Selenium Could Shield Against Diabetes

High levels in men appear to be beneficial, study finds

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THURSDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have found evidence that older men with higher levels of selenium are less likely to suffer from dysglycemia, or improper blood-sugar metabolism.

Tasnime Akbaraly, from the University of Montpellier in France, and colleagues studied 1,162 French adults for nine years, checking their levels of selenium and monitoring whether they developed blood-sugar problems.

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According to their report, published online in the journal Nutrition & Metabolism, elderly men whose selenium concentrations were in the top one-third had a significantly lower risk.

"The reason we observed a protective effect of selenium in men but not in women is not completely clear, but might be attributed to women being healthier at baseline, having better antioxidant status in general and possible differences in how men and women process selenium," Akbaraly said in a news release from the journal's publisher.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more on selenium.

-- Randy Dotinga