Selenium - bad mood food

Food has always played a role in influencing our mood, whether it’s feeling romantic after slurping down oysters, or blissful after munching on chocolate. And as scientists discussed at the recent London Mood and Food conference – organized by the British Nutrition Foundation – the relationship between the two has been further underlined since the discovery of a link between selenium deficiency and depression.
According to scientists from the Department of Psychology at the University of Wales in Swansea, a deficiency in selenium – an essential trace element found in cereal grains, meat and fish – may be associated with increased anxiety, depression and fatigue. It also acts as an antioxidant and can help the body to fight cancer and heart disease. The current average adult intake of selenium for women and men is thought to be around 43 micrograms (mcg) per day. This compares unfavourably with the government’s recommended daily intake of 75mcg for men and 60mcg per day for women. Selenium is found in varying concentrations in soils throughout the world. While levels are high in North American soil, they are comparatively low in Britain and Europe. Due to a decrease in imports of selenium-rich, high-protein wheat flour from North America and Canada, and an increase in the acquisition of locally produced wheat, daily selenium intake among the British population fell dramatically from 60mcg in 1978 to around 43mcg by the 1990s. The Food Standards Agency, which looks at trends in food consumption, noted in its annual National Food Survey that there has been a decrease in bread consumption over the past 10 years. This is also believed to be a cause in the reduced intake of selenium. Finally, the low bio-availability (i.e. the amount that the body is able to use) of this mineral in soils due to acid rain and excessive use of artificial fertilizers, has also affected selenium intake.
The study published in Biological Psychiatry in 1991 by doctors David Benton and Richard Cook at the University of Wales, was designed with the aim of examining the impact of selenium on moods. While previous studies have looked at selenium deficiency in relation to the concentration of the mineral in red blood cells, kidney, liver and testes, its presence in the brain has always been ignored. The Benton and Cook study was ground-breaking because it was the first time researchers considered the possibility that low selenium levels may have psychological consequences.