Manganese Paleo Diet Primal Supplements Mineral Vitamin Deficiencies-min

Manganese & The Paleo Diet

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How are your Manganese levels? Does following a Paleo diet guarantee optimal micro nutrient levels? This week I'm focusing on manganese – and most importantly, how to make sure your levels are sufficient.

What actually is Manganese?

Did you see the word and thought I had spelt magnesium incorrectly? It is actually a trace mineral that regulates dozens of enzymatic reactions within the body. It is a crucial mineral.

If you are lacking in manganese some of the symptoms of deficiency include low thyroxine – or Thyroid Hormone T4 – as manganese is important for the production of T4.

Asthma is another area with links to deficiency of this trace mineral. There are links between low manganese levels in children and childhood asthma. Similarly there is a link between low dietary manganese intake and the incidents of asthma in adults.

Low HDL also has links to deficiency of manganese. Women who eat a low manganese diet will find their HDL drops dramatically.

Primal Diet Supplements Mineral Vitamin Deficiencies

Joint pain and osteoporosis can also be impacted. Bone density doesn't come down to just magnesium and calcium alone, with manganese also playing a significant part in overall bone health.

What causes low manganese levels?

Having too much iron in your system can result in low levels. While this isn't the cause of a deficiency for those who suffer from iron retention, or who absorb too much iron, manganese can reduce the absorption of dietary iron. Those who are on a Paleo diet (or following the Primal Blueprint) eating iron rich meat on a regular basis may be getting less manganese in their system than they need – especially if they are not eating most of the richest source of the minerals. Obviously if you do not eat enough manganese rich foods you’re not going to have enough manganese. If your diet consists mostly of beef and you don’t eat many nuts, shell-fish or berries, you may find you are not getting enough manganese in your diet.

As with all minerals, if they aren't in the soil, they don't get into the food chain. This means it is crucial to ensure your meat comes from animals who have been reared with a proper diet – and fed on grass, from soil with good mineral levels. Grain fed animals won't have had access to the same levels of minerals as their grass-fed equivalents. It's really important to know and understand where your food comes from.

Where can you get more manganese into your body?

Nuts are a great source of manganese with hazelnuts being the richest source and almonds having the lowest manganese source. Other nuts including macadamia’s pine nuts, walnuts and pecans are also good sources of manganese. Shell-fish such as mussels, clams and oysters are good sources, with mussels having the highest content of manganese. As always, it comes down to having a very varied diet, sourcing food from the highest quality sources wherever possible.

Ever thought about your manganese levels? Do you eat enough natural food sources? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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How To Recover From An Un Paleo Christmas

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How's your Paleo diet going this Christmas?

Did you keep it Paleo, or did all the SAD traditional food get the better of you this Christmas?

No matter what your intentions or plans, at this time of year it can be easy to get swept along with family and friends – and find yourself eating all the foods you'd normally avoid. Be it tradition, peer pressure or a one off – at this time of year above all others – it's easy to fall off the Paleo wagon.

So what now if your Paleo diet has gone by the wayside?

How does it make you feel? Chances are a rare gluten exposure will make you feel far worse than it would have before you went gluten-free. Once you get gluten out of your system, a one off exposure often seems to have a far bigger impact that it did when you regularly ate gluten-laced food. If you're used to a relatively low carb diet a sudden influx of sugar can leave you feeling moody, tired and lacking in energy – and above all crave another sugar hit. A vicious circle you don't want to get into!

 

Perhaps you're thinking that as you've been eating un-Paleo, you might as well continue until the weekend? Or New Year? Or until those cakes and chocolates the neighbours brought have finished?

But the best course of action is to get straight back onto your Paleo diet. If you can't bear to throw away the remaining non-Paleo food – give it away to your non-Paleo friends or neighbours! Remove the temptation.

Bone broths are a great nourishing way to get back into a good dietary routine – particularly if you've had a bad reaction to a gluten exposure.

How was your Christmas? Did you keep it Paleo? I'd love to hear your comments below.

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Choline & The Paleo Diet

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Continuing looking into deficiencies, this week falls to choline. What actually is choline and what is the effect of being deficient? Even on a strict Paleo diet, is it still possible to be deficient?

The precursor for acetylcholine is choline, which is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for memory and it is a very important part of two important phospholipids. The liver uses this to process fats within the body and to package lipids.

What symptoms should you look for that indicates you might be low in choline?

