There are many vitamins and minerals essential to the diet that we don’t quite get enough off for some reason or other. In the case of Selenium it's possible to be eating a proper diet with lots of fruits and veggies and still not get enough Selenium because it isn‘t present in high enough amounts.

Selenium enters the food cycle via plants. So it can be present in plants or meat but the amounts of Selenium in either depends on how much of the mineral is in the soil.

In some places of the world Selenium in the soil is very low, such as China. Selenium in the crops grown in China is so low that the average daily intake is around ten micrograms per person. Now we only require about sixty micrograms. To get an idea of how little of the nutrient we require in our diet compare the milligram to the microgram. There are one thousand micrograms in one single milligram! A flea weighs more than our daily requirement of selenium at ¾ of a milligram. Yet it is still possible not to get enough Selenium in your diet! There has been a connection made between low Selenium intake and health diseases.

In China a health problem called Keshan Disease has developed in those with Selenium deficiency for much of their lives. Its present particularly in women and children. Keshan Disease is signified by cardiomyopathy, which is a weakened and enlarged heart. The condition usually develops after the Selenium deficient contract a specific virus. The disease is prevented by the supplementation of Selenium to their diet in salt.

There have also been correlations made between cancer and Selenium deficiency. The incidence of skin cancer is higher among people who live in parts of the United States with low Selenium content in the soil. Selenium supplementation has been tested as a way of preventing the reoccurrence of skin cancer in volunteers. It didn’t reduce the chances of developing more melanomas but it did have the affect of reducing the occurrence and deaths of all types of cancers overall.

Areas with low amounts of Selenium in the soil have also been shown to have a correlation to a higher incidence of viral infections. This connection seems to include a variety of viral illnesses, from a stronger harder to fight form of influenza to peak incidences of HIV/AIDS.

Low Selenium intake can also lead to muscle cramps, goiters, recurrent miscarriage, and congenital deficiency of the thyroid hormones.

You usually don’t need to worry about Selenium deficiency if you live in an area with a wide variety of produce that comes from many parts of the world and you are a healthy individual. There are many conditions which can result in Selenium deficiency though. These are; AIDS, gastrointestinal disorders, poor nutrition, and those people receiving food intravenously.

If you do decide to supplement your diet with Selenium, remember to keep your daily intake to sixty milligrams as Selenium can be toxic in higher levels.