Selenium: Are You Getting Enough to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer?

In this timely, fact-intensive book, the author interprets 30 years of peer-reviewed scientific and medical research, including five human clinical trials in the United States and China, which convincingly demonstrate that taking a daily supplement of the essential mineral selenium, with no other changes in lifestyle, can reduce total cancer incidence in at-risk human populations by approximately 37%. With documentation from the literature, the author establishes that selenium is non-uniformly distributed in the United States, has powerful anticancer properties, naturally occurs in several chemical forms that produce different metabolic products differing in their cancer-preventive potency, causes premalignant and malignant cells to commit suicide, is affected by supplements of other nutrients, and stimulates the immune system.The book also details all the information needed for safe and effective dietary selenium supplementation, including important facts about commercial supplements. Many multivitamin and antioxidant formulas either contain nutrients that can abolish the cancer-preventive effectiveness of selenium, or they contain too little selenium to impact materially anyones cancer risk. These and other relevant facts are essential to making an informed choice among the intimidating array of available products.

Edgar N. Drake is Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at Angelo State University. He has presented lectures on cancer prevention with dietary selenium supplementation to government and professional organizations, including the Cancer Prevention Council of Maryland, the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association, and the North American Nutrition and Preventive Medicine Association.