Description and Brand Names

Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®

US Brand Name

  1. Se Aspartate

Descriptions


Selenium supplements are used to prevent or treat selenium deficiency.

The body needs selenium for normal growth and health. Selenium is needed for certain enzymes that help with normal body functions.

Although selenium is being used to prevent certain types of cancer, there is not enough information to show that this is effective.

Importance of Diet

For good health, it is important that you eat a balanced and varied diet. Follow carefully any diet program your health care professional may recommend. For your specific dietary vitamin and/or mineral needs, ask your health care professional for a list of appropriate foods. If you think that you are not getting enough vitamins and/or minerals in your diet, you may choose to take a dietary supplement.

Selenium is found in seafood, liver, lean red meat, and grains grown in soil that is rich in selenium.

The daily amount of selenium needed is defined in several different ways.

For U.S.—

  • Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) are the amount of vitamins and minerals needed to provide for adequate nutrition in most healthy persons. RDAs for a given nutrient may vary depending on a person's age, sex, and physical condition (e.g., pregnancy).
  • Daily Values (DVs) are used on food and dietary supplement labels to indicate the percent of the recommended daily amount of each nutrient that a serving provides. DV replaces the previous designation of United States Recommended Daily Allowances (USRDAs)

For Canada—

  • Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNIs) are used to determine the amounts of vitamins, minerals, and protein needed to provide adequate nutrition and lessen the risk of chronic disease.

Normal daily recommended intakes for selenium are generally defined as follows:

  • Birth to 3 years of age: 10 to 20 micrograms (mcg) per day.
  • 4 to 6 years of age: 20 mcg per day.
  • 7 to 10 years of age: 30 mcg per day.
  • Adolescent and adult males—40 to 70 mcg per day.
  • Adolescent and adult females—45 to 55 mcg per day.
  • Pregnant females—65 mcg per day.
  • Breast-feeding females—75 mcg per day.

This product is available in the following dosage forms:

  • Tablet
  • Capsule

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

Portions of this document last updated: Feb. 01, 2024

Copyright: © Merative US L.P. 1973, 2024. All rights reserved. Information is for End User's use only and may not be sold, redistributed or otherwise used for commercial purposes.