Nutrition 21 pioneered human selenium supplementation during the mid-1970s when it introduced its high selenium yeast product, Selenomax®, as an ingredient to the vitamin and supplement industry.


In 1996, with the publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association of the results of the landmark trial conducted by Dr. Clark at the University of Arizona, Selenomax gained prominence and acceptance as the premium brand of selenium supplementation.

Most recently, the University of Miami released results from a 5-year double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial that showed daily supplementation with Selenomax as high selenium yeast, provided significant positive health benefits for individuals with HIV, including those also taking antiretroviral drugs.  Published in the American Medical Association, Archives of Internal Medicine, these finding suggest a new role for Selenomax for people with HIV disease – as an adjunct nutritional therapy alongside antiretroviral drugs.

The product is a convenient supplemental source of stable, well-absorbed, organic form of selenium supplementation. Selenium, an essential trace mineral, is a crucial mineral antioxidant that protects cells and tissues from free-radical damage. This mineral works with vitamin E as an antioxidant and is needed for the body to synthesize its own natural antioxidant, glutathione. While selenium is available through dietary sources, such as organ meats, shellfish and vegetables and grains, selenium levels vary widely across natural sources.

Alexander G. Schauss, Ph.D., author of Minerals, Trace Elements and Human Health, Fourth Edition (Life Sciences Press: Tacoma, WA, 1999), director of natural and medicinal products research for the American Institute for Biosocial and Medical Research, Tacoma, Washington, said that, “There is a considerable body of evidence showing a protective effect of the essential trace element selenium which has recently been reinforced by the results of a number of important studies in the US and Finland.”

“However, there is concern,” adds Schauss, “that current levels of selenium in the diet may be sub-optimal, particularly in some regions of the United States and especially in the United Kingdom, where dietary selenium levels have fallen significantly in recent years and now stand at around half government recommended levels.”

Nutrition 21 continues to cultivate the market awareness for the benefits of Selenium supplementation in immune support, cardiovascular health and vision, through its clinical research efforts and through collaboration with the supplement industry.