  • Elevated ATL levels – it’s the elevated alamine transaminase levels which could indicate you have a liver complaint that can be often caused by a choline deficiency. Research has shown that a fatty liver can be caused by low levels. As Choline is the precursor for acetylcholine which is involved in memory – impaired memory can often be a symptom of deficiency. Research carried out showed that patients given a supplement had improved memory.
  • Lower VLDL – while reducing VLDL might improve your lipid panel it can also see you end up with a fatty liver due to the fat not being packed away properly into lipoprotiens for dispersal.

Primal Diet Supplement Vitamin Mineral Deficiency

How can a choline deficiency occur?

Offal is such a good source of choline that avoiding it could inadvertently result in a choline deficiency.

How can you add choline to your diet?

When it comes to choline, it’s all about eggs and offal! Beef liver contains by far the highest levels, as measured per 100 grams of food. In  descending order the food with the highest levels are: veal liver, chicken liver, raw egg, turkey liver, turkey heart, wheat germ, bacon, pork loin and mutton.

You can also gain choline from the following foods, but in much smaller amounts: artichokes, cauliflower, pecans, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, macadamia nuts, almonds, pine nuts, cashews, chicken, pistachios, canned prawns, cod, ground beef and turkey gizzard.

Most nuts and seafood seem to be good sources, but when it comes to vegetables the levels vary – for example while Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower are good sources of choline, boiled kale hardly has any.  Fruits and milk contain even less choline than vegetables, but some spices are good sources of choline, but as they are often used in such small amounts, they tend not to be reliable sources.

Unfortunately none of these foods come anywhere close to the amount of choline found in eggs and organs – liver and eggs alone have ten more times the amount present than most vegetables. It is the egg yolk that contains the most choline – not the egg whites. A 100 gram serving of just the egg yolks has 683 mg of choline while the same size serving of egg white only has 1.1 mg. To be able to eat an equal amount of both you would get 3 times more choline from your eggs if you threw the whites away.

Do you have much offal in your diet? I’d love to hear if choline levels are a concern to you – and also how you get offal into your Paleo diet?

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12 Gifts For The Health Conscious Foodie paleo diet christmas present ideas kitchen cooking gadgets wish list-min

12 Gifts For The Health Conscious Foodie

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Whilst you can follow a healthy Paleo Diet with little more than a chopping board and a few pans, there are some great kitchen gadget and tools that surely any foodie would love in their kitchen.

Here’s my list. What’s on yours?

1. Dehydrator

I've had good results making jerky and kale chips in my oven, but I would love to try a dehydrator

2. Vitamix Blender

The Rolls Royce of blenders, able to grind nuts into nut butters and even cook soup. I want one!

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3. A Good Set Of Knives

I really miss a good knife set, but have yet to find a good brand available in Australia (without needing a small mortgage). Any recommendations gratefully received!

4. Pressure Cooker

I've seen so many recipes that use a pressure cooker to make exceptionally tender meat – and I’d love to try it out for myself.

5. An Old School Mincer/ Meat Grinder

Even though I have a good butcher, I’d love to be able to make my own minced/ ground meat

6. A Big Slow Cooker/ Crockpot

I didn't realise how much I’d love this method of cooking, when I bought my small slow cooker. I wish I’d bough a much bigger one, as whenever I cook I always like to make enough for lots of future meals at the same time.

7. A Heavy Hardwood Chopping Board

A good chopping board last for years and is so much more hygienic than those nasty plastic chopping boards.

8. Mandoline Slicer

A great way to cut up vegetables evenly

9. Meat Thermometer

The best way to cook a perfect roast is using science after all!

10. Sausage Stuffer

Once I have my meat grinder, I’d love to make my own Paleo Sausages.

11. Water Filter

I have a Brita water filter jug in the fridge – but what I’d really like is a water filter on my tap, to ensure all the water is filtered before it leaves the tap.

12. Salad Spinner

This would be great for summer and making sure the kale is dried properly before making kale chips.

Do you have any of these items? How do you find using them?

What would be on your Paleo diet kitchen wish list?

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The truth about Jimmy Moore Paleo Low Carb-min

The Truth About Jimmy Moore

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I’ve been listening to Jimmy Moore’s podcasts and reading his blog for a few years now. But I’d never met him. I’m always interested to meet people in real life, because often the “online persona” they’ve created is very different to the reality.

Jimmy Moore recently left Australia after his trip over for the Low Carb Down Under seminar series, and I met him in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

So, what is Jimmy Moore really like?

