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Selenium - a positive outcome

LINE

Senior Member
Messages
832
Location
USA
Synopsis:
I just stumbled on a major discovery worth sharing. I developed acute inflammation in my foot and dosed my usual antioxidants. It really did not respond until I added selenium.

High dose selenium just on its own substantially improved my ME/CFS, moving me from near severe, to the top end of moderate:

High-Dose Selenium Significantly Improves My Fatigue and Brain Fog

I would like to provide an update and a correction from a previous thread.
(1) Does Dietary Coenzyme Q10 plus Selenium Supplementation Ameliorate Clinical Outcomes by Modulating Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Individuals wi | Phoenix Rising ME/CFS Forums

I went into a major burp in my CFS (I have been tracking well (at least for a CFS person)).

I developed cracks in my heel from wearing boots, this happened before, and I applied lotions and it resolved. But this time it did not. I now suspect that there was an opportunistic infection (bacteria) which was left untreated (I never suspected it could have an infection, a duh moment for me).

I mistakenly applied synthetic lotions (another duh moment for me :) which caused the foot to go deeper into inflammation. We should avoid chemicals at all costs.

I never had pain like this one. On a scale of 1-10, it was a 15. I could not walk on the foot; I used a wheelchair and canes. I went to the Urgent Care and the doctor said it was cellulitis. Cellulitis is inflammation, the foot was swollen and red. She prescribed Keflex which is like penicillin. The problem did not resolve. I went to a podiatrist who examined it, took x-rays and shook his head. Some Prednisone helped for a short period of time, as you know, this is not always a good choice since it can alter other processes in the body. For example, my blood sugar spiked 100+ points.

I whipped out my trusted supplements which include my wide array of antioxidants; still no relief. I thought it was still infected and tried a number of my home remedies which have served me well in the past. No relief.

I hacked through my other supplements including minerals, vitamins etc., still no relief. I ran across an educational video about patches that are applied to the wounds (foot had developed red cracks which were super sensitive). The video explained how chronic inflammation gets out of control from excessive enzymes and the patch should help with this cascading inflammation. They did help somewhat but did not solve the problem.

I studied PubMed articles about these enzymes which are called MMPs and found that certain polyphenols could slow down this cascade of inflammation. For instance, white tea had some of the strongest polyphenols that could quench this inflammation. I made (and make) a cocktail of rich polyphenols which include white tea but also strong PP spices including green tea, cloves, red tea, cacao (unprocessed raw chocolate). I have used other PP mixes in the past which I credit for helping me.

My baseline PP mix has been organic turmeric, Ceylon cinnamon, paprika, ashwagandha and moringa. I put this in organic chicken broth. Chicken broth made a big difference for me along with collagen peptides. By the way, moringa is rich in sulforaphanes (found in broccoli sprouts). Sulforaphanes are critical for detoxification, immunity etc.

All of this helped somewhat but did not solve the problem. I went through another rampage of PubMed searches and looked up selenium. I found several articles with strong research showing how selenium relates to so many metabolic pathways. The one section of research has to do with selenium's ability to control the cytokines, it is the master controller. Cytokines are molecules that are sent out from the immune system, there are a number of cytokines and reading an immunologist make a statement that they really don't understand them made me feel somewhat better.

There is a class of cytokines that are pro-inflammatory. A pro-inflammatory cytokine is one that causes problems. Massive inflammation is their hallmark, and we all know the dangers of high inflammation. With high inflammation comes damage to the cells of the entire body, with that damage, comes loss of vitality. This is why antioxidants are critical since they stop the damage.

I started dosing with selenium at 400mcg per day (note that selenium can be toxic at higher levels). I am still doing my baseline antioxidants and other supplements. Within 2 days, the wounds (inflammation) are clearing up and pain has diminished significantly.

It is my understanding that selenium is the point man of the antioxidant system. Without adequate levels, the system will not function correctly. Of course, you cannot isolate one nutrient as being a causative factor since they synchronize with each other, but I would say that selenium would be on the top of the list.

These are pictures of my heel. The Left one is today, the Right is 4 days ago (prior to taking selenium)


1650116498077.png
 
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LINE

Senior Member
Messages
832
Location
USA
Additional reading from Journal articles:

Chronic Fatigue
Not in the mind of neurasthenic lazybones but in the cell nucleus: patients with chronic fatigue syndrome have increased production of nuclear factor kappa beta - PubMed (nih.gov)

(Synopsis: NF Kappa Beta is a major player in terms of cytokines, mostly pro-inflammatory cytokines which are quite destructive. It is important to curtail this cytokine which can be done with antioxidants. In addition to this, polyphenols should be considered; the list of these is found in the next links).

