Keeping your thyroid gland healthy is very important if you want to feel well. Abnormalities in thyroid function are incredibly common and can affect your mood, your weight, your energy and many other body functions. Thyroid problems are becoming increasingly common, especially in women. A number of different things can go wrong with the thyroid gland, but the most common is hypothyroidism. This means the thyroid gland is under active. That’s a problem because it can no longer produce sufficient levels of hormones. It’s one of the most common causes of inability to lose weight, as well as depression, fluid retention, constipation and a disrupted menstrual cycle. In the vast majority of cases, the thyroid becomes under active because of the autoimmune disease Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Several factors can increase the risk of developing a thyroid problem: iodine deficiency, leaky gut syndrome, gluten intolerance, stress and vitamin D deficiency are just some of them. An often overlooked contributor to thyroid problems is selenium insufficiency. Along with iodine, selenium is the most important mineral for a healthy thyroid gland. Not getting enough selenium in your diet can increase your chance of developing a thyroid problem, or it can make an existing thyroid problem worse. The soils of many parts of the world are notoriously low in selenium; therefore most foods are not a good source of this mineral, with the exception of Brazil nuts. People with poor digestion or a digestive disease such as celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease are much more prone to selenium deficiency than the general population. Even irritable bowel syndrome will reduce how much selenium you’re able to absorb from food, particularly from Brazil nuts, since many people find nuts to be irritating to their intestines. Research has shown that being selenium deficient raises the risk of developing Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, while supplementing with selenium can halt the production of the antibodies that cause the disease. This is significant because reducing auto-antibody production can stop the destruction of the thyroid gland, and if caught early enough, the thyroid may actually be able to recover. Another interesting study found that giving either 100mcg or 200mcg of selenium each day to patients with autoimmune thyroid disease reduced the levels of thyroid peroxidase antibodies even in individuals who weren’t selenium deficient. Selenium is a very effective remedy for all autoimmune conditions, and we’ve definitely noticed that the bulk of our patients feel much better while taking it. Selenium is also necessary for the conversion of T4 thyroid hormone into its active state, which is T3. This is important to know if you are taking supplemental thyroid hormones. Unless you are taking Armour thyroid, porcine thyroid or other compounded thyroid extract, your body must first activate the thyroid hormone capsule you take each morning. Ensuring you get optimum selenium in your diet or through a supplement can help you experience greater benefits from your thyroid medication. How to get enough selenium for good health The selenium content of food is directly related to how much selenium was in the soil where the food was grown.  Normally selenium is found in organ meats, seafood, Brazil nuts, brewer’s yeast, garlic, kelp, onions and medicinal mushrooms (reishi and shitake). However, because selenium levels in the soil are unreliable, it is virtually impossible to obtain enough selenium through diet alone. Most clinical trials of selenium have used a dose of 100 or 200 mcg daily. This is a beneficial dose that can be taken long term. Selenium supplements can safely be taken by individuals on thyroid hormone replacement.   The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. References Roland Gartner, et al. Selenium Supplementation in Patients with Autoimmune Thyroiditis Decreases Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies Concentrations. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism Volume 87 Issue 4 - April 1, 2002 Turker O, et al. Selenium treatment in autoimmune thyroiditis: 9-month follow-up with variable doses. J Endocrinol. 2006 Jul;190(1):151-6.