Whenever someone asks me for a good source of selenium, my quick answer is Brazil nuts. After all, one average-sized (5 gram) Brazil nut reportedly has almost 96 mcg (micrograms) or 174% of the adult RDA for selenium, which is 55 mcg.
But what if someone is allergic or sensitive to Brazil nuts? What’s a good alternative? Sunflower seeds are a decent source of selenium too at almost 19 mcg per quarter-cup (34% of the adult RDA), but who is going to eat this many sunflower seeds? I had a thought that maybe some of the selenium in sunflower seeds could be transferred into sunflower microgreens during the sprouting and growth process and here’s what I found:
3 ounces of sunflower microgreens, which is about the size of a large handful, has been measured to contain just over 23 mcg of selenium (42% of the RDA). That’s pretty good! This amount of selenium can potentially make a significant contribution to one’s selenium intake.
I do want to be clear though that this information was just from one entry on Cronometer, and not all sunflower microgreen entries on nutrient databases may be in perfect agreement with this number and/or may not have been tested for selenium. Nonetheless, I thought this information was fascinating and thought that you might be interested, especially those of you with Brazil nut or general tree nut sensitivities.
In our new class, Creating Nutrient Replete Meals, we talk about selenium sources and sources of other important nutrients too. The course is $99 and along with it you get a yearly membership in our Raw Vegan Lifetime Success Community. You can learn more and register for the course by clicking here: https://www.skool.com/raw-vegan-lifetime-success-7461/about