We studied the availability of selenium in processed foods and whole wheat diets for restoring the Se content and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activity in the blood and liver of selenium-depleted rats. The Se content in the rat diets ranged from 225 to 342 micrograms Se/kg diet. Different selenium sources and different Se amounts had little influence on the Se levels in the blood and liver of repleted rats. Se from processed foods did not completely restore the GSHPx activity in whole blood and liver as happened with Se coming from wheat. These results indicate that it is the milling processes of the flour production, and not the cooking, which decrease the availability of Se for GSHPx synthesis in rats.