- Beta-carotene and carrot juice are not recommended for active smokers, since active carcinogens are formed when they react with nicotine.
These claims are based on the results of a large study that took place 10 years ago in the United States. More than 20,000 American doctors have voluntarily agreed to take aspirin to reduce the risk of heart attack, and beta-carotene and vitamin E to reduce the risk of cancer.
Because it was known that in those areas where people consume a lot of red and yellow vegetables and fruits (i.e. rich in beta-carotene), the incidence of cancer is sharply reduced. We decided to check it. With aspirin, it turned out clearly, but vitamin E and beta-carotene did not have an effect. But the doctors did not take into account one point: the doses they took were 10-20 times more than the daily requirement.
There is an inversion of the effect, when with an increase in the dose of the drug, there is an increase in the effect up to a certain point, and at the optimal concentration, the optimal effect is achieved. With a further increase in concentration, the effect begins to decrease, but not to zero, but even lower - a negative effect occurs, and it can be stronger than the positive one. This is what happened with beta-carotene. The lack of effect was due to a huge overdose.
- And when they began to check by groups, they found that smokers had a 10-15% increase in the risk of cancer. Other studies were also carried out: beta-carotene was given to people working in the coal and asbestos industries, i.e. exposed to constant exposure to carcinogens. But even in this case, beta-carotene was given with a 20-fold excess of the daily requirement, and an increase in the risk of cancer was shown.
As a result, a recommendation from the World Health Organization was issued, which states that in these dosages, beta-carotene and vitamin E cannot be considered as a means of preventing and treating cancer, especially in smokers. But this has nothing to do with the normal dosage of vitamins, and even more so with carrot juice.
After all, no one takes 20 headache pills at once when you need 1. And vitamins should be taken in a normal dose. Of course, smoking is a terrible harm, especially for the female body. But if a person cannot quit smoking, do not deprive him of the opportunity to maintain health and protect himself from cardiovascular and oncological diseases. Let them drink carrot juice, let them take tablets with beta-carotene - in optimal doses!