Selenium is found in cereals, meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs. It acts as an anti-oxidant and helps to prevent tissue damage caused by free radicals.
The food industry wants to be able to make health claims on food labels suggesting selenium protects against cancer – a proposal Cancer Council does not support, based on limited evidence of a link.
This position statement provides background information about selenium and selenium supplements, and summarises the evidence from studies of selenium to prevent cancer.
This page was last updated October 2007
This position statement was last reviewed October 2005