Food Carotene 10,000 IU 200 Softgels

All Natural Mixed Carotenes Providing Antioxidant Protection
Item catalog number: 4111

This is David's favorite carotene product.

All natural food carotene
10,000 IU of vitamin A activity
Features hundreds of important carotenoids
No synthetic carotenoids added
Not limited to just one source (such as D. Salina)

Solaray's All Natural Food Carotene features 10,000 IU of vitamin A per softgel in a unique, highly advanced formula containing 100% natural carotenoids found in food. One serving typically supplies: beta carotene 6300 mg, alpha carotene 230 mg, other carotenoids 130 mcg (cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein).

This all natural highly advanced supplement gives you the benefit of natural food carotenes (beta carotene alpha carotene zeaxanthin cryptoxanthin lutein and lycopene) for a complete supplement with Vitamin A activity as well as a broad range of antioxidants in a dry oil free dosage form.

Serving Size:

1 Softgel

Supplement Facts:

	Amount Per Serving	%Daily Value
Vitamin A(100% as Natural Beta Carotene [Dunaliela salina, algae])	10,000 IU	200%
Carotenoid Complex (Annatto Oil, Carrot Concentrate, Lemon Grass, Spirulina and Yam)	6 mg	*

*Daily Value not established.

Other Ingredients: Olive Oil, Gelatin, Glycerin, Yellow Beeswax, Lecithin (soy) and Titanium Dioxide.

Directions: Use only as directed. Take one softgel daily with a meal or glass of water. Store in a cool, dry place.

WARNING: Do not use if safety seal is broken or missing. Keep out of reach of children. Keep your licensed health care practitioner informed when using this product.

NO ingredients other than those listed on this label have been added to this product.

Question from the FitEyes mailing list:

Do you not like the idea of taking isolated carotenoids? Do you feel it’s just better to get them from foods rather than supplements?

My personal opinion is that consuming any isolated carotenoids is not safe. So far studies have shown that some isolated carotenoids are definitely not safe for some people. Based on that research, I have generalized the results to reach the above conclusion.

My position is the safe and cautious stance. It is also the natural stance. And I don't really see a downside to my position (unless you are trying to sell someone a product containing isolated carotenoids!) Consider beta-carotene as an example of an isolated carotenoid. Studies haven't shown that beta-carotene supplements by themselves help prevent cancer in any way. Yet eating foods that are rich beta-carotene can protect against some kinds of cancer. Supplements can't -- food can. Evidence tells us that.

The foods contain hundreds of different carotenoids along with other nutrients and antioxidants. So it is safe to say that food-based carotenoids are preferred.

That's just one reason why I recommend the Solaray Food Carotene.However, that is not the only reason. Consider that synthetic, isolated beta-carotene supplements may increase the risk of heart disease and cancer in people who smoke or drink heavily. Based on the research we can conclude that those people should not take isolated beta-carotene supplements.

But can we conclude that anyone should take isolated beta-carotene supplements? In fact, can we conclude that anyone should take any isolated carotenoid?

Given the potential danger of the most-studied carotenoid, I don't see how a responsible nutrition advisor can recommend any isolated carotenoid to anyone -- especially when there is a 100% food-based product available. Why would you want to risk it?

In my mind, forgetting the lessons of beta-carotene is an example of very reductionistic and myopic thinking. I suggest we step back and look at the big picture. The big picture tells us that the most popular and well-studied isolated carotenoid supplement can be seriously dangerous for certain people. I think it has potential danger for everyone. That's just my opinion.

And, generalizing, I feel that any isolated carotenoid might carry its own risk. They were meant to be consumed as a complex of nutrients the way they exist in foods and we have some good hints that when not consumed that way there are very serious dangers.

You are spending your hard-earned money and your time to take supplements to improve your health. It is bad enough if they do nothing. In that case, you have wasted your money and time. I know many people would be very upset to find out that a supplement they were purchasing had no benefit whatsoever.But what about finding out that a supplement you were taking was seriously harming you?

I am not trying to be alarmist because I realize that anything we eat, even the healthiest organic vegetables, have a risk of being tainted with something on rare occasions. But you have to eat. You don't have to take isolated carotene supplements. You can simply take Solaray Food Carotene and eliminate that potential risk. I sleep better at night following this strategy.

I will not take any supplement, including any multi-vitamin, that has any of these isolated nutrients in it:

Alpha Carotene
Astaxanthin
Beta Carotene
Cryptoxanthin
Leutin
Zeaxanthin
Beta-zeacarotene
Capsanthin
Canthaxanthin
any other isolated carotenoid

Of course, reading labels can be tricky. One could easily get confused about whether the carotenoids listed above are coming from whole food base materials or are isolated. So please don't get confused. For example, don't stop eating carotene-rich foods. My concern is only about supplements with isolated carotenoids. Unfortunately, almost every carotenoid-containing supplement on the market contains isolated carotenoids. There are only a couple exceptions. And the one exceptional product I am taking now is Solaray Food Carotene.

Background:
Carotenoids are a class of more than 600 naturally occurring pigments synthesized by plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria. These richly colored molecules are the sources of the yellow, orange, and red colors of many plants. Fruits and vegetables provide most of the carotenoids in the human diet. Alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, lycopene, and zeaxanthin are the most common dietary carotenoids. Alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin are provitamin A carotenoids, meaning they can be converted by the body to retinol. Lutein, lycopene, and zeaxanthin cannot be converted to retinol, so they have no vitamin A activity. Carotenoids can be broadly classified into two classes, carotenes (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and lycopene) and xanthophylls (beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin).

Beta-carotene, a substance from plants that the body can convert into vitamin A, also acts as an antioxidant and immune system booster. Despite the overlap between natural and synthetic forms, natural beta-carotene may possibly have activity that is distinct from the synthetic form. For example, the natural form has antioxidant activity that the synthetic form has been reported to lack in both animals and in people. Also, in one trial, precancerous changes in people reverted to normal tissue with natural beta-carotene supplements, but not with synthetic supplements. Increasingly, nutritionally oriented doctors recommend that people supplement only natural beta-carotene.

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