How Polyphenols help regulate Immunity
The Immunomodulatory and Anti-Inflammatory Role of Polyphenols - PMC (nih.gov)

Chronic diseases, inflammation, and spices: how are they linked? - PMC (nih.gov)
 
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Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,251
Impressive discovery!

Awful looking...Gosh that sounds horrific....

My bottle of selenium is largely unconsumed, Im so afraid of detox.

I'm in the fourth week of recovery from getting REALLY sick and a huge dump of metals and whatever else poisons us has been circulating....

I just take the small bit in my multi...but this is GOOD to KNOW and worth playing around with more.
 

LINE

Senior Member
Messages
832
Location
USA
Impressive discovery!

Awful looking...Gosh that sounds horrific....

My bottle of selenium is largely unconsumed, Im so afraid of detox.

I'm in the fourth week of recovery from getting REALLY sick and a huge dump of metals and whatever else poisons us has been circulating....

I just take the small bit in my multi...but this is GOOD to KNOW and worth playing around with more.

That one took quite a bit of digging; glad I could bring something out of the rabbit hole for others.

Grabbing toxins is a big tool that helps. I use a Zeolite spray that works great, been using that for over 10 years. Chlorella is another good one but make sure you use a brand that is not contaminated. I can give you names if you like.

Another big help is Lipid Replacement Therapy which sounds serious but is quite simple and really not that expensive. The lipids (fats) you use are those that comprise the cell membranes. Phosphatidylcholine is the lipid; you find this in Sunflower Lecithin and you can get a great big bottle for cheap (I use NOW). Sunflower not soy based.

Vitamin E as natural (not synthetic) is the 2nd key since it protects the cell membranes from oxidizing. It is technically known as protecting against lipid peroxidation. In other words, it cancels oxidants that attack the cell membrane. Of course, other antioxidants help as well. This and the PC help regenerate the cell membrane to make them more robust.

I just looked at some search results using Lipid Replacement Therapy and I see some modifications which include adding PhosphatidylSerine and something called GPC which is another phoso lipid.

So, by doing the LRT, it will add some buffers to the detoxification and of course, using the grabbers listed above should make it very smooth.
 

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,251
thank you....this has been very hard for me and I don' t entirely understand why.

I lost probably 45 pounds...the gradual accumulation of a lifetime, I lost all that weight.
Now I have a few newer pounds, not those old stored up ones.

Every time I try to stay on my lymph cleanse chinese herbs, which are GENTLE, I can't handle what feels like the metal and subsequent toxin dump. Brain and eyes blow up.

I've got the MTFR defects, I take the methylates B;'s ..altho not particularly regularly altho I am again trying harder on that.

Me taking things like the algae is contraindicated by my chinese medicine imbalances: chlorella is really COLD, and my bowels won't like it.

I use a Zeolite spray that works great

How exactly do you use that?

I have pascalite, here. But not for internal.

How do you get metals to leave? without new metals coming out from more detoxing?

When I got charcoal, I thought that meant it absorbs the metals. But no, it stimulates more detox I was told.
 

LINE

Senior Member
Messages
832
Location
USA
And can add ALA (alpha lipoic acid) or its cousin, rLA (r-lipoic acid).
 

Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,461
Location
Great Lakes
My bottle of selenium is largely unconsumed, Im so afraid of detox.

I'm in the fourth week of recovery from getting REALLY sick and a huge dump of metals and whatever else poisons us has been circulating....

I think I've read that selenium binds to heavy metals in the body. Maybe it would act like a gentle detox for you?
 

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,251
Maybe it would act like a gentle detox for you?

Gentle detox is a theory. In practice here, I seem to not get THRU to any thing called The Other Side.

My gentle chinese herbs for lymph cleanse- I get about four days then I"m in a zombie coma. I give up, throw in towel.

Take the methylated b vitamins, feel like CRAP.

I'm ordering Zeolite, going to try that next.
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,684
Location
Alberta
Gentle detox is a theory. In practice here, I seem to not get THRU to any thing called The Other Side.