Does he really eat what he says he eat? Has he really lost a lot of weight?

Well, if you were hoping for some dirt, I’m afraid there is none!

Firstly, Jimmy has lost a lot of weight. He is far slimmer than his pre-Australia blog photos implied. A lot of people on the internet seem to criticise Jimmy, because he lost and then regained weight. But the thing is, Jimmy has always been honest about it. I have a lot of respect for someone who is able to put their hands up, say it isn’t working – and try a new approach.

Nutritional Ketosis

Jimmy’s new approach, Nutritional Ketosis is working. Really working.  He gave some very honest lectures, sharing exactly what he is doing, how it is working and how he feels. He even took his blood readings on stage.

I’ve also read a lot of speculation about what actually Jimmy eats. But after a few meals with Jimmy, there’s no “odd meals”, just normal, fairly Primal meals, that are a lot more bias towards the fat content than mine would be. A lot of the fat content comes from dairy, such as butter (he certainly gets through a lot of butter!), as well as foods like avocado.

Being in Nutritional Ketosis certainly seems to give Jimmy a lot of energy, particularly evident when we did the coastal walk from Bronte to Bondi beach!

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With some weight still to lose myself, I’m very interested in Nutritional Ketosis. I’ve been making a conscious effort to eat more fat in the last few weeks, but perhaps it might be time to embark on a more scientific n=1 experiment of my own.

Jimmy is a really nice guy, who clearly cares a great deal about everyone who reaches out to him.  A lot of people in the Paleo/ low carb community have come from a fitness (I.e. crossfit) or a health angle – and whilst the nutrition may be similar, the journey isn’t.  I find it really refreshing and inspiring to hear an honest account of weight loss – what works and what doesn’t. A lot of Australians who attended the lectures have been very inspired by Jimmy’s story – and several people are doing their own Nutritional Ketosis experiments. I can't wait to start to hear the progress reports.

It was also an absolute pleasure to meet Christine, Jimmy’s wife, who is clearly extremely supportive of everything Jimmy does. If there is any dirt on Jimmy Moore, I’m sure Christine will be the one to dish it!

What do you think about Jimmy’s Nutritional Ketosis n=1 experiment? Are you tempted to try it for yourself?

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Vitamin B12 & The Paleo Diet

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What are your Vitamin B12 levels like? You might follow a Paleo diet, but are your levels optimal? And if not, what can you do about it?

Vitamin B12 deficiency is still quite common – with this deficiency occurring even amongst  those of us Paleo diet followers who eat the richest source of Vitamin B12 – animals! Some of the symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency include depression and anxiety, lethargy, Autism spectrum disorder in children and (unwanted) weight loss. It can also show up with Alzheimer or dementia like symptoms.

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How can Vitamin B12 deficiencies occur?

Sometimes it can be as simple as us setting the bar for “normal” a little too low. While, on paper everything could check out and look normal, Vitamin B12 levels might still be too low and we could still be suffering from B12 deficiency symptoms. In countries like Japan they actually have higher “normal” B12 markers and in having a higher bar set they have less cases of dementia and Alzheimer’s. In many cases, as meat eaters, we don’t look for low Vitamin B12 levels – as we assume we eat meat we are getting plenty and Doctors don’t actually check for it.

Another issue is consuming sufficient Vitamin B12, but the body failing to absorb adequate quantities. For some who have stomach disorders such as Crohn’s disease, or have or suffer from diarrhoea it can affect your ability to absorb minerals, vitamins, nutrients from our food – this include Vitamin B12.

How can we reduce our risks of Vitamin B12 deficiency?

If you eat animal products regularly along with some offal, such as liver occasionally, you should be getting enough Vitamin B12 in your diet. There may also be no need to supplement your diet, if you don’t suffer from any of the symptoms mentioned above. If you do have some of the symptoms mentioned or you do suffer from a gastrointestinal disorder that might be limiting your ability to absorb Vitamin B12, then it is worth asking your doctor next time you visit if you can have your vitamin B12 levels tested. Of course, to be able to extract reasonable levels of Vitamin B12 from your diet, you need to be consuming good quality (grass fed and finished) meat. If the animal didn't have access to good nutrition, their meat won’t provide it to you either.
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If you're Vitamin B deficient, you might find that you may be more susceptible to heavy metal toxicity, if your diet or body contains them – such as mercury, lead and cadmium. Vitamin B deficiency can also be linked to depression, with the B vitamins crucial for the direct synthesis of the brain neurotransmitters. Apart from the fact they are needed (along with folate) for the homocysteine pathways to provide methylation, which is essential for the making of neurotransmitters. It is these neurotransmitters that are involved with the production of homocysteine as well. Tests have shown that those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease have higher levels of homocysteine in their body. When the homocysteine pathway is functioning correctly it produces the depression relieving neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin.

