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| Author | Topic: brazil nuts/high selenium? |
| Auron 12-22-2002 02:53 AM | brazil nuts are the richest organic source of selenium but they are so high don't you think it could be toxic? |
| Auron 12-22-2002 02:57 AM | Selenium overdose and overexposure Overdosing on selenium is possible, but unlikely if mineral supplements are not consumed at a rate greater than the dose recommended by the manufacturer. Toxicity may develop over time at doses of 900 mcg per day. Toxicity from dietary sources is very rare. Symptoms may include depression, nervousness, emotional problems, nausea, and vomiting. Individuals in industrial settings have been reported to suffer toxic symptoms of selenium overdoses, including liver disease and cardiomyopathy. Children raised in selenium-rich areas show a higher incidence of decayed, missing and filled teeth. Selenium is toxic in megadoses and may cause hair loss, loss of nails, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and sour-milk breath. Workers at industrial sites that manufacture glass, pesticides, rubber, semi-conductors, copper and film are at increased risk of developing toxic symptoms from inhalation, absorption through the skin and ingestion. These may include bronchial pneumonia, asthma, precipitous drop in blood pressure, red eyes, garlic odor on breath and in urine, headaches, metallic taste, nose and throat irritation, difficulty breathing, vomiting, and weakness. http://www.envtox.ucdavis.edu/cehs/TOXINS/selenium.htm it seems to me that eating 2 oz. a day could cause overdose on selenium or am I wrong? |
| Auron 12-22-2002 03:01 AM | if 900 mcg or over is overdosing and you are eating 2 oz according to what i have found 1 oz. contains 839 mcg of selenium that would be a major overdose. |
| bk 12-22-2002 02:53 PM | quote:While Wai/RRM might have some comments on this, I would suggest that perhaps there is a difference between selenium from supplements and selenium from raw foods. This seems to be a hypothesis on this diet, insofar as calcium and vitamin C go. |
| Wai 12-23-2002 11:49 AM | It is a fact that your body perfectly adapts the absorption rate of a specific mineral to the general availability of that mineral in your diet. This goes especially for all minerals, including calcium, zinc and selenium, simply because the body can only regulate the blood mineral levels by adapting the absorption and excretion rates. For example: Only about 200 mg calcium is absorbed into the blood, on the average, whether we consume 300 mg or 700 mg calcium daily, or sometimes even when we consume up to 1200 mg supplementary calcium daily. (1) In order to absorb the right amount of calcium, absorption rate decreases when we consume more calcium. But if we consume more calcium than possible by consuming a natural foods diet, then the absorption rate cannot be sufficiently decreased; about 5% of dietary calcium on top of 1500 mg a day is yet absorbed into the blood. For example: Consuming 5-fold more calcium than before, a group of girls did, in fact, absorb twice as much calcium (as before) into the blood. (2) quote:If selenium contents of Brazil nuts would be unhealthy for us, consuming coconuts would have to be lethal definitely. The average selenium contents of some foods (officially, it is advised to consume between 50 and 150 mcg selenium daily): 810 mcg ... coconut 103 mcg ... Brazil nuts 82 mcg ..... tuna 39 mcg ..... mackerel 26 mcg ..... salmon 19 mcg ..... egg yolk Zinc is another example. Officially, it is advised to consume about 5 to 15 mg zinc daily, and in that regard, consuming oysters might be considered Russian roulette; Zinc contents of some foods: 6.5 to 160 (!) mg ... oysters 2.4 to 6.1 mg ......... beef 4.0 mg .................. Brazil nuts 2.6 to 4.0 mg ......... Egg yolk |
| engesongwok 02-01-2003 02:07 PM | Brazil nuts are high in selenium. Is there any problem with toxic doses if you eat them very regularly? I bought some still in the shell, and I have been eating about 1 to 2 cups every day for the last week. Is this excessive? |
| Wai 02-01-2003 02:18 PM | if you eat them regularly, the selenium absorption rate is decreased; a process of adaptation. (please read this thread)quote:We advice to eat about 35 gram daily, but twice, or even 3 times as much is perfectly okay too. 2 cups Brazil nuts = 280 grams In theory, regarding radium intake, this much MAY not be totally safe. |