Which Carotenes Will Protect You From Breast Cancer?

Research has shown that carotenes in the diet protect against cancer. There was a time when carotenes were only valued for their ability to convert into vitamin A. That made β-carotene the most famous of the carotenes. But, now we know that some of the most powerful and health promoting carotenes don’t convert to vitamin A at all. This new study looked at breast cancer and wanted to get more information on exactly which of the carotenes protect women against cancer. . . .

The study compared 521 Chinese women with age-matched controls. They looked at α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthine, lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin, and they found that all but one of them protected against breast cancer. Comparing women who got the most in their diet with women who got the least, the study found that α-carotene reduced the risk by 56%, β-carotene by 73%, lycopene by 59% and lutein/zeaxanthin by 74%.

A closer looked revealed that the carotenes reduced the risk of breast cancer for premenopausal women for all subtypes of estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor breast cancers.

Br J Nutr 2016;115:129-37

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