Have you had your Vitamin B12 levels checked? Do you supplement, or ensure your diet provides optimal levels?

Vitamin K2 & The Paleo Diet-min

Vitamin K2 & The Paleo Diet

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So you follow a strict Paleo diet? Does this mean you’re in optimum health? Perhaps not. It’s still possible to become deficient in certain vitamins and minerals, even with a healthy Paleo diet. By being aware of some of the common deficiencies you can monitor your nutrition to ensure you avoid these. This week, we move from Magnesium,  to Vitamin K2.

Vitamin K2 is one of those vitamins that a lot of people have never heard of, so it’s hard to know if you’re deficient in something you didn’t even know about!

What are some of the deficiencies linked to Vitamin K2?

Vitamin K2 deficiency has associations with many issues, such as osteoporosis, calcification of the arteries that may lead to heart disease and tartar build-up on the teeth – which if left on the teeth leads to tooth decay.

How do you become Vitamin K deficient?

Vitamin K2 is present in select foods, but of course when people don’t know about it, they don’t go out of their way to ensure they eat sufficient levels of foods that provide it. Also there is often a lack of the Vitamin K containing foods in the diets of the animals we actually eat, leaving the animals with nothing to convert Vitamin K via stomach fermentation. For example cows raised in paddocks are able to convert the Vitamin K1 found in grass into Vitamin K2. Those cows who have no access to grass will have very little Vitamin K1 to convert. Another reason to hunt out that grass-fed (and crucially grass-finished) beef.

What are some of the best sources or ways we can add Vitamin K2 to our diets?

Foods such as goose liver, grass fed butter, eggs, fish eggs and aged cheese (if you’re following more of a Primal diet, rather than a Paleo Diet) are good sources of Vitamin K2. Of course, if the animal didn’t eat well, it’s meat, eggs and dairy won’t be as rich in vitamins and minerals. This is why it really is so crucial to know where your food comes from – and make sure it is good quality.

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On Dentist Weston A Price’s pioneering research trip, studying  the teeth of various indigenous and native populations, he found that many tribes and natives had great jaw structure and teeth. Most of these groups had diets that were rich in fish oils and butter oil. The two ingredients provide all the necessities for strong bones and good teeth. At that time Vitamin A was a crucial factor that helped build strong teeth. The other, Ghee – or butter oil, was an unknown and Dr Price named it Activator X. In 1993 Vitamin K2 was discovered – and it is believed to be Dr Price’s Activator X.

Vitamin K comes in 2 forms – K1 and K2, which overlap when it comes to functionality – K2 seems to have a greater effect on forming teeth and bones while K1 actually reduces the requirement of K2, so it is better to concentrate on both vitamins together rather than just on one.
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We create Vitamin K1 in our stomach from the bacteria in green vegetables, with some people also being able to create K2 as well. Unfortunately this creation occurs in the colon where it can’t be absorbed, which also happens with Vitamin B12, but, it is still beneficial to eat plenty of green vegetables, aged cheeses and Ghee to obtain the full range of Vitamin K vitamins.

Have you given much thought to Vitamin K? Do you think your levels are sufficient?

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Magnesium & the Paleo Diet

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Following on from last weeks post about Selenium, this week I'm focusing on Magnesium. You might think following a Paleo diet makes it impossible to develop deficiencies – but unfortunately that isn't the case. However, by focusing on common deficiencies, you can adapt your Paleo nutrition to ensure your micro nutrient levels are optimum.

Despite Magnesium being something that is so important in your diet, so many people struggle to get enough in their system through diet alone. In fact research has shown that in the United States alone only half of the adult population actually achieve the recommended daily allowance (though as we know, the quoted “daily allowances” are often woefully low anyway). It is this low intake of magnesium that has been linked to common diseases such as asthma, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, metabolic syndrome and heart disease.

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Just some of the many and varied symptoms that can show a lack of magnesium in the diet include – cramping, constipation, migraines, insulin resistance, fibromyalgia and hypertension.

So how do you lack magnesium in your system/ and Paleo diet?

