5 hours Ago By [email protected] (Elaine Blackburne)
A dietician has warned nut lovers to take care when snacking on one particular variety. Abbey Sharp took to her social media channels telling followers that Brazil nuts should carry a health warning as it could be easy to overdose on them. She said most people were unaware of the risk of overdosing on the nut.
And she urged people who did eat them to be "mindful of the serving recommendation". Posting on Instagram she said: "So few people know about this, but it can actually be deadly". She added: "While they are our best dietry source of selenium which is super important for thyroid function, DNA synthesis, reproduction and more, more is not necessarily more.
the upper limit for selenium is 400 micrograms and it only takes seven nuts to cross that threshold and obviously much fewer for a child. "'Toxicity symptoms can range from garlicky breath — gross — diarrhoea, brittle nails, up to life threatening symptoms like kidney and heart failure. I gotta feel like Brazil nuts should be sold with a clear warning on the front and really should be treated more like a supplement than a snacking food.
"So lets just stick with the peanut mix for parties and keep those Brazil nuts in the cabinet where they belong." The 37-year-old Canadian who has two million followers across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, said people had died as a result of overdosing on the nut. Selenium helps the immune system work properly, as well as in reproduction.
It also helps prevent damage to cells and tissues. Good sources of selenium include: It advised the amount of selenium needed is 75μg a day for men (19 to 64 years) and 60μg a day for women (19 to 64 years). It adds people who eat meat, fish or nuts should be able to get all the selenium needed from their daily diet.
And it warns: "Too much selenium causes selenosis, a condition that, in its mildest form, can lead to loss of hair and nails." Meanwhile the Department of Health and Social Care says: "You should be able to get all the selenium you need by eating a varied and balanced diet that includes meat, fish or nuts. If you take selenium supplements, it's important not to take too much as this could be harmful.
" Figures on the The National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements website in the US say 1oz of Brazil nuts - 6-8 nuts - give almost a daily allowance of the mineral. And it warns: "Brazil nuts contain very high amounts of selenium (68–91 mcg per nut) and could cause selenium toxicity if consumed regularly." It adds: "Extremely high intakes of selenium can cause severe problems, including difficulty breathing, tremors, kidney failure, heart attacks, and heart failure.
" In 2006 an Australian man, aged 75, died after consuming a large number of selenium supplements. According to a report in the Medical Journal of Australia, he was worried about prostate cancer and had read that selenium played a role in preventing the disease. While overdosing is more likely to be as a result of overdosing on supplements it is important to ensure you monitor the number of nuts you eat.
According to the University Hospitals The Science of Health blog people should "proceed with caution" when eating them. Recommending people should limit their consumption to "one or two" Brazil nuts a day it advised: "These large, tropical nuts are the exception to the one-ounce-of-nuts-a-day rule because they contain highly concentrated amounts of the trace mineral selenium. In fact, one ounce of Brazil nuts (approximately 8 medium nuts) contains 544 micrograms of selenium, which is 777 percent of the recommended daily allowance.
"Eating too many Brazil nuts can lead to toxic levels of selenium in the body (selenosis) and cause symptoms such as bad breath, diarrhoea, nausea, skin rashes/lesions, nerve pain and fatigue. In rare cases, very high levels can cause kidney failure, cardiac arrest and even death.".
