Selenium is considered an essential micronutrient for the immune system, but the human body cannot synthesize it itself and needs to supplement it from external sources through diet. So is selenium supplementation for children really important, and if so, how much is enough for children?
1. What is selenium?
Selenium is a trace element that occurs naturally in many foods, or is available as a dietary supplement. This is an extremely essential nutrient for human health, a component of more than two dozen selenoproteins that play an important role in reproduction, DNA synthesis, thyroid metabolism, and protecting the body from oxidative damage or infection.
Selenium exists in two main forms, including inorganic (selenium and selena) and organic (selenocysteine and selenomethionine). Both of these forms are excellent sources of selenium in the diet.
Most selenium is in the form of selenomethionine in animal and human tissues, where it can combine nonspecifically with the amino acid methionine in body proteins. Skeletal muscle is the major reservoir of selenium, accounting for approximately 28–46% of total body selenium.
In general, measures of selenium status are based on serum and plasma selenium concentrations. Blood and urine concentrations provide a good indication of recent selenium levels in your body. In addition, selenium analysis of fingernails or hair can also be used to help monitor selenium intake over a longer period of months or years.
2. Why is selenium supplementation necessary for young children?
Selenium supplementation for children is essential for their comprehensive development and to prevent disease-causing factors.
For the immune system, selenium plays an important role in the enzyme glutathione peroxidase, which can affect all components of the immune system, including the activity and development of white blood cells.
Not providing enough selenium for children can lead to a deficiency of this nutrient. At that time, the function of the immune system in the child’s body is also significantly reduced and has difficulty fighting infections. This is also the consequence of a decrease in the number of white blood cells and thymus when the child’s body is deficient in selenium.
In addition, parents should also pay attention to supplementing zinc for children because it is considered a key factor involved in the process of restoring genetic structure, detoxifying some heavy metals and helping to activate essential enzymes in the immune system.
For the development of the child’s body, selenium is also especially necessary for iodine metabolism. Many studies have shown that low serum selenium levels are often found in children with goiter.
In addition, selenium supplementation for children is also particularly important for their development and growth. In fact, selenium acts as an enzyme, contributing to the production of thyroid hormones; especially necessary for stimulating energy input as well as growth in children. Therefore, you should choose appropriate sources of selenium for your children to help them maintain a healthy body and develop more comprehensively in all aspects.
Selenium supplementation for children is extremely necessary.
3. How much selenium do children need daily?
Selenium is usually measured in micrograms (mcg), and is available as tablets containing 50–200 mcg. Here are the recommended daily amounts of selenium for children of different ages, as recommended by nutrition experts:
- Infants 0–6 months: Need 15 mcg/day
- Infants 7 months–1 year: Need 20 mcg/day
- Children 1–3 years: Need 20 mcg/day
- Children 4–8 years: Need 30 mcg/day
- Children 9–13 years: Need 40 mcg/day
- Children 14–18 years: Need 55 mcg/day
Selenium is recommended at a dose of no more than 200 mcg per day. On the other hand, the therapeutic range for selenium overdose is quite limited. Therefore, you should not use selenium for children beyond the prescribed dose. The recommended dose of selenium consumption is from 100 – 200 mcg per day.
Children with selenium deficiency may have the following noticeable symptoms:
- Pale nails
- Muscle weakness
- Fatigue
- Hair loss
- Weakened immune system.
In addition, selenium deficiency can also lead to Keshan disease – a form of cardiomyopathy, causing weakening of the heart muscle. In addition, selenium deficiency is also associated with edema malnutrition, also known as Kwashiorkor.
4. What are the side effects of selenium overdose?
Supplementing selenium for children from natural food sources does not seem to cause any noticeable side effects. However, if children take selenium in excess of 200 mcg/day for a long period of time, it can lead to the following health problems:
- Itchy skin
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Weak/broken nails and hair
- Teeth discoloration
- Fatigue
- Breath that smells like garlic
- Peripheral neuropathy
Pregnant or breastfeeding women should talk to their doctor before deciding to use any selenium supplements. Excessive selenium intake can lead to bone and cartilage problems in the fetus, affecting the child’s later physical development.
Parents can choose selenium sources for children from beef.
5. Ways to supplement selenium for children
Children from 1 to 5 years old need to be fully supplemented with essential nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, for comprehensive development. Because selenium cannot be synthesized by the body, selenium supplementation for children is currently receiving much attention from parents and health care professionals.
You can supplement selenium for children in the following 2 main ways:
- 5.1 Providing selenium for children through foods
Selenium is abundant in some plants such as garlic, legumes, cabbage, cereals, mushrooms and sprouted green beans.
In animals, parents can choose selenium sources for children from crab, beef, fish, shrimp, pork, egg yolks, fish skin or liver.
Giving children a variety of foods not only helps supplement a large amount of selenium for the body but also provides many other vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A, E and D.
- 5.2 Giving children supplements containing selenium
Currently, many types of selenium supplements for children are produced in synthetic form with appropriate and balanced proportions of ingredients, according to the recommended content. Therefore, many parents have trusted and chosen these products because of their convenience and effectiveness.
Selenium is known as the “Golden micronutrient for the immune system” and plays an important role in the comprehensive development of children. However, when supplementing Selenium for children, especially for children with weak health and an incomplete immune system, parents need to adjust and balance the dosage in the diet appropriately, avoiding excess or lack of Selenium affecting the health of children.
