Knees need selenium

15 June 2007

New research shows osteoarthritis in knees is directly related to low selenium levels – the lower the levels, the more severe the knee arthritis.

Results suggest knee arthritis may be prevented or delayed by increasing selenium intake.

A team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that for every additional tenth of a part per million of selenium in volunteers' bodies, there was a 15-20 per cent decrease in their risk of knee osteoarthritis.

Researchers first suspected that selenium might play a role in preventing osteoarthritis after observing that in severely selenium-deficient areas of China, people frequently develop Kashin-Beck disease, which causes joint problems relatively early in life.

Selenium Lowers Arthritis Risk

Those with the highest selenium levels faced a 40 per cent lower risk of knee osteoarthritis than those in the lowest-selenium group.

"Those in the highest selenium group had only about half the chance of severe osteoarthritis or disease in both knees. Some of the findings were even stronger in African-Americans and women," the study reported.

The report noted there appears to be a clear relationship between selenium and osteoarthritis. The mechanism behind this link needs to be further investigated in the laboratory but the researchers believe the mineral might act as a protective antioxidant.

Selenium Rich Foods

Selenium rich foods: kidney, liver, crab, other shellfish, red meat, grains, eggs, chicken, Brazil nuts and garlic. Vegetables can also be a good source if grown in selenium-rich soils.

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