![]() Why it’s so important to get your vitamins from whole foods, not chemicals. The vast majority of multivitamin and nutritional supplements are filled with synthetic or isolated fragments of vitamins, and this is certainly true for beta carotene, the precursor for vitamin A. What most people don’t know are the dangers that come with ingesting synthetic beta carotene. Beta carotene becomes vitamin A Natural beta carotene is one of the many brightly colored pigments found in fresh fruits and vegetables. This carotenoid serves as a precursor to vitamin A, a vitamin essential for vision, skin health, immune function, and gene transcription (the first step in gene expression). Because beta carotene converts to vitamin A in the body as needed, it offers all the health benefits of vitamin A without any of the toxicity of vitamin A sourced from high-dose supplements or cod liver oil. Natural beta carotene protects Studies on dietary intake of beta carotene from fruits and vegetables show natural beta carotene offers real long-term protective health benefits. Lower risk of Alzheimer’s In the Rotterdam study (JAMA 2002) the dietary intake of beta carotene was associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease among smokers. Lower risk of breast cancer An extensive analysis in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2012) showed that high dietary intake of carotenoids—including beta carotene—was strongly associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, particularly estrogen receptor negative (ER-) breast cancer. These health benefits can be attributed to the use of whole foods, where beta carotene is one of many carotenoids in the plant—with all of its necessary co-factors—delivering complete nutrition. Synthetic beta carotene linked to cancer The Finnish Study, a double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in the New England Journal of Medicine gave over 29,000 male smokers beta carotene and vitamin E, to evaluate the cancer-protective benefits of the vitamins. Surprisingly, the study authors discovered a HIGHER incidence of lung cancer (18%) in those receiving supplementation of beta carotene. And total mortality was 8% higher among those who received beta carotene than those who did not. Buried deep within the study methods is the admission that, “The study agents were formulated as synthetic dl-alpha-tocopherol acetate (50 percent powder) and synthetic beta carotene (10 percent water-soluble bead lets); all formulations were colored with quinoline yellow.” How is synthetic beta carotene made? Is it any wonder that people taking synthetic beta-carotene have negative health outcomes when the ingredients used to make it include petrochemicals and harsh solvents? When you imagine beta carotene your mind may wander to the image of vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, spinach, broccoli, kale, pumpkin, parsley and peas. But that is not where synthetic beta carotene comes from. Instead the reality is synthetic beta carotene is manufactured from benzene extracted from acetylene gas (really, we’re not making this up). Benzene is a natural constituent of crude oil, and is one of the most basic petrochemicals. Not only do these substances have no nutritional value, benzene is considered to be a carcinogen or cancer-causing substance. Protect your health and check your labels Unfortunately, most supplements don’t tell you if the vitamins listed are synthetic because they are not legally required to do so. Labeling laws allow companies to call a chemical isolate by the same name as the complete nutrition found in whole food, even though they function entirely differently in the body. But there are ways you can tell. For vitamin A, if your supplement label says Vitamin A Palmitate, Retinyl Acetate or Vitamin A Acetate it is ALL synthetic. For beta carotene, unless the whole food source is listed, it is SYNTHETIC. Companies use synthetic vitamins because the ingredients (petrochemicals) are cheap, and because they think they can get away with making consumers think synthetic and food-based supplements are the same. They are not. As numerous scientific studies show, natural beta carotene is associated with a LOWER risk of cancer while synthetic beta carotene is associated with a HIGHER risk of cancer. Your body is not fooled.
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![]() Flaxseed oil contains a high percentage of omega-3 and medium percentage of omega-6. To match the omega-3 power of two tablespoons of flaxseed oil, you would have to eat nearly a kilo of albacore tuna. In Germany in the 1950's Johanna Budwig used it successfully in combination with cottage cheese as a tumour-reducing medication. She recommended that one or two tablespoons of low-fat cottage cheese be eaten with flaxseed oil to provide sulphur containing amino acids to interact with it in the body. Flaxseed oil is a wonderful remedy for perimenopausal symptoms yet it has quite the reputation as a cancer fighter. This is due to its ability to counteract the cancer-causing abilities of some omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to protect the body, particularly against cancers of the breast, colon, throat, and skin. Flaxseed oil is also credited with a long list of other health benefits including lowering blood cholesterol levels, helping insulin receptor binding, boosting immune system and bettering mineral metabolism. Lignans are a class of phytonutrients that quell perimenopause symptoms, as well as quenching free radicals and combating the cell-proliferating powers of excess estrogen. Consuming lignans helps prevent and treat other hormone dependent diseases, including heart disease and osteoporosis. In addition to increasing "good" cholesterol and decreasing "bad" cholesterol, lignans protect against bone loss and may increase bone density. Lignans also have estrogenic and anti-estrogenic activity which means that they have the power to adjust the estrogen in the body to meet it's changing requirements. By binding with estrogen receptors, lignans help regulate estrogen levels by escorting excess estrogen from the body. When buying flaxseed oil look for the kind that is high in lignans and also make sure that it is bottled in a dark glass. Refrigerate after you open it. It should not be used in cooking or baking although it can be poured over hot food. Take one or two tablespoons a day, swallow it straight or as a salad dressing, in a smoothie or over steamed vegetables. Photo: Flaxseed crackers I made the other day. So easy... I just added some flaxseeds, celery, carrot, red pepper, olive oil, dash of salt, cayenne pepper, turmeric, marjoram, lemon juice and orange juice. Threw it all in a food processor until it had a dough type consistency. Then I spread it on greaseproof paper onto my dehydrator sheets and dehydarted them for about 10 hours or so until they became crispy. |
AuthorBarbara is a qualified Holistic Nutritionist MSc., offering Health, Nutrition & Lifestyle Counseling. She gives Healthy weight loss advice and promotes the Mediterranean diet. She is the author of the Med Life Diet - creating healthy lifestyle habits and attitudes for life ! Archives
December 2024
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