Selenium Could Shield Against Diabetes

Selenium Shields Against Diabetes: Scientists have found evidence that older men with higher levels of selenium are less likely to suffer from dysglycemia, or improper blood-sugar metabolism. Researchers studied 1,162 French adults for nine years, checking their levels of selenium and monitoring whether they developed blood-sugar problems. According to their report published online in the March 2010 edition of 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," stated Tasnime Akbaraly from the University of Montpelier in France.