Selenium capsules – 200 µg selenium as sodium selenite, 100 pieces

The EU has authorised six health claims for selenium. They apply when a daily portion provides at least 15 % of the reference value; one capsule provides 364 %.

• Selenium contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
• Selenium contributes to normal thyroid function.
• Selenium contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.
• Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal hair.
• Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal nails.
• Selenium contributes to normal spermatogenesis.

Other statements, for example about cancer, hair loss or heavy metals, are not authorised for foods. What research says about some of these questions is further down.

Sodium selenite is an inorganic selenium compound. Selenomethionine is an organic form in which selenium is bound to the amino acid methionine; this is also how selenium occurs in many foods.

The body can use both forms to make selenium-containing proteins (selenoproteins). Selenomethionine is also built into body proteins in place of methionine and stored there. That is why blood selenium usually rises more after selenomethionine than after selenite, without automatically resulting in more selenoproteins (PubMed 25835046).

The German Nutrition Society (DGE) gives an estimated adequate intake for adults of 60 µg selenium per day for women and 70 µg for men. This refers to total intake from foods and supplements.

Good sources are fish, meat, eggs, pulses and Brazil nuts. How much selenium plant foods contain depends heavily on the soil they grew in.

Since 2023, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has recommended a maximum of 40 µg selenium per daily portion for food supplements. In 2023, EFSA lowered the tolerable upper intake level for total daily intake in adults to 255 µg.

One capsule of this product contains 200 µg and is therefore five times the BfR maximum amount. Together with food, total intake can come close to the EFSA upper level. In the large SELECT trial, hair loss and mild skin inflammation occurred more often with 200 µg selenium daily over several years than with placebo (PubMed 19066370).

Whether selenium at this amount makes sense for you, and for how long, is best discussed with the ORY expert team or with your doctor or naturopath.

There is no time of day at which selenium has been shown to work better. The label says one capsule daily with plenty of liquid; it should not be more.

What else you take matters more than the time: many multivitamin, hair and thyroid supplements also contain selenium. The amounts add up.

Too much selenium over a longer period can show up as garlic-like breath, brittle nails, hair loss, skin changes and digestive complaints. A case report describes such signs after a wrongly dosed product (PubMed 18559845).

If you have a thyroid condition, take medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk with the ORY expert team or with your doctor or naturopath before use. If the signs mentioned appear, stop the product and have it checked by a doctor.

No claim about this is authorised for foods; the only authorised statement is that selenium contributes to normal thyroid function. A meta-analysis of 35 trials found lower TPO antibody levels with selenium in people with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and slightly lower TSH levels in those not on hormone therapy (PubMed 38243784). This does not show whether it changes the course of the disease or how people feel.

Hashimoto's thyroiditis belongs in medical care. Whether selenium plays a role is something you decide with your doctor.

No, that cannot be said. A Cochrane review concluded that well-conducted trials show no benefit of selenium supplements for cancer risk, with high certainty. Some trials even reported more type 2 diabetes and high-grade prostate cancer with selenium (PubMed 29376219).

No supplement replaces the screening examinations offered by your health insurance.

Yes, with limitations. Common measurements are selenium in serum, plasma or whole blood; there are also markers such as selenoprotein P. Each reflects a different period and store, and values also depend on the form in which selenium was taken in (PubMed 25835046).

At ORY, selenium is part of the whole-blood mineral analysis and of Prevent 360. What a value means for you is something you discuss with the ORY expert team or with your doctor or naturopath.

The pack contains 100 capsules of 211 mg each (net weight 21 g). One capsule provides 200 µg selenium from sodium selenite, which is 364 % of the reference intake. Other ingredients: cellulose as a filler and a capsule shell made of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose. No colourings, gluten or lactose.

The label recommends one capsule daily, so the pack lasts about three months; the unit price is €75.71 per 100 g.

At ORY, measuring comes before supplementing, and with selenium this makes particular sense because the gap between requirement and upper level is narrow. A lab report shows your current status; a second measurement after a few months shows whether anything has changed.

A lab report on its own is not a recommendation. Whether you supplement, and how much, is something you decide with the ORY expert team or with your doctor or naturopath.