Page 67 - Summer2008

All Thumbs Book Reviews

cases of yttrium deciency not allowing for pro- the mineral had it been in the form of selenocysteine or had other important
tein synthesis” when he found that two defective cofactors been provided with it such as vitamin B or bioavailable cysteine
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myelin proteins involved in multiple sclerosis from raw proteins, but this study certainly does not justify Olree’s enthu-
were abundant in the UGA codon. Much more siasm for selenomethionine supplements.
impressively, he uncovered actual experimental Although the book does not make any specic recommendations for

evidence that yttrium can dramatically increase supplementation, it may lead many people to believe they should supple-
lifespan in certain animals, but this effect does not ment with minerals such as lanthanum, yttrium, strontium and arsenic in

necessarily conrm Olree’s speculations about its addition to selenomethionine. Though it is possible that trace amounts of
involvement in the genetic code. The section on these minerals may play unknown essential roles in the body or be otherwise
this mineral and its entry in the appendix suggests bene cial in certain circumstances, supplementation could also be harmful.
that certain bacteria of the Bi dus genus, cabbage, Until we understand more about their potential bene ts and toxicities and
and various other plants are the best sources of their mechanisms of action, we should be sure to obtain traces of these
yttrium. Eating sauerkraut, cultured milk and minerals only in traditional foods.
other probiotic foods or forms of cabbage might
be a harmless way to obtain yttrium, then, but ULTIMATELY DISAPPOINTING
Olree’s views on selenium might warrant more After the superb introduction to the history of biological science that
caution. Walters weaves through the rst 80 pages of the book, it comes as a major

Minerals for the Genetic Code cites a 1996 disappointment when he devotes only several pages in total to the basis of
report showing that 200 micrograms of selenium the theory that constitutes the book’s main subject and even less material
per day reduced the risks of several types of can- explaining the mechanisms by which the minerals are supposed to interact
cer. In a 2005 lecture available on the internet, with the genetic code. Part 2 of the book provides an impressive amount of
1
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Olree refers to another report showing that the information about the general roles of various minerals in human nutrition,
same dose of selenium increased the risk of type but one would expect the book to discuss their speci c roles in organizing
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2 diabetes. Olree says that this was probably the genetic code, which is largely left out. The interview with Fagan and
because they used sodium selenite instead of the 100-page appendix on food sources of minerals are both useful. De-
selenomethionine. These two reports are actually spite a number of interesting and valuable sections in the book, however,
two separate analyses of the same double-blind, it ultimately fails at its central task—to convince the reader that Olree’s
placebo-controlled study. It used high-selenium 64 minerals are in fact essential to the genetic code.
yeast, which contains most of its selenium as Reviewed by Chris Masterjohn
selenomethionine. The protection against cancer
was seen only among the two-thirds of the partici- REFERENCES
pants with the lowest plasma selenium levels at 1. Olree R. Minerals for the Genetic Code: Acres ’05 Conference Presentation. http://www.emineral.
info/Presentations.html. Accessed April 20, 2008.
the beginning of the study; in the one-third with 2. Internet Sacred Text Archive. Introduction to Legge J, Tr. “The I Ching,” originally printed in
the highest levels, participants who supplemented Sacred Books of the East, Volume 16, 1899. http://www.sacred-texts.com/ich/index.htm. Accessed
April 20, 2008.
with selenium had 20 percent more cancer than 3. Klug WS, Cummings MR, Spencer CA. Concepts of Genetics: Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle
the participants who took the placebo, although River, NJ: Pearson Education (2006).
the effect could not be conclusively distinguished 4. Aranda A, Pascual A. Nuclear Hormone Receptors and Gene Expression. Physiol Rev.
2001;81(3):1269-1304.
from the effect of chance. Selenium supplementa- 5. Burk RF, Levander OA. Selenium. In: Shils, et al., eds., Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease:
Tenth Edition. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (2006) pp. 312-25.
tion had no effect on the risk of type 2 diabetes 6. Clark LC, Combs GF Jr, Turnbull BW, Slate EH, Chalker DK, Chow J, et al. Effects of selenium
in the bottom two-thirds, but in the top third it supplementation for cancer prevention in patients with carcinoma of the skin. A randomized
increased the risk by 30 percent, an effect that was 7. controlled trial. Nutritional Prevention of Cancer Study Group. JAMA. 1996;276(24):1957-63.
Stranges S, Marshall JR, Natarajan R, Donahue RP, Trevisan M, Combs GF, et al. Effects of
conclusively distinguished from that of chance. long-term selenium supplementation on the incidence of type 2 diabetes: a randomized trial. Ann
It is possible that the selenium would have been Intern Med. 2007;147(4):217-23.
protective even for people with higher levels of

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