Selenium
Private Selenium blood test in London for £88, measuring one whole-blood trace mineral marker with results expected in around 6 days.
Turnaround time
6 business days
Biomarkers count
1
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Overview of the Selenium
The Selenium blood test measures Selenium (Whole Blood), providing information about the amount of this essential trace element present within both the cellular and circulating components of blood.
The test contains 1 biomarker: Selenium (Whole Blood).
Selenium is required in very small quantities but is essential for several proteins known as selenoproteins.
These proteins are involved in antioxidant defence, thyroid-hormone metabolism, reproductive biology and other cellular processes.
One important group of Selenium-dependent enzymes is the glutathione peroxidase family, which helps protect cells from oxidative damage.
Selenium is also required by iodothyronine deiodinase enzymes, which participate in the conversion and regulation of thyroid hormones, including conversion between Thyroxine and active or inactive forms of Triiodothyronine.
This makes Selenium relevant to normal thyroid physiology, but a Selenium result is not a thyroid-function test and cannot diagnose hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism or autoimmune thyroid disease.
Selenium intake depends substantially on diet and the Selenium content of the soil in which food is produced.
Dietary sources include fish, shellfish, meat, eggs, cereals and nuts. Brazil nuts can contain particularly high concentrations, although the amount varies significantly.
Clinically important Selenium deficiency is uncommon in people consuming a varied diet but can occur in severe malnutrition, significant intestinal malabsorption and selected long-term nutritional-support settings.
Whole-blood Selenium incorporates Selenium within red blood cells as well as the circulating component and can therefore provide somewhat different information from a serum-only measurement.
Excess Selenium is also clinically important.
Long-term excessive supplementation can cause selenosis, which can affect the hair, nails, gastrointestinal tract and nervous system.
Because Selenium has a narrower margin between nutritional requirement and excessive intake than many common supplements, supplementation should not automatically be increased simply because Selenium has potential biological benefits.
What Does the Selenium Test Check?
This test measures 1 biomarker.
Selenium (Whole Blood)
Measures Selenium within whole blood to support assessment of nutritional status, Selenium exposure and possible deficiency or excessive supplementation.
Who May Benefit From the Selenium Test?
Selenium testing may be useful where diet, gastrointestinal health or supplementation raises a specific question about Selenium status.
People with significant gastrointestinal malabsorption - Impaired absorption can reduce several vitamins and trace minerals, including Selenium.
People with severe dietary restriction or malnutrition - Inadequate nutritional intake can lead to trace-element deficiency.
People receiving long-term specialist nutritional support - Selenium may require monitoring when nutrition is provided through highly controlled feeding regimens.
People taking Selenium supplements regularly - Testing can help determine whether substantial supplementation is producing unexpectedly high levels.
People consuming large quantities of Brazil nuts or Selenium-rich products - Selenium content can be high and variable.
People with a previous low Selenium result - Repeat testing can assess response to dietary or supplement changes.
People with a previous high Selenium result - Follow-up can determine whether levels fall after excessive intake is addressed.
People undergoing broader micronutrient assessment - Selenium can be interpreted alongside Zinc, Copper and other minerals.
People specifically advised to obtain Selenium testing - The test is most useful when there is a defined nutritional or clinical reason for measurement.
How to Prepare
Do not deliberately increase Selenium intake before testing.
Because chronic excessive Selenium intake can be harmful, supplementation should be based on a clear nutritional rationale rather than the assumption that higher concentrations are always better.
Symptoms and Reasons to Consider the Selenium Test
Both Selenium deficiency and excessive Selenium exposure can cause symptoms, although neither produces a completely specific clinical picture.
Hair or nail changes alongside significant nutritional deficiency - Severe Selenium deficiency can affect tissues with rapid cell turnover, although many other nutrient and hormonal problems can cause similar changes.
Persistent nutritional concerns with malabsorption - Selenium deficiency may occur alongside deficiencies of other trace elements.
Unexplained muscle weakness with significant nutritional risk - Severe trace-element deficiency can affect muscle function but requires wider investigation.
Symptoms developing during high-dose Selenium supplementation - Excess exposure can cause gastrointestinal, hair, nail and neurological effects.
Brittle or abnormal nails during substantial Selenium intake - Nail changes can occur with chronic Selenium excess.
