Selenium supplements with the fewest additives
Selenium has been one of my most-requested pages, but until Chris Masterjohn's podcast on it, I didn't understand it enough to be comfortable making suggestions. I can't speak highly enough of that episode if you're considering selenium supplementation, and I've put up my visual notes (and information about getting a selenium blood test) on my other site.
After looking through the popular selenium brands, I'd suggest Solaray's. They have more excipients than I'd prefer, but they're better than the other brands tested tested by ConsumerLab for selenium/lead levels when factoring in my preference for straight L-selenomethionine. I don't necessarily mistrust other brands though (most did well in testing), it's just the product I'd lean towards:
| Name | Ingredients |
|---|---|
| Solaray Yeast-Free Selenium (200mcg Gelatin Capsules) Available on iHerb | Selenium (as yeast-free L-selenomethionine), whole rice concentrate (including the bran, germ and polishings), gelatin capsule, cellulose and magnesium stearate. |
Dosage
As alluded to in that podcast, the standard 200mcg amount in most of the products is a pretty high dose, and some of the brands even suggest taking it 1-2 times daily.
I'd suggest dosing it very conservatively, and guesstimating the intake you get from food first with a tool like Cronometer (after taking into account the variability issues discussed in the podcast that I've now mentioned entirely too many times). Even better would be doing some blood testing, although it's on the order of $70+ per test.
My miscellanious selenium notes
Some things to note about selenium that I'm only aware of thanks to a smartypants person cloaked in the mysterious forum name Amazoniac:
- It may be important to monitor the relationship between vitamin C and selenium, especially in deficiency and supplementation scenarios.
- Discussion of selenium's effects on thyroid function, injuries, immune response, and attempts to quantify desirable intake levels from foods and supplementation.
Other selenium products
The following are other selenium supplements I looked at, sorted alphabetically.
Decoding guide:
- Listing mentioning Albion (now acquired by Balchem) should be primarily selenium glycinate.
- "Selenium SeLECT" is Sabinsa's L-selenomethionine product.
- "SeMSC" is L-Se-methylselenocysteine.
- "Selenium yeast" should be mostly L-selenomethionine, but it's possible for brand to be sneaky and add other forms to the yeast.
| Name | Ingredients |
|---|---|
| American Biologics Selenium Forte (200mcg Veggie Capsules) | Selenium (L-selenomethionine), microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate. |
| Bluebonnet Selenium (100mcg Veggie Capsules) | Selenium (L-selenomethionine), 100% Kosher vegetable capsules, vegetable cellulose, silica, vegetable magnesium stearate. |
| Carlson Selenium (200mcg Gelatin Capsules) | Selenium (from L-selenomethionine), microcrystalline cellulose, dicalcium phosphate, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, beef gelatin capsule. |
| Country Life Selenium (100mcg Tablets) | Selenium (as L-selenomethionine), cellulose, cellulose & glycerin coating, stearic acid, silica, magnesium stearate, vegetable glaze. |
| CVS Selenium (200mcg Tablets) | Selenium (as selenium yeast), dicalcium phosphate, cellulose (plant origin), brewer's yeast. contains less than 2% of: croscarmellose, silica, vegetable magnesium stearate, vegetable stearic acid. |
| Doctor's A-Z High Absorption Selenium (200mcg Gelatin Capsules) | Selenium (from Albion selenium glycinate complex), rice flour, gelatin, maltodextrin, microcrystalline cellulose (plant fiber). |
| Douglas Laboratories Hypo-Selenium (200mcg Tablets) | Selenium (Krebs [citrate, fumarate, malate, glutarate and succinate complex]/chelate, yeast free, organically bound in kelp), cellulose, vegetable stearate and silica. |
| Douglas Laboratories Seleno-Methionine (200mcg Gelatin Capsules) | Selenium, cellulose, gelatin (capsule), vegetable stearate. |
| FoodScience of Vermont Selenium (200mcg Veggie Capsules) | Selenium (as selenium citrate), microcrystalline cellulose, vegetable cellulose, vegetarian leucine. |
