POZ Community Forums

Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Nutrition & HIV => Topic started by: madbrain on January 10, 2008, 05:21:03 pm

Title: Looking for a good NAC supplement without selenium
Post by: madbrain on January 10, 2008, 05:21:03 pm
For the past 3 months I have been taking 600mg n-acetyl cysteine from NOW. This supplement also contains 25 mcg selenium.  http://www.nowfoods.com/?action=itemdetail&item_id=2905
The studies I read concluded that the optimal dose for NAC for HIV was 1800 mg/day. So, I started taking that in December.

Then, my doctor took my selenium blood level, and it came in too high at 235 mcg/L . Kaiser Permanente says the standard range is 110 to 160 mcg/L .
Because my multivitamin also contains 200 mcg selenium, with the 3 NACs containing 25 mcg selenium each, I was taking a total of 275 mcg selenium per day. The doc said this was too much before he even saw the results of my test. The institute of medicine says the tolerable level is 400 mcg/day.
So, I cut down to a single NAC per day to limit my selenium intake to 225.
I am looking for a good NAC supplement that's not too expensive, and either USP certified or GMP, that doesn't contain selenium, so that I can take 3 NACs per day.

Does anyone have a suggestion ?

For the record, the study on selenium at cited at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/61469.php says patients with selenium below 26.1 mcg/L have increased HIV VL and decreased CD4. Obviously I'm not in any danger for that at 235. On the other side, the NIH says at http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/selenium.asp that you can develop selenosis above 100 mcg/dL, which is 1000 mcg/L or about 5 times my current level.
Title: Re: Looking for a good NAC supplement without selenium
Post by: knowdifferent on February 16, 2008, 10:24:18 am
Madbrain,

I take TwinLab's NAC.  It was recommended to me by my nutritionist.  I didn't see any selenium on the label.  It's very affordable at vitacost.com.  $5 shipping, though.
Title: Re: Looking for a good NAC supplement without selenium
Post by: madbrain on February 17, 2008, 03:32:58 pm
Madbrain,

I take TwinLab's NAC.  It was recommended to me by my nutritionist.  I didn't see any selenium on the label.  It's very affordable at vitacost.com.  $5 shipping, though.

Thanks. I ended up choosing the Jarrow NAC. It is sold in 100 tabs at a time which makes it more economical than the Twinlab at iherb.com .