Product: BetaCareAll

Company: Natural Factors

Size: 90 Capsules

Ingredients: Natural Source Beta Carotene ( Provitamin A ) 25000iu. Non-medicinal Ingredients: Lycopene 6% 5000mcg, Alpha-carotene 495mcg, Cryptoxanthin 116mcg, Zeaxanthin 99mcg, Lutein 74 mcg. In a base of soybean oil, palm oil, and lecithin.

Dosage: One capsule daily, or as directed by a health practitioner. Keep out of reach of children. For therapeutic use only.

Contains no artificial preservatives or colour, no corn, dairy, gluten, starch, or yeast.

Description: Mixed Carotenoid Complex * 100% Natural

We've come a long way since we thought the only use for beta-carotene was as a very safe source of vitamin A. Overlooked were the other carotenoids. Now almost every day researchers are discovering more ways that beta carotene and other carotenoids help our bodies fight disease and stay well.

Carotenoids are now being valued for their contribution to eye health, their ability to protect DNA and RNA, and keep genetic signals on track in reproduction. They work together to reduce cancer, prevent macular degeneration, keep our blood fats from oxidizing to form plaque in our arteries, and on it goes. Nutritional supplement manufacturers have responded by producing very bioavailable mixed carotenoid supplements from natural sources that put the best research to work.

Although more than 600 carotenoids are found in nature, with approximately 50 showing vitamin A activity, only 22 have been found in human blood. Some of the carotenoids stealing the limelight are alpha-carotene, zeaxanthin, cryptoxanthin, lutein and lycopene - all found in BetaCareAll.

Alpha carotene - The lesser known sibling of beta-carotene, is found liberally in carrots, pumpkins, red and yellow peppers and yellow corn. In the laboratory alpha carotene inhibited the growth of human cancer cells. Not only does alpha carotene show greater anti-tumor activity against human neuroblastoma GOTO cells than beta-carotene but it also shows more anti-tumor activity in pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma and gastric cancers. Researchers surmise that alpha carotene may have stronger singlet oxygen quenching ability than beta-carotene.

Lutein & Zeaxanthin - "Eat your spinach! It's good for you!" your mother said. Well, she was quite right. Spinach and other green leafy vegetables are very high in lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids particularly good at protecting the eye from macular degeneration. When U.S. researchers studied which carotenoids inhibited this major cause of blindness, lutein and zeaxanthin showed the strongest protective effect. (Seddon, J.M. et al, Journal of the American Medical Association, November 1994. 272:1413-1420.)

Lutein may also be the antioxidant specifically protective to the lungs, because people who eat higher quantities of lutein-rich vegetables have been found to have lower lung cancer rates. (Le Marchand, L. et al., ìAn ecological study of diet and lung cancer in the South Pacific.î International Journal of Cancer 1995. 63:18-23.)

Cryptoxanthin - The lesser known carotenoid, cryptoxanthin, is found in few foods: papayas, peaches, tangerines and oranges. However, it may have power health benefits. When 15,161 women were monitored for 15 years, high levels of cryptoxanthin were associated with a significant reduction in the risk of cervical cancer. (Batieha, A.M. et al., ìSerum micronutrients and the subsequent risk of cervical cancer in a population-based nested case-control study. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. July/August 1993. 2:335-339.)

Lycopene - Men who eat tomatoes regularly reduce their risk of prostate cancer significantly. Four servings of tomatoes a week can lower risk by 20 percent: up to 10 servings per week lowers risk up to 45 percent. Lycopene, the carotenoid that gives tomatoes and berries their red colour, is likely the protective factor.