5 Essential Foods for Selenium Supplementation During Pregnancy

Dietary nutrition is very important for pregnant women. The daily supplements should not only be balanced, but they should also eat more foods that are beneficial to pregnancy. Selenium is a trace element, and if not paid attention to, it will affect the development of the baby. So, what foods containing selenium can pregnant women eat?

I. Foods containing selenium that pregnant women can eat

1. Animal Liver

Animal liver contains selenium, but it is high in cholesterol. Excessive consumption is harmful to the body. Fruits and vegetables do not contain selenium, and only a small amount of selenium is contained in the coarse bran shell of grains, so most people lack selenium in their bodies.

2. Eggs

Eggs include chicken eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs, etc. The selenium content in eggs is higher than that in meat. In every 100 grams of food, pork contains 10.6 micrograms of selenium, chicken eggs contain 23.6 micrograms of selenium, duck eggs contain 30.7 micrograms of selenium, goose eggs contain 33.6 micrograms of selenium, ginseng contains 15 micrograms of selenium, and peanuts contain 13.7 micrograms of selenium.

3. Seafood

Seafood includes river crabs, dried shrimps, prawns, small shrimps, small yellow croakers, oysters, abalone, sea cucumbers, tuna, etc. Among them, large red shrimp, lobster, tiger paw fish, and tuna have the highest selenium content. It is worth noting that in addition to containing a large amount of selenium, seafood also contains harmful elements such as lead, arsenic, and mercury, so pregnant women should not consume it in large quantities or for a long time.

Silver Fish Stir-fried with Eggs

Extended Reading: A Guide to Eating Eggs

4. Garlic

Garlic is rich in selenium and has the effects of improving immunity and clearing active free radicals in the body, which is consistent with the function of selenium, so it has a synergistic effect. Therefore, garlic can be eaten more during selenium supplementation.

5. Purple Amaranth

Purple amaranth can resist radiation, mutation, and oxidation, and is rich in selenium.

II. The benefits of selenium supplementation for pregnant women

Selenium is one of the essential trace elements in human life activities. It is an antioxidant in the human body and can improve human immunity with various biological functions.

1. Selenium is a food-derived antioxidant. It can remove excess oxygen free radicals in the human body and prevent the damage of cell membrane lipid peroxidation. Its anti-free radical effect is 300-500 times that of vitamin E and vitamin C.

2. Improve overall immunity and have auxiliary anti-cancer functions.

3. Reduce blood lipids and blood pressure, prevent atherosclerosis, reduce thrombosis formation, and reduce the area of myocardial infarction.

Cold-dressed Amaranth

Extended Reading: A Guide to Eating Amaranth

4. Prevent viral liver diseases, cirrhosis, liver cancer, fatty liver, alcoholic liver, etc.

5. Replace the function of insulin, activate pancreatic cells to work normally.

6. Improve the local anti-infection ability of the prostate, control inflammation, and control hyperplasia.

7. Protect vision, prevent male and female infertility, and resist aging.

8. Clean up garbage in the body, expel toxins, and expel heavy metal toxins.

9. Selenium can promote the proliferation and killing effect of T cells and neutrophils, promote the synthesis of immunoglobulins and antibody production, enhance the body's antiviral ability, inhibit virus activation, and reduce the formation of lipofuscin.

10. In addition to preventing Keshan disease and Kashin-Beck disease, selenium can also resist viruses, allergies, aging, inflammation, and the carcinogenic effects of aflatoxin B1, benzanthracene, nitrosamines, etc., and reduce the toxic and side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Excessive intake will cause biochemical reaction disorders and poisoning in the human body, with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, hair loss, mental fatigue, and anemia. Increasing the intake of protein such as egg white can reduce the toxicity of selenium. Methionine and vitamin E can promote the excretion of selenium and reduce its toxic and side effects.

Sizzling Pork Liver with Onion

Extended Reading: A Guide to Eating Pork Liver

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