Selenium is a trace mineral found in soil, water, and some foods. It is an essential element in several metabolic pathways.

Selenium deficiency can occur in areas where the soil content of selenium is low and it may affect thyroid function and cause conditions such as Keshan disease. Selenium deficiency is also commonly seen in patients on total parenteral nutrition (TPN) as their sole source of nutrition. Gastrointestinal disorders may decrease the absorption of selenium resulting in depletion or deficiency. Selenium may be destroyed when foods are refined or processed. Specific dietary sources of selenium include brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, butter, garlic, grains, sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, walnuts, raisins, liver, kidney, shellfish (lobster, oyster, shrimp, scallops), and fresh-water and salt-water fish (red snapper, salmon, swordfish, tuna, mackerel, halibut, flounder, herring, smelts). Selenium is also found in alfalfa, burdock root, catnip, fennel seed, ginseng, raspberry leaf, radish, horseradish, onion, chives, medicinal mushrooms (reishi, shiitake), and yarrow.

The role of selenium in cancer prevention has been the subject of recent study and debate. Initial evidence from the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer (NPC) trial suggests that selenium supplementation reduces the risk of prostate cancer among men with normal baseline PSA (prostate specific antigen) levels and low selenium blood levels. However, in this study, selenium did not reduce the risk of lung, colorectal, or basal cell carcinoma of the skin and actually increased the risk of squamous cell skin carcinoma. The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) aimed to definitively address the role of selenium in prostate cancer prevention. Although SELECT was initially slated to continue for a number of years, participating subjects were told to stop taking their supplements in October 2008 due a review of the data which indicated that selenium and vitamin E (together or alone) did not prevent prostate cancer and was unlikely to ever produce the 25% reduction the study was designed to show.