The Medical Freedom Channel

“Beta carotene and vitamins A and E, antioxidant supplements taken by millions to fight disease, may actually raise the risk of death, a review