• Highly bioassimilable form of selenium
• Increases antioxidant barrier efficacy
• Reduces amount of free radicals
• Reduces oxidative stress
• Decreases structure degradation in organism
• Prevents neoplastic processes
• Improves functioning of immune system
• Increases immune system efficacy
• Exhibits antiviral properties
• Improves cardiovascular system functions
• Guarantees optimal thyroid functions
• Helps to maintain high fertility
• Improves well-being and attitude to life
• Yeast-free product
• Gelatine-free
• Appropriate for vegans

Now Selenium 200 mcg Veg Capsules is a dietary supplement that provides highly bioassimilable selenium. Its form of veggie capsules makes it possible to satisfy the demand for selenium in a large group of people, including those who follow restrictive diets and prefer a vegan lifestyle. Moreover, its easy form of administration without the presence of gelatine in the capsule casing prevents the occurrence of troublesome digestive problems in people sensitive to the component.

Selenium – a trace element and a mineral essential for the normal functioning of the human organism. It was discovered in 1817 by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist. Its large amounts are found mainly in: meat, fish, Brazil nuts, yeasts, cereal products, including oat flakes and pasta, as well as in cabbages, Allioideae (garlic, onion), and legumes. When consumed with foods of plant origin, it is delivered in the form of non-organic selenates and selenides, sometimes also organic selenomethionine; when in foods of animal origin, it occurs only in the form of highly bioassimilable organic compounds. Depending on the source, it is believed that the needed dosage of selenium for an average adult person is 45-70 µg a day. Interestingly, in the areas where food is rich in selenium, for example in the United States, its consumption exceeds the recommended dosage, reaching the amount of 100-150 µg a day. The degree of demand for selenium can increase depending on many factors, particularly: increased exposure to oxidative stress, for example in the case of athletes, people who live in chronic stress, or smokers, as well as in the case of excessive exposure to carcinogens. The right concentration of selenium in the blood plasma is thought to be 70-150 µg/l.

Selenoproteins
Usually, the most spectacular positive effects of selenium in the organism stem from the fact that it is essential in the structure of more than ten enzymes called selenoproteins. The most important ones are the following: glutathione peroxidases, thioredoxin reductases, iodothyronine deiodinases, and some other enzymes with varying functions.
- Glutathione peroxidases help to improve the efficacy of the antioxidant barrier; that way they increase the organism’s ability to protect itself from oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxides and organic peroxides.
- It participates in the formation of the structures of thioredoxin reductases, thanks to which the processes of thioredoxin and protein disulfide reduction are possible. Moreover, they constitute a crucial element in the formation of genetic material and programmed cell death.
- By ensuring the right efficacy of deiodinases, it helps to remove iodine, which means it is relevant for such processes as the activation and inactivation of thyroid hormones.
- Other selenoproteins, on the other hand, have the following effects: they affect calcium management, take part in the protection against excessive oxidative stress, support the functioning of the immune system, support the right development of structures forming in the organism, help to maintain high fertility, etc.

Support for antioxidant barrier
By being present in the structures of some enzymes, mainly glutathione peroxidases, and cooperating with glutathione, selenium participates in the reduction of hydrogen peroxides and organic peroxides that contain an oxygen bridge. By helping to inactivate negatively reactive compounds, it reduces their aggressiveness, that way protecting existent structures from destabilisation and destruction.

Anticancer effect
Selenium seems to be omnipresent in the natural anticancer mechanism that functions in the organism:

- Because of some oxidising effect, it supports the formation of reactive oxygen species around malfunctioning cells. By distorting their unstable redox balance, it stops their development processes, induces an immune response of the organism to a toxic cell, and causes the apoptosis of a given cell.
- By changing thiol groups, it distorts the signalling of malfunctioning cells and inhibits their development by blocking its transcription factors.
- By inducing modifications of chromatin, it damages the genetic material of cancer cells and inhibits their process of angiogenesis, which is essential for their survival.

Enhanced immune response
Probably thanks to the fact that it enhances receptor expression for interleukin 2, selenium provides the right development, efficient transformations, and the maintenance of the necessary activity of T lymphocytes and makes the activation of NK cells more efficient. The right amount of selenium also proves important for the developing balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory macrophages; a reduced concentration of the element favours the activity of pro-inflammatory macrophages, and its elevated levels are beneficial for anti-inflammatory macrophages.

Antiviral properties
By inhibiting the formation of the most vicious forms of RNA viruses, selenium reduces the number of infections. Moreover, although selenium’s undoubted efficacy in HIV and hepatitis B prevention has not been proven academically yet, the element is clearly important for slowing down the occurrence of the negative consequences caused by infections with the above-mentioned viruses.

