire, decreases ability. Semen thin, odorless. Sexual neurasthenia. On attempting coition, penis relaxes. Hydrocele.

Skin.--Dry, scaly eruption in palms, with itching, Itching about the ankles and folds of skin, between fingers. Hair falls out from brows, beard, and genitals. Itching about finger-joints and between fingers; in palms. Vesicular eruption between fingers (Rhus; Anac). Seborrh艙a oleosa; comedones with an oily surface of the skin; alopecia. Acne.

Extremities.--Paralytic pains in small of back in the morning. Tearing pain in hands, at night.

Sleep.--Sleep prevented by pulsation in all vessels, worse abdomen. Sleepless until midnight, awakens early and always same hour.

Modalities.--Worse, after sleep, in hot weather, from Cinchona, draught of air, coition.

Relationship.--Incompatible: China; Wine.

Compare: Agnus; Calad; Sulphur; Tellur; Phosph acid.

Antidotes: Ign; Puls.

Dose.--Sixth to thirtieth potency. Colloidal Selenium injection for inoperable cancer. Pain, sleeplessness, ulceration and discharge are markedly diminished.

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Take Care and God Bless !

A trace mineral essential for many body processes, selenium is found in soil. In the body, selenium is present in virtually every cell but is most abundant in the kidneys, liver, spleen, pancreas, and testes.

Works with vitamin E to help prevent cancer and heart disease.

Protects against cataracts and macular degeneration.

Fights viral infections; reduces the severity of cold sores and shingles; may slow the progression of HIV/AIDS.

Helps relieve lupus symptoms.

Major benefits: Selenium has received a lot of attention recently for its role in combating cancer. A dramatic five-year study conducted at Cornell University and the University of Arizona showed that 200 mcg of selenium daily resulted in 63% fewer prostate tumors, 58% fewer colorectal cancers, 46% fewer lung malignancies, and a 39% overall decrease in cancer deaths. In other studies, selenium showed promise in preventing cancers of the ovaries, cervix, rectum, bladder, esophagus, pancreas, and liver, as well as against leukemia. Studies of cancer patients indicate that people with the lowest selenium levels developed more tumors, had a higher rate of disease recurrence, a greater risk of cancer spreading, and a shorter overall survival rate than those with high blood levels of selenium.

Additionally, selenium can protect the heart, primarily by reducing the stickiness of the blood and decreasing the risk of clotting -- in turn, lowering the risk of heart attack and stroke. Moreover, selenium increases the ratio of HDL (good) cholesterol to LDL (bad) cholesterol, which is critical for a healthy heart. Smokers or those who've already had a heart attack or stroke may gain the greatest cardiovascular benefits from selenium supplements, though everyone can profit from taking selenium in a daily vitamin and mineral supplement.

How much you need: The RDA for selenium is 70 mcg for men, and 55 mcg for women daily. To produce major benefits, up to 600 mcg a day may be needed.

If you get too little: Most Americans consume enough selenium in their daily diet, so deficiencies are rare. Falling below the RDA, however, may lead to higher incidences of cancer, heart disease, immune problems, and inflammatory conditions of all kinds, particularly those affecting the skin. Insufficient amounts of selenium during pregnancy could increase the risk of birth defects (especially those involving the heart) or, possibly, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Early symptoms of selenium deficiency include muscular weakness and fatigue.

you're taking selenium for its antioxidant benefits, consider trying a high-potency antioxidant formula. It contains selenium along with other powerful antioxidants, such as alpha-lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, NAC (N-acetylcysteine), grape seed and green tea extracts, vitamins C and E, and beta-carotene.

Dosage: Most experts agree the optimum dose for long-term use of selenium should fall between 100 mcg and 400 mcg daily. Up to 600 mcg daily may be taken for a limited time as a treatment for viral infections or as part of a cancer treatment program.

Guidelines for use: Vitamin E greatly enhances selenium's effectiveness; be sure that you get 400 IU of it daily.

Other sources: The most abundant sources of selenium include Brazil nuts, seafood, poultry, and meats. A single Brazil nut contains a whopping 120 mcg of selenium, which is at least 10 times more by weight than is present in any other food, and about twice the RDA for this mineral. Four ounces of red snapper, another good source of selenium, supplies 200 mcg.

Grains, particularly oats and brown rice, may also have significant amounts, depending on the selenium content of the soil in which they were grown.