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Article: News on Cancer Link to Excess Beta Carotene Supplements.
- Article from:
- Agricultural Research
- Article date:
- May 1, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Why did high doses of beta carotene supplements apparently increase lung cancer rates in smokers in two large intervention trials a few years ago? A study of ferrets may have found an answer. These animals absorb and metabolize beta carotene much as humans do. In the study, excess beta carotene stored in the ferrets' lungs became oxidized into byproducts that decreased a tumor suppressor and increased a tumor promoter. ARS and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded the research.
The findings emphasize the advantage of getting important nutrients through foods, rather than supplements.
Several studies have suggested that people who eat abundant ...