It’s become popular to filter drinking water, which removes Magnesium, by filtering and purifying devices on your home taps or filter bottles. A general lacking of minerals in the soil is another culprit. If it isn’t in the soil, it can’t get into the produce grown there. Plants grown in mineral rich soil will have higher magnesium contents then those that are grown in soil with little or no magnesium. In general, lacking magnesium rich foods, especially plant foods, in your Paleo diet, is the main reason for deficiency.

Where can you get magnesium?

Mineral water contains high concentrations. Also, nuts, halibut, espresso, seeds and dark chocolate (a great excuse!) Leafy greens such as spinach and Swiss chard are excellent sources. Supplements those ending in “ate” such as taurate, citrate and glycinate  are what is known as chelated magnesium and they seem to be the best when it comes to being absorbed into the body. Alternatively you can apply magnesium oil for transdermal absorption which absorbs best when applied on the inner arms and rib cage. Bathing in Epsom Salts is another great way to increase levels in the body.

There are at least seven different types of magnesium available (and perhaps many more) that you can buy to take orally and they include magnesium carbonate, magnesium chloride, magnesium oxide, magnesium citrate, magnesium hydroxide, magnesium sulphate and magnesium lactate. With so many variations out there it is no wonder people get confused when shopping! Make sure you do your research and choose the best supplement for your needs, of you think you need to take one.

Magnesium Oxide is one of the most popular supplements which are easily found at supermarkets the reason for this is because it is so cheap to produce. The down side to that is that because it isn’t absorbed into the body well, it will do very little for you. Try for a citric acid and magnesium carbonate blend, which is very popular and can be found in many of the better quality brands – when mixed with water it creates ionic magnesium citrate which has a much higher absorption rate.

How do you think your levels are looking? Do you eat enough Magnesium rich foods, or supplement?

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Low Carb Down Under – Sydney

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Saturday was the Sydney leg of the Low Carb Down Under seminar series, that has been touring Australia.

What a fantastic day it was! There were twelve speakers from diverse backgrounds covering a range of topics. I was honoured to be one of the speakers and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Almost 300 people attended the event and everyone seemed really keen to learn and soak up the atmosphere. There seemed to be a significant number of medical and healthcare providers in the audience, which is a great sign that the message is being spread to the right people.

So, here is my brief summary of the day.

Dr Ron Ehrlich—“Lessons from the Past”

Dr Ron Ehrlich is a holistic Sydney dentist who started the day with a great overview of where we are – and where we’ve come from. I found it interesting to hear Ron talking about how he looks for underlying causes – rather than treating symptoms, which seems to be the typical modern method.

Dr Simon Thornley—“Has Dietary Research Helped Us With Our Food Choices

New Zealand Public Health Physician Dr Simon Thornley has written a paper on sugar with Dr Rod Taylor and Dr Ken Sikaris (“Sugar restriction: the evidence for a drug-free intervention to reduce cardiovascular disease risk”). Simon is an academic who has conducted extensive research on sugar, scientifically coming to many of the same conclusions as those of us in the paleo community.
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Jimmy Moore—Update on low carb around the world

An update on the remarkable progress Jimmy is making with his N=1 experiment on Nutritional Ketotis. Interestingly a number of people I spoke to in the audience are conducting similar experiments of their own. It’s going to be extremely interesting to examine how this has gone in a few months time.

David Gillespie—“Sweet Poison and Big Fat Lies”

Author and Lawyer David Gillespie took us through his extensive sugar research – and findings. Many people in Australia were first introduced to the concept of giving up sugar through David’s books, so it was great to hear from him.

Sarah Wilson—“I Quit Sugar”

Sarah is the journalist who wrote the popular I Quit Sugar program. I was very interesting to hear her speak about her poor health, and how quitting sugar changed things for her.

I Quit Sugar Ebook

Costa Georgiadis—“Product Not Produce”

Costa has the most incredible energy! He bought along soil and compost and demonstrated to us the importance of understanding exactly where your food comes from.

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Christine Cronau—”The Fat Revolution!”

Christine is author of the Fat Revolution. Her talk clearly spelt out exactly why we need to have fat in our diets and must not be scared of it.

Dr Rod Tayler—“Doctors, Health, Weight and Carbohydrates”

Anesthesiologist and giveupsugar.com founder Rod Taylor explained how damaging sugar is – and just how much of a problem it is.

