I take about 200mcg selenium per day at the moment.

I heard from different sources that excess selenium will increase brain mercury, dr. klinghardt is one of them.....

Now i wonder if there is some truth in that. Would be nice if anyone or laura/russ could comment on this?

I sure hope not, I take the stuff everyday and I took it when I was very mercury toxic! Here where I live, our soils are badly depeleted in selenium.. Coincidentally we have one of the highest cancer rates in the world.

Selenium is supposed to be protective against mercury. It is not a chelating agent, so I'm unsure how it can increase brain mercury. It is not even a mobiliser. BUT, it can displace mercury apparently becaues it competes for binding sites. So in doing this, it may cause some redistribution.

I really am only going by what I've read and there is often so much information out there that I just do not understand thoroughy enough. i'm not a doctor. But I do know my own doctor who is a specialist in mercury, always recommends selenium.

It can in some cases actually help symptoms too. Though other times it can increase them, which I believe must be from some metal movement or even elimination. When the body gets more of what it needs, it can excrete more toxins and metals maybe part of that.

More deeply stored mercury, the tougher to get at stuff is only really gotten out properly by proper chelation apparently. I guess over years and years some would eventually come out by itself, but over a lifetime? Who wants to wait!

There are some people who don't like selenium because of how they feel when they take it. Others use it because it helps them. I just don't know about this brain theory, it sounds odd to me.

It reminds me of the study they did with DMSA on rats and said that DMSA is a brain chelator.....unfortunately rats have a much more permeable blood brain barrier than humans and the DMSA was able to cross it far more easily. So the tests really aren't all that conclusive when you consider those things. DMSA does not cross the blood brain barrier in humans to any clinical degree apparently. Alpha lipoic acid, cilantro etc, apparently can.

Unfortunately mercury can cross the blood brain barrier, so even if you do not take stuff that can get into the brain itself, just redistributing mercury wildly enough can allow the mercury itself to travel there after being bounced around too much.

It would be nice if we had consistant answers to all these things!

I reduced selenium from 200-300 mcg/day, which I used for about a year, to 200 mcg/week after noticing some hair thinning and reading about that possibility. Couple months following the dose reduction, the hair seems to have recovered.

apart from your hair issue did you notice any other difference? worsening or such?

did your mental functioning improve while on 200-300mcg selenium/day?

Personally, after I took selenium for the first time (200ug), I woke up feeling phenomenal. I felt more refreshed than I had in ages (I'm only 17...). I really couldn't believe how I felt. I remember asking myself "Have I really been this tired for so long?"

It's been great so far, I can actually wake up in the morning. I'll let you guys know if any bad symptoms appear.

well, it does give me an energy boost but it makes me feel a bit weird mentally. It also seems to have some mood elevating and mood stabilising properties. It is not an effective antidepressant for me but i find it affects my mood.

The first day on 100-200mcg selenium is usually the best but after a few days i start too feel a bit weird and often stop taking it. I don't know why this is.

Would be nice if you could post your experience with selenium here.

did your mental functioning improve while on 200-300mcg selenium/day?

I didn't notice direct effect on the mental performance. Indirectly, though, it did help clear up the flue-like malaise which itself saps the energy for any work, mental or physical. Since in my case that phase of heavy immune response was transient, the six months during the removal of amalgams and 2-3 months after, I don't need it all that much any more.

There were couple supplements that did show dramatic effects on mental performance and perhaps the folks here might wish to give them a try.

The first one is Huperzine A (maintance dose 2x50 mcg/day 6 hours apart; I use Swanson's brand) which raises the levels of neurotransmitter acetylcholine (by reducing its breakdown rate). Subjectively, when I took it the first time in the "attack dose" (4x50 mcg at once to test the range of effects), it felt as if I was up to that point looking through the fogged up eyeglasses which Hup A wiped off perfectly clean (max efect is 1.5 hours after taking, the positive effects last 5-6 hours). The thoughts become much sharper, with a kind of cold clarity to them, and it is effortless to follow up the longer chains of thought without losing track. The good aspect of Hup A is that in the longer run it stimulates neural growth and branching of neurons, which ought to enrich the positive effects over years. I experimented with nearly all brands out there and settled with Swanson's due to producing the most consistent effects.

The second supplement is Acetyl-L-Carnitine or ALCAR (2x500 mg/day). It provides dramatic mental and physical energy boosts, you just want to get things done, you don't wish to put anything off and no effort seems too hard any more. I also noticed a perceptible boost in libido (others, mostly males, have reported that, too). Similarly to Hup A, in addition to short term benefits, it has the long term rejuvenating effects on brain and muscles. Unlike Hup A, with ALCAR I didn't notice any difference among several brands I tried.

After about a year, I didn't notice any down-side with either (other than missing the positive effects if I don't take them; there is no craving, though). From the literature at the links above, it doesn't seem they have any negative side-effects.

Yes, probably fine stuff. I got myself a combined 200/200 mg ALA/ALCAR supplement (mainly because ALCAR is quite expensive on its own, and to get a more powerful combo that really punches through). I dont take it all at the same time though, would be too much.

Another powerful supplement is L-glutamine, helps brains to detox ammonia and getting rid of brain fog, and has numerous other benefits as well, it is food for brains.

This is the stuff you need when you need to get things done, and don't have time to wait for that the brain fog would disappear on its own.