Key Takeaways
- Brazil nuts are rich in selenium, providing up to 990% of your daily value in a small, one-ounce serving.
- Eating too many Brazil nuts too often can lead to selenium toxicity, which can drive mild, moderate, or severe symptoms, some of which can lead to death.
- Eating just one Brazil nut per day can provide your body with the selenium it needs without reaching dangerous levels.
Brazil nuts contain various nutrients that can benefit your health, but one in particular—selenium—can lead to toxicity if you eat too many nuts in a sitting. Selenium toxicity can cause several ailments.
Common Symptoms
Several common symptoms can develop in selenium toxicity that are not as serious as others, but can still harm your health. These include:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Pain
- Nausea
- Garlicky breath or a metallic taste in your mouth
- Hair loss
- Skin rashes
- Irritability
- Brittle nails or nail loss
- Fatigue
Severe Symptoms
When people regularly eat too many Brazil nuts, they can develop worsening, more severe symptoms from having too much selenium in their bodies. Those symptoms include:
- Nervous system problems
- Difficulty breathing
- Tremors
- Lightheadedness
- Flushing
- Muscle tenderness
- Kidney failure
- Heart failure
- Heart attack
How Much Selenium Is in Brazil Nuts?
While selenium is an essential nutrient, the body only needs roughly 55 micrograms per day. A small, one-ounce serving of Brazil nuts contains 544 micrograms, which is about 990% of your daily value requirements.
A single nut still contains more selenium than you need in a day, at roughly 58 to 91 mcg.
Why Do We Need Selenium?
Selenium is a trace mineral the body uses in various ways, including:
- Proper thyroid function
- Hormone production
- Reproduction
- Infection resistance
- DNA production
Selenium Toxicity
Selenium intake from Brazil nuts can be incredibly high and can lead to selenium toxicity, or selenosis, which occurs when the nutrient builds up in the body and causes harm.
The Tolerable Upper Intake Level is 400 micrograms of selenium per day, and anything higher than that can cause harm to the body.
A one-ounce serving has more than that at 554. Consuming that upper level regularly can be dangerous. The risk of selenium toxicity is much higher for people who regularly consume large amounts of Brazil nuts, leading to consistent and significantly elevated selenium intake.
Selenium Toxicity and Mortality
Although rare, selenium toxicity can lead to death. Research shows that an increased risk for mortality is often found in people who consume 300 micrograms per day for an extended period. Since roughly 4-5 Brazil nuts can lead to that amount of selenium, even a small amount every single day can increase the risk of dangerous toxicity.
How Many Brazil Nuts Are Safe?
A one-off overdose of selenium from too many Brazil nuts may not cause an issue. But if you’re someone who eats them often, it’s best to limit your intake to one nut, as that will get you the selenium you need without going overboard.
Eating more than your daily value of selenium can lead to both mild and severe symptoms, so it’s essential to determine how often you are consuming Brazil nuts and how much.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/VerywellBioPicAngelicaBottaro-203f7e803ab444b2b5c13b4252d11159.JPG)