selenium
4 interactions related to selenium
nac + selenium
NAC supplies cysteine, the rate-limiting building block for glutathione synthesis, while selenium is the cofactor built into the glutathione peroxidase enzymes that use glutathione to neutralize peroxides. The two nutrients support the same antioxidant pathway, so on a mechanistic level each helps the other work. Combined clinical benefit beyond that shared pathway is not well demonstrated, and the pairing is low-risk.
brazil nuts + warfarin
Brazil nuts contain essentially no vitamin K, so they do not antagonize warfarin or destabilize INR the way leafy greens can. Their notable feature is a very high selenium content, but selenium has no established effect on how warfarin works or is metabolized. The only practical reason to keep brazil nuts modest is selenium safety, not anticoagulation.
selenium + iodine
Iodine is the raw material the thyroid uses to build the hormones T4 and T3, but selenium is required to make the deiodinase enzymes that convert inactive T4 into active T3 in peripheral tissues. Selenium also powers glutathione peroxidase, which protects thyroid cells from the oxidative stress generated during iodine handling. The two minerals work as a pair: each is far less useful without the other.
vitamin e + selenium
Vitamin E and selenium are complementary antioxidants. Selenium is the cofactor for glutathione peroxidase, which clears lipid peroxides and spares vitamin E, while vitamin E intercepts free radicals in membranes and reduces the demand on the selenium-dependent enzyme. The partnership is well established in animal and mechanistic studies; clinical benefit of the combination in people is more limited.