"Taking high doses of selenium may help slightly lower cholesterol levels  but its still not recommended in the United States where most people get plenty of the mineral according to the authors of a new study.  Still the finding is reassuring because previous research had linked high selenium with higher cholesterol levels said study author Dr. Eliseo Guallar from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.  The picture of seleniums health benefits  or possible health risks  has been anything but clear. Last week a review of prior studies suggested that selenium probably doesnt help prevent cancer but might be linked to an increased diabetes risk at high doses see Reuters Health story of May  .  We dont really know where we are Guallar told Reuters Health. In a sense its a necessary micronutrient and we need it but we might be in a situation where we have enough  we might even have too much.  Selenium is found in meat bread and some nuts. Its also available in supplement form and costs about  for a months supply.  The Institute of Medicine recommends U.S. adults consume  micrograms of selenium per day.  Guallar and his colleagues wanted to look specifically at the link between selenium and cholesterol. They recruited about  older adults in the UK to take one of three different doses of selenium daily    or  micrograms  or a placebo pill with no selenium.  Researchers measured participants cholesterol levels at the beginning of the study and after six months on the selenium supplements or placebo. Their results are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.  Participants had an average starting cholesterol of about  milligrams per deciliter of blood. A healthy cholesterol level is less than  mgdL according to the American Heart Association while  to  mgdL is considered borderline high.  In the groups taking  and  micrograms of selenium daily total cholesterol dropped an average of . mgdL and . mgdL respectively compared to the group taking a placebo pill.  Taking the highest dose of selenium was not linked to decreases in total cholesterol  but it was the only dose associated with an increase in HDL good cholesterol.  The authors reported no serious side effects associated with selenium during the study.  While Guallar said the results are good news in showing that high selenium intake is probably not a risk for high cholesterol he wanted to add a note of caution.  ADVERTISING The finding is not generalizable to other patients he said. In a population like the U.S. where selenium levels are adequate theres no reason to take extra selenium in supplements.  The question of the link between selenium and health outcomes Guallar said is a very interesting story thats still developing.  SOURCE bit.lyatTzv httpbit.lyatTzv Annals of Internal Medicine online May  . Our StandardsThe Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. httpthomsonreuters.comenaboutustrustprinciples.html"