Carotenes are found in brightly colored produce
Carotenes are oil soluble substances found in plants. They act as antioxidants and can be converted by the body to vitamin A. Beta-carotene is perhaps the best known carotene and the one that has the most vitamin A activity. A study appearing in the Journal of Epidemiology (2006; 16(4): 154-60) looked at the carotene levels in 3,061 Japanese subjects between the ages of 39 and 80. Alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lycopene levels were measured. The subjects were monitored for nearly 12 years. During that period there were 80 deaths from cardiovascular disease (40 from heart diseases and 37 from stroke). After adjusting for other factors (age, smoking, genetics and other risk factors), it was found that high levels of carotenes were associated with a significant reduction in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
