Selenium content of selected hospital diets

Selenium has been recently recognized as an essential trace element for humans with a daily intake of 50–200 μg suggested. Typical hospital meals were collected during a seven-day period at breakfast, lunch and dinner for regular meat-based, ovo-lacto-vegetarian, and low calorie-low protein renal diets. The selenium content of each diet was determined using neutron activation analysis. Total selenium content of the daily diets averaged 85.5 μg for regular, 118 μg for vegetarian and 54.6 μg for renal diets. The actual intakes of selenium by the subjects would be less because frequently all of the food was not consumed. Thus, the mean selenium level fell within the recently suggested range of 50–200 μg per day. However, the low-calorie-low protein renal diet was barely adequate and the regular diet was near the lower limit of the recommended range estimated as safe and adequate.