Required for selenoproteins including glutathione peroxidase. Soil-dependent, so values vary by origin.
Every figure here is per 100 g of the food, not per serving. That makes foods comparable to each other, but it is not how anyone eats: 100 g of a dried spice and 100 g of a leafy green are very different portions, so a high position in this list does not tell you what a meal contributes.
Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.
% DV compares the per-100 g amount with the FDA Daily Value of 55 µg for adults and children aged 4 and over. It is a labelling reference, not a personal target.
24 entries with a measured selenium value, highest first.
Bertholletia excelsa
Large seeds harvested from wild Amazonian trees, notable for concentrating selenium from the soil to a degree no other common…
3485% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Katsuwonus pelamis
Almost always skipjack, a small fast-growing tuna, cooked and canned in water or oil. It is a distinctly different product from…
146% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Engraulis encrasicolus
Tiny oily fish usually sold salt-cured and packed in oil, where months of curing dissolves the flesh into an intensely savoury…
124% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Triticum aestivum
The entire wheat kernel — bran, germ and endosperm — either milled into wholemeal flour or cooked whole as berries. The USDA…
112% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Gallus gallus domesticus
The fat-soluble half of the egg, carrying essentially all of its fat, cholesterol, fat-soluble vitamins, choline and carotenoid…
102% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Salvia hispanica
Tiny seeds from a Mexican member of the mint family that form a thick gel when hydrated, because of soluble mucilage in the seed…
100% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Gallus gallus domesticus
A small, soft organ meat with a milder flavour and finer texture than beef liver, which is why it dominates pâtés and parfaits.…
99% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Helianthus annuus
The hulled kernels of the sunflower, one of the densest common food sources of vitamin E. The USDA reference entry is for the…
96% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Sardina pilchardus
Small schooling fish canned whole with their soft, edible bones intact. Being short-lived plankton feeders low in the food chain,…
96% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Mytilus edulis
Rope- or bottom-grown bivalves that need no feed input, making them one of the lowest-impact animal foods produced. They open…
81% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Scomber scombrus
A fast-swimming oily fish with dark, strongly flavoured flesh that spoils quickly and is therefore often smoked or canned. It is…
80% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Bos taurus
The metabolic and storage organ of cattle, and consequently one of the most nutrient-concentrated foods in the human diet by a…
72% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Hordeum vulgare
A cereal grain sold either hulled, with the bran intact, or pearled, with the bran abraded away. The USDA reference entry is for…
69% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Salmo salar
An anadromous fish that feeds at sea and returns to fresh water to spawn. Its pink flesh comes from astaxanthin accumulated…
66% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Sesamum indicum
Small oil-rich seeds used whole, toasted, or ground into tahini across the Middle East, Africa and East Asia. The USDA reference…
63% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Gadus morhua
A large cold-water groundfish with lean, flaky white flesh that stores its oil in the liver rather than the muscle. That anatomy…
60% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Sus scrofa domesticus
A small muscle running along the inside of the spine that does almost no work, making it the leanest and most tender cut on the…
56% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Gallus gallus domesticus
A complete package of protein, fat and micronutrients built to grow a chick, split between a protein-and-water white and a…
56% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Penaeus spp.
Decapod crustaceans, the most traded seafood in the world by value and now largely farmed. Their shells contain astaxanthin bound…
54% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Gallus gallus domesticus
The pectoral muscle of the chicken, made up largely of fast-twitch fibres, which is why it is pale and low in fat compared with…
50% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Coriandrum sativum
The dried fruit of Coriandrum sativum, the same plant whose leaves are sold as cilantro, though the seed tastes citrusy and warm…
48% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Linum usitatissimum
The seed of the flax plant, sold whole, ground or pressed for oil, and the densest common dietary source of plant lignans. The…
46% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Salmo salar
The great majority of salmon sold worldwide, raised in sea pens on formulated feed. It is consistently fattier than wild salmon,…
44% of the Daily Value per 100 g
Ovis aries
Meat from sheep slaughtered under about a year old, with a distinctive flavour that comes largely from branched-chain fatty acids…
43% of the Daily Value per 100 g