Unusual hair loss during high-dose supplementation - Selenosis can cause hair changes, but hair loss has many alternative causes.
Persistent nausea or gastrointestinal disturbance during excessive Selenium intake - Gastrointestinal symptoms can occur with toxicity.
A garlic-like breath or metallic taste during very high exposure - These findings have been described in Selenium toxicity.
A previous abnormal Selenium result - Repeat testing can determine whether the concentration remains outside the laboratory range.
These symptoms are not specific to Selenium imbalance.
Hair loss, fatigue, thyroid symptoms and gastrointestinal complaints should not be attributed to Selenium without broader clinical assessment.
Where Selenium toxicity is suspected because of substantial supplement exposure and significant symptoms, supplementation should be reviewed promptly with an appropriate healthcare professional.
How to Book Your Selenium Test
Booking your private Selenium blood test with London Blood Tests is straightforward.
Choose the Selenium
Select the standalone Selenium blood test online.
Select your sample collection option
Choose an in-clinic blood draw or professional home or hotel phlebotomy depending on location and availability.
Attend your appointment
A trained healthcare professional collects the required whole-blood specimen using the appropriate laboratory tube.
Laboratory analysis
Your sample undergoes specialist trace-element analysis for Selenium (Whole Blood).
Receive your results securely
Your authorised Selenium result is delivered securely and can be reviewed alongside your diet, supplementation and other nutritional markers.
When Will I Receive My Results?
The current expected turnaround time for the Selenium test is approximately 6 days after your sample reaches the laboratory.
Selenium is a specialist trace-element investigation and takes longer to analyse than many routine biochemical tests.
Once the specimen reaches the laboratory, it must undergo dedicated trace-element analysis, laboratory quality-control procedures and result authorisation before reporting.
Turnaround begins from laboratory receipt rather than necessarily from the exact time your sample is collected.
Courier schedules, weekends, bank holidays, specimen-quality issues or the occasional need for repeat specialist analysis can extend the overall reporting period.
If Selenium is ordered with a larger mineral or micronutrient profile, the final combined report may depend on the longest-turnaround marker in that profile.
Understanding Your Results
A low Selenium result indicates that the measured whole-blood concentration falls below the laboratory's reference interval.
Potential explanations include inadequate intake, severe malnutrition, significant malabsorption or other unusual nutritional circumstances.
A low result does not automatically mean that symptoms such as fatigue or thyroid complaints are caused by Selenium deficiency.
A result within the laboratory range generally indicates an adequate measured Selenium concentration.
A high Selenium result is particularly important to interpret in relation to supplements and diet.
Excessive Selenium exposure can produce selenosis, especially when high supplemental doses are taken for prolonged periods.
Possible features of toxicity include gastrointestinal upset, hair loss, brittle nails, unusual taste or breath odour and neurological symptoms.
If Selenium is unexpectedly elevated, all sources of supplementation should be reviewed before additional Selenium is taken.
Thyroid-function markers such as TSH, Free T4 and Free T3 should be assessed separately if thyroid disease is the clinical concern.
Why Book With London Blood Tests?
Private Selenium testing in London - Access targeted whole-blood Selenium measurement privately.
Whole-blood mineral assessment - The product measures Selenium (Whole Blood), incorporating cellular as well as circulating Selenium.
Useful for deficiency assessment - Testing can support investigation where severe dietary restriction or malabsorption is present.
Useful for supplement monitoring - Selenium supplementation can occasionally result in excessive exposure.
Relevant to broader nutritional health - Selenium participates in antioxidant and thyroid-hormone enzyme systems.
Specialist laboratory analysis - Samples undergo dedicated trace-element testing.
Clinic and home collection options - Professional phlebotomy can be arranged depending on availability.
Secure reporting - Receive your authorised Selenium result securely.
Clear pricing - The Selenium test costs £88.
Private Selenium Blood Test in London
London Blood Tests provides private Selenium blood testing in London for people requiring targeted assessment of Selenium status.
The test costs £88 and measures 1 biomarker: Selenium (Whole Blood).
Testing may be useful for people with significant dietary restriction, gastrointestinal malabsorption, previous abnormal Selenium results or substantial Selenium supplementation.
Results are expected approximately 6 days after laboratory receipt.
The result should be interpreted according to diet and supplement exposure rather than used alone to diagnose thyroid, immune or other medical conditions.