| GNC Selenium (200mcg Caplets) | Selenium (as selenium yeast), cellulose, dicalcium phosphate. |
| Healthy Origins SelenoExcell (200mcg Gelatin Capsules) | SelenoExcell® selenium (as high selenium yeast), gelatin (capsule). |
| Jarrow Selenium Synergy (200mcg Veggie Capsules) | Vitamin E (as d-alpha tocopheryl succinate), vitamin B2 (as riboflavin), selenium (as methylselenocysteine), sulforaphane glucosinolate (from 75 mg of broccoli seed extract, BroccoMax®) (Brassica oleracea), cellulose, maltodextrin, magnesium stearate (vegetable source) and silicon dioxide. |
| Life Extension Se-Methyl L-Selenocysteine (200mcg Veggie Capsules) | Selenium (as se-methyl l-selenocysteine), rice flour, vegetable cellulose (capsule), ascorbyl palmitate, silica. |
| Life Extension Super Selenium Complex (200mcg Veggie Capsules) | Vitamin E (as d-alpha tocopheryl succinate), selenium (as se-methyl l-selenocysteine, SelenoPure™¹ L-selenomethionine, sodium selenate), rice flour, vegetable cellulose (capsule), l-leucine, dicalcium phosphate. |
| MegaFood Selenium (200mcg Caplets) | Selenium (as selenium yeast), cellulose, dicalcium phosphate. |
| Nature's Bounty Selenium (200mcg Tablets) | Selenium (as selenium yeast), brewer's yeast, vegetable cellulose, vegetable stearic acid, silica, vegetable magnesium stearate. |
| Nature's Way Selenium (200mcg Gelatin Capsules) | Selenium (as L-selenomethionine), cellulose, gelatin (capsule). |
| NOW Foods Selenium (200mcg Veggie Capsules) | Selenium (from L-selenomethionine), rice flour, cellulose (capsule) and stearic acid (vegetable source). |
| NutraBio Selenium (200mcg Veggie Capsules) | Selenium (as Albion selenium amino acid complex), rice flour, vegetable capsule. |
| Pure Encapsulations Selenium Citrate (200mcg Veggie Capsules) | Selenium (as selenium citrate), hypoallergenic plant fiber (cellulose), ascorbyl palmitate, vegetarian capsule (cellulose, water). |
| Pure Encapsulations Selenomethionine (200mcg Veggie Capsules) | Selenium (as selenomethionine), hypoallergenic plant fiber (cellulose), ascorbyl palmitate, vegetarian capsule (cellulose, water). |
| Puritan's Pride Selenium (200mcg Tablets) | Selenium (as selenium yeast), brewer’s yeast, vegetable cellulose, vegetable stearic acid, silica, vegetable magnesium stearate, contains wheat ingredients. |
| Source Naturals Yeast-Free Selenium (200mcg Tablets) | Selenium (as yeast-free L-selenomethionine), dibasic calcium phosphate, microcrystalline cellulose, modified cellulose gum, stearic acid, and magnesium stearate. |
| Swanson Premium Albion Complexed Selenium L-selenomethionine (100mcg Gelatin Capsules) | Selenium (from Selenium SeLECT L-selenomethionine), rice flour, gelatin, dicalcium phosphate. |
| Swanson Ultra Albion Complexed Selenium (200mcg Veggie Capsules) | Selenium (from Albion selenium glycinate complex), rice flour, gelatin, maltodextrin, microcrystalline cellulose (plant fiber). |
| Swanson Ultra SelenoExcell (200mcg Gelatin Capsules) | Selenium (from SelenoExcell® organically bound high-selenium yeast), rice flour, gelatin, magnesium stearate. |
| Swanson Ultra SeMSC Selenium (200mcg Gelatin Capsules) | Selenium (L-Se-methylselenocysteine), microcrystalline cellulose (plant fiber), gelatin, calcium palmitate. |
| Thorne Research Selenomethionine (200mcg Veggie Capsules) | Selenium (as selenomethionine), microcrystalline cellulose, hypromellose (derived from cellulose) capsule. |
| Twinlab Sodium Selenite (250mcg Gelatin Capsules) | Selenium (from sodium selenite), potato starch, cellulose, gelatin, MCT. |
| Vitacost Complexed Selenium (200mcg Gelatin Capsules) | Selenium (as Albion selenium glycinate complex), proprietary blend [short chain fructooligosaccharides (FOS) NutraFlora® scFOS®, ginger root extract (zingiber officinale) (standardized for 5% gingerols), black pepper powder (piper nigrum) (fruit), long pepper powder (Piper longum) (fruit), multi-enzyme complex (amylase, fungal lactase, protease, lipase, cellulase) DigeZyme®, rice flour, gelatin (capsule) and magnesium stearate (vegetable source). |
| Vital Nutrients Selenium (200mcg Veggie Capsules) | Selenium (50% as sodium selenite/50% as selenomethionine), silicated cellulose, vegetable cellulose capsule, and rice powder. |