Beta-Carotene is an Essential and Safe Source of Vitamin A

Health Risks Arise From a Lack of Vitamins and not From Oversupply. Foods and dietary Supplements Containing the Pro-Vitamin are Beneficial and Safe.

NEWCASTLE, England, November 23 - "We mustn't protect ourselves against consuming too much beta-carotene,
but rather against consuming too little!" This was the conclusion recently
drawn by leading experts in the fields of medical and nutritional science at
the 2nd Hohenheim Nutrition Conference in Stuttgart, Germany. Dr. Georg Lietz
of the internationally renowned Newcastle University reported that the
general population in the United Kingdom and other European countries is not
obtaining sufficient beta-carotene through diet alone and thus cannot benefit
from the essential health promoting functions offered by the vitamin A
precursor. Vitamin supplements and foodstuffs enriched with beta-carotene can
be a good and safe way to insure adequate vitamin A intake. Concerning the
repeated discussion of the safety of beta-carotene, Prof. Hans K. Biesalski
of the University of Hohenheim, Germany, explained that the only potential
for danger existed in the case of extremely high doses of supplements
consumed by heavy smokers, although even for this segment of the population a
daily consumption of up to 10 mg would still be harmless.

In the 1990s, beta-carotene came under fire from critics when two studies
revealed that the consumption of large amounts (10 to 15 times the
recommended daily intake*) over years of this carotenoid had led to an
increase in the risk of lung cancer and mortality in heavy smokers or workers
exposed to asbestos. "The scientific community, which at that time was hoping
that with beta-carotene they had discovered a miracle cure for the adverse
health effects of smoking, was very disappointed," explained Biesalski No
negative effects have been observed in non-smokers. For them, pro-vitamin A
is absolutely harmless and beneficial to health if consumed at physiological
concentrations, as is also the case for smokers taking moderate doses up to
10 mg.

Beta-carotene - essential for vitamin A supply

Beta-carotene is extremely important as a precursor (pro-vitamin) of
vitamin A, which the body requires, for example, to keep immune defenses
functioning well. The National Diet and Nutrition Surveys (NDNS) have shown
that a large number of the British population does not obtain enough
preformed vitamin A through food and that this gap needs to be closed by
sufficient amounts of beta-carotene, a vitamin A precursor.

The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) recommends a daily intake of
between 0.7 to 1.5 mg of vitamin A (retinol) for healthy adults in the form
of 'retinol equivalents', which also include pro-vitamin A. To achieve this
value, a daily intake of 2 to 4 mg beta-carotene is recommended. On average
the general British population remains well below these recommendations and
is thus susceptible to wide-ranging health risks. This is due to the fact
that a majority of the population still does not eat enough fruit and
vegetables (natural sources of beta-carotene), liver or other sources of
vitamin A.

Vitamin A deficiency through beta-carotene-dependent gene variants

In addition, the research team of Dr. Lietz furnished the first
indications that approximately 40 percent of all Europeans possess a gene
variant that restricts the amount of beta-carotene their bodies can convert
into vitamin A. Many experts doubt that the current conversion factor of 1:6
(to form one molecule of vitamin A, six molecules of beta-carotene are
necessary) is realistic. There is much evidence that suggests the ratio is
actually 1:12, which would require a recommended daily intake of
approximately 7 mg of beta-carotene to reach the vitamin A recommendations if
current low intakes of preformed vitamin A are not changing. If the
gene-related restrictions on the utilization of beta-carotene are taken into
account, says Dr. Lietz, then the daily recommendation would need to be even
higher for those who carry the genetic variation. Further investigations in
this direction are currently underway.

Sufficient beta-carotene/vitamin A supply can prevent infectious diseases

In the discussion that followed, there was much talk of ensuring adequate
beta-carotene/vitamin-A intake to strengthen the immune system and to prevent
colds in particular, especially during this cold and wet time of year. In the
skin, beta-carotene protects against the damage that can result from intense
exposure to the sun by neutralizing the photo-oxidative stress, according to
Professor Helmut Sies of the Universitätsklinikum Duesseldorf, Germany. The
ultimate goal, according to Dr. Lietz, is a balanced diet, although any
possible gaps (e.g., insufficient amounts of fruit, vegetables and liver)
should be covered with nutritional supplements and enriched foods to increase
the intake of vitamin A.

You can view a photo at www.prnewswire.co.uk

CONTACT DETAILS:

Dr Georg Lietz, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development,
Newcastle University, tel: +44(0)191-222-6893 or email georg.lietz@ncl.ac.uk

CONTACT DETAILS: Dr Georg Lietz, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, tel: +44(0)191-222-6893 or email georg.lietz at ncl.ac.uk