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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/ahhhhh_selenium on 2024-10-30 17:28:37+00:00.

Today I fucked up.

Obligatory not today, but recently (for the past 2 months) I’ve been dealing with a host of random health issues. Being in my mid-twenties and always having had an easy time with my health it was honestly super strange. I had the distinct thought, “Damn, this is what 24 is like huh?”

The symptoms included diarrhea, difficulty breath, headaches, difficultly sleeping, difficulty thinking, and worst of all was an awful rash that started on every joint and would constantly be flaring up painfully everyday. I genuinely struggled with work in a way I hadn’t in months, and these symptoms lasted 2 months.

The main symptom that really grabbed me was the rash, and as such I got first lotion on it since it sort of looked like dry skin. After 2 weeks of no progress, I moved on to an over the counter cream for anti-fungal and hydrocortisone. While the cortisone did help with the itch, it did nothing to stop the painful spread of the infection. After that I went to my pharmacist, and got some more creams that would help. They did not.

It wasn’t until another week after trying those creams (almost 2 months from onset of symptoms) that I figured out what was going on from the most unlikely place.

I don’t watch Dr. House, but occasionally on YouTube Shorts I will be recommended clips from the show. During the clip that engrossed me on the toilet, Dr. House was chastising another doctor for not realizing the difference between Brazil and Bolivia, and that their patient was suffering from Selenium Poisoning from Brazil Nuts.

Turns out that the maximum amount of Selenium that an adult should take in before having signs of toxicity is only 400 micrograms a day. Each nut has roughly 100 micrograms of Selenium. I was eating 12 a day because I’d heard they were good for testosterone production, and the Trader Joe’s bag I’d bought had a serving size of a quarter cup (over 30 nuts!)

Now a few days after of no longer putting nuts in my mouth, I feel loads better and most of my symptoms have largely disappeared.

I’m honestly making this post to hopefully save others from the same mistake, and to bring attention to the issue. I have a hard time that Trader Joe’s suppliers who grow these for a living don’t know the present and real danger the food possesses if eaten more than 2-3 nuts a day. I tried to give them feedback on the product to help them improve, but they’ve ignore my request for a week now and I thought others should know.

TL;DR: I got a huge host of medical issues randomly, and turns out it was because I was eating my “healthy snacks”. Brazil nuts can quickly poison you if consumed more than a 1-3 nuts daily, and Trader Joe’s recommends eating 30+ on their packaging.