Normal thyroid functions ensured
The role that selenium plays in maintaining normal thyroid functions is clearly visible through the sole fact that the greatest concentration of the element is found nowhere else but in the thyroid gland. Because it is a component of deiodinases, it enables the transformations of thyroid hormones, that way affecting their activity. Moreover, it provides the right activity of the third isoform of glutathione peroxidase, thanks to which it reduces the level of reactive oxygen species, which are formed during thyroid hormone synthesis, especially in the case of an iodine deficiency, when the greatest amount of TSH is formed and the production of oxidising compounds is elevated. By reducing the probability of uncontrolled oxidation processes, it inhibits the breakdown of structures or fibrosis of the thyroid gland. It also reduces the risk of developing nodular goitres, hypothyroidism, or autoimmune inflammation.

Maintaining the right condition of the cardiovascular system
By helping to maintain the right activity of the fourth glutathione peroxidase isoenzyme, selenium reduces the oxidation of phospholipids and cholesterol, connected with lipoproteins that circulate in the circulatory system. It reduces the extent of harmful structural changes and the aggressiveness of the environment created in blood vessels.

Effect on fertility
Selenium is a crucial element in testosterone production and the process of spermatogenesis. Moreover, selenium protects sperm structures and mitochondria in them from destruction, which is possible to a great extent thanks to antioxidant enzymes, including the fourth glutathione peroxidase isoenzyme. Thanks to that, it is possible to achieve the necessary stability of sperm and stimulate their motility in order to deliver the best genetic material efficiently.

Neuroprotective properties
Selenium plays an important role in maintaining the oxidation-reduction balance in the nervous system, which is the most visible on the example of the brain, where its concentration is stable even when the level of the mineral generally drops in the entire organism. By supporting the antioxidant barrier of the central nervous system, it ensures that neuron structures are stable and develop normally, which guarantees their efficacy and inhibits the potential development of neurodegenerative diseases.

Maintaining mental balance
The mechanisms responsible for selenium’s effect on the human mind have not been fully explained yet; however, there is no doubt that maintaining the right level of the element in the organism is essential for maintaining a good mood and high spirits. The fact can be partially explained by selenium’s effect on proper neurotransmission. When too low selenium supply per day lasts for too long, people develop depressive states, lose motivation and become hostile towards their environment. Consuming the right amount of selenium during the day makes it possible to restore a positive attitude to life.

Deficiency consequences
Selenium deficiencies have a major effect on the human mental health. They lead to the development of depression, anxiety, fear, a negative attitude to life, and confusion. They also have a negative effect on the functioning of the immune and circulatory systems, bones and joints, and the functioning of the kidneys. The susceptibility to cancer development can also increase. The diseases associated with selenium deficiency the most are: Keshan disease, which is connected with dangerous lesions in the cardiac muscle, and the Kashin-Beck disease, which causes the degradation of cartilage in joints.

It is worth remembering that in the case of most minerals, both their deficiency and excess in the diet are dangerous for the organism. Taking too much selenium in a specific time unit can be recognised by the following symptoms: recurring nausea and diarrhoea, a garlic-like smell from the mouth, the feeling of constant weakness, a deteriorated condition of nails, and falling hair. Therefore, when taking selenium for a long time, it is good to measure its level in the plasma, or if examination is not needed, breaks in supplementation are also a solution.

Excellent bioassimilability and high safety of use
In nature, selenium occurs in the less-assimilable forms of non-organic compounds, that is selenates and selenides, and in much better assimilable organic forms, among which selenomethionine and selenocysteine are the most important. Selenomethionine, the form used in this product, is a molecule formed as a result of the transformation of a crucial amino acid, methionine, whose sulphur atom located at the fourth carbon was replaced with a selenium atom. When it comes to absorbability, selenomethionine stands only a little lower than its sister form, selenocysteine. Therefore, the use of the organic selenium form in the product NOW Selenium 200 mcg Veg Capsules ensures the element’s high bioassimilability and its optimal use by the organism. It is worth mentioning that the use of selenomethionine makes it possible to reject yeasts as the main source of selenium, thanks to which supplementation becomes safer and allergen-free.

High-quality, gelatine-free Veg Capsules
The process of the encapsulation of selenomethionine with Veg Capsules as casing makes it possible to eliminate gelatine, which many people avoid. Thanks to that, people can be prevented from digestive discomfort caused by casings made with the use of gelatine, and those who avoid product of animal origin, like vegans, can also benefit from this high-quality product.

Now Selenium 200 mcg Veg Capsules is a dietary supplement supplying bioassimilable selenium in the form of selenomethionine. It efficiently supplements selenium levels, thanks to which it strengthens the antioxidant barrier, supports the organism’s defence mechanisms, cares for the development of healthy structures, supports the functioning of many systems, including the circulatory and nervous systems, helps to maintain high fertility, and improves the mood and attitude to life. Because the product is encapsulated in gelatine-free capsules, the supplement can also be taken for vegans and people who suffer after taking a gelatine-based capsule. The product does not contain yeasts, which are often used in this type of agents, which means that there are no allergens used in it.