Maybe it's not 'detoxing' that's causing the symptoms. Just because something is theoretically supposed to 'detox' the body doesn't mean that it can't affect the body in other ways. The treatments could be doing all sorts of disruptive things. Just interfering with the availability of necessary nutrients might worsen symptoms.

Back in the early days of my ME (before I knew it was ME), I tried one of those anti-candida treatments. It made me feel worse, which matched the theoretical 'die-off' ... but that worsening never stopped (after weeks or months of trying) until I stopped the treatment. I tried several others, and they either didn't work or had the same effect. I just gave up on that approach and assumed that my symptoms were from something other than a yeast infection (since there was no reduction) and the worsening was from some other effect.
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,684
Location
Alberta
except I know metals are involved because I can taste them.

That's not 100% proof of excess metals. ME messes up neural function, so it could be causing false impressions of taste, or misinterpreting normal levels as excessive. Did you get a test for mineral levels? Of course, ME being what it is, it's possible that the test would show what are normal levels for normal, healthy people, yet that level of some element would be a problem for you. Trying various methods to remove them is possibly a more effective method, if those methods don't have unexpected side-effects that make you feel worse. I can't think of a truly reliable method of testing for or removing trouble-making metals. As with everything else, we have to experiment on ourselves as best we can.
 

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,251
That's not 100% proof of excess metals.

Most of life is't 100 % - but its a highly predictable event consistent with triggers. If I take X known to make metals move, metal is in my mouth. If I fast. If I do a lymph cleanse. If I take hot baths. Its a consistent situation in my case.
 

LINE

Senior Member
Messages
832
Location
USA
Most of life is't 100 % - but its a highly predictable event consistent with triggers. If I take X known to make metals move, metal is in my mouth. If I fast. If I do a lymph cleanse. If I take hot baths. Its a consistent situation in my case.

Trust me on the protocol I listed, it was/is a game changer. I should also mention that removing toxic oils such as hydrogenated, palm oil, vegetable oil, fried foods*, GMO based oils etc. are avoided. I stick with a decent olive oil, butter, ghee etc. I have read that sesame oil is ok. Please comment if you can add to this.

*high temperature degrades oil and turns them into oxidized (rancid) substances. This puts undue stress on the body and requires antioxidants to neutralize. I think that oils that have a high smoke point (grapeseed) will not oxidize (open for correction btw).
 
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Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,251
Trust me on the protocol I listed, it was/is a game changer.

Zeolite is on its way! to my door!

I'll be carefully looking at your other recommendations. Today is Zombie brain again- a giant bubble in my brain which I blame on METALS bouncing around.

I stick with a decent olive oil, butter, ghee etc.

Mostly and for at least 50 years I've eaten the organic food, the good oils and grass fed butter. Thats was supposed to pay off!
 

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,251
*high temperature degrade oil and turn them into oxidized (rancid) substances. This puts undue stress on the body and requires antioxidants to neutralize. I think that oils that have a high smoke point (grapeseed) will not oxidize (open for correction btw).

after doing a bit more cooking following recipe instructions, I burn the oil far less. I use less hot temperatures.

In fact: medium heat ruins the pan I have, so you want to avoid smoking any oils.
 

LINE

Senior Member
Messages
832
Location
USA
Zeolite is on its way! to my door!

I'll be carefully looking at your other recommendations. Today is Zombie brain again- a giant bubble in my brain which I blame on METALS bouncing around.



Mostly and for at least 50 years I've eaten the organic food, the good oils and grass fed butter. Thats was supposed to pay off!

If you need some help with this protocol, let me know.
 

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,251
If you need some help with this protocol, let me know.
in
I so appreciate you help.

Due to my various challenges, including currently cognitive and eyes...I"m not really able to wade through alot of info.

Right now I"m trying to get BACK ON TRACK. (because acute fall apart all my protocols get set aside).

so after my massive metal dump three weeks ago: I'm continuing to take my ONE multi...(life extension, with the methylated B's)...and there is a BIT of selenium and a BIT of ALA.

I think that may be enough to account for my ongoing Zombie status and mostly unable to do NOT MUCH.

Current main protocols: take just one multi, (its two a day, I never take two)...also ViT D and K and my quercitin which I feel does something to lesson mast cell.

So I should add these things?

1) biotin
2) get the sunflower lecithin (I used to use lecithin all the time back years ago...)
3)Vit E (that I don't get much of.)