Carotene levels and decreased risk of mortality
October
19,
2005
A prospective study (SENECA- Survey in Europe on Nutrition and the Elderly, a Concerted Action)
documenting the impact of lifestyle and dietary tendencies on health tracked 1,168 men and women
between the ages of 70 and 75 from 1988-1989. Antioxidant levels were measured, including vitamin E
and alpha and beta-carotene, by taking blood samples at the beginning of the study.
Researchers revealed, after a 10-year follow-up, that having higher carotene levels in the blood was
correlated with a lower rate of death. A 21% lower death rate was associated with just a 0.39
micromole per liter higher increase of carotene in the blood. There was a 41% reduction in the
risk of dying from cancer, and as carotene levels went up the risk of dying from cardiovascular
disease was reduced, but only in individuals with a low body mass index. Smokers and nonsmokers
had the same risk reduction.
In addition, the research team made a compilation of 5 studies with similar facts, including this
study, and found that older individuals with a higher level of blood carotene in the top one fourth
had a 28% lower risk of death than individuals in the lowest fourth.
The researchers indicate that the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease for those with a low body
mass index and higher carotene levels is lower because of a lower level of inflammation that occurs
in this group, and that "in the presence of a low inflammation burden, carotene may be protective
against cardiovascular disease." This study is published in the October 2005 issue of the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph.
Particular nutrients aid the detoxification of mercury, among them are Phyllanthus Amarus, NAC,
and DMSA. Alpha-Lipoic acid and Acetyl-L-Carnitine along with green and red formulas may help
protect key sites of mercury toxicity including brain and nerve tissue.