Aaron McKenzie from Origin of Energy—”Combining Fitness and Nutrition”

Aaron spoke about fitness, from an evolutionary perspective

Suzanne Crawt – Paleo in Australia

My talk started with my story explaining how I found Paleo and the huge difference it made to me. I then spoke about the growing, thriving Paleo community in Australia and how people can get involved.
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Rob Blomfield—”A farmer’s  journey to primal health”

Rob is an Australian farmer who, on finding this lifestyle, made remarkable health improvements. It was great to hear from someone with an insider knowledge on farming.

Vicki Poulter – “Why grass fed animal foods are good for the planet”

Vicki, from Nourishing Australia, gave a wonderful talk in linking the land, animals, soil and our food. This really made clear the importance of eating good quality grass-fed meat.

We finished with a panel question and answer section. With so many diverse speakers, a great wealth of questions were answered.

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The whole event was filmed, so hopefully those of you who missed out will be able to watch the talks soon.

It was wonderful to meet so many people interested in, and concerned about their health. It’s clear that the message is spreading and increasing numbers of people are finding out about this lifestyle. I wonder how many people will attend the next seminar series?

The seminar was in Adelaide last night and has one more date left. The final conference is in Brisbane this Saturday. There is still time (just) to buy your ticket at the Low Carb Down Under site. I’m heading to Brisbane this weekend, so if you’re there please come and say hi!

Have you been to one of the seminars this year? What was your highlight – and who would you like to hear speak next time?

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Selenium & Deficiency On A Paleo Diet?

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Despite following a healthy Paleo Diet, if not enough attention is paid to getting a wide variety of different foods, deficiencies are still possible. I've been looking into a number of the more common deficiencies to understand how to tweak your Paleo diet to ensure deficiencies don’t occur. This week, I've been looking into Selenium.

What is Selenium?

It is a trace mineral that is only needed in small amounts but it is essential for good health. Some of the functions selenium performs include helping regulate the thyroid gland, assisting the immune system and protecting our cells from the damage caused by free radicals. In dietary terms the selenium content of plant foods are proportionate to the soil concentration of selenium where the food was grown.

These days severe selenium deficiency in adults is very rare, particularly when following a healthy Paleo diet, but minor deficiencies do occur and that can have some rather unpleasant effects on our health.

Some of the selenium deficiency symptoms include polyneuropathy and muscle damage that can look a lot like the side effects of statins. Selenium supports the synthesis of the thyroid hormone and is needed for the conversion of the T4 thyroid hormone into the active T3 hormone. As a result deficiency can look like hypothyroidism.

 

So, how do you become Selenium deficient?

It can be as simple as just not eating enough Selenium rich foods, or if you suffer from an intestinal disorder such as Celiac, Chron’s disease or an ulcerative colitis these can all reduce the body’s absorption of selenium from foods.  While deficiency does not cause those illnesses it can make the body more susceptible to illnesses caused by biochemical or infectious stress due to the role selenium plays in the immune system.

It can also be due to a lack of selenium in the soil where your food has been grown. Just like other minerals, it must be in the soil or it won’t be present in the food grown in the soil.

Where can you get it from, in keeping with the Paleo diet?

You can find good sources of selenium in lamb, turkey, prawns, salmon, cod, crimini and shiitake mushrooms, kidney’s,  egg yolks and halibut.

Keeping your thyroid healthy is important with many people dealing with thyroid conditions such as hypothyroidism. There have been many research studies that have shown the benefits of selenium supplements when treating some thyroid conditions. One such study has found that selenium supplements have reduced the inflammation damage to the thyroid tissues. While studies have shown that selenium supplements can help prevent thyroid tissue damage there is more research needed to determine the long-term effects.

Mineral Deficiency Paleo Diet

Making sure that your selenium intake is at its peak may give both your thyroid and immune system that little boost it needs to help function better. Whether you use supplements or include more selenium-rich foods in your diet it is important for those who are managing a thyroid condition to make sure their selenium intake is adequate.

As important as it is not to be deficient, it’s also important not to go over board. Over increasing your intake of selenium over long periods of time can lead to complications including garlic breath odour, hair loss, mild nerve damage, gastrointestinal upsets, white blotchy nails, irritability and fatigue.

The best option is to include selenium rich foods in your diet. While high in omega-6 fats it takes just a couple of Brazil nuts a day to boost your immune function and improve the amount of selenium in your diet.

Have you given much consideration to your Selenium intake? Which minerals and vitamins are you most concerned about, in your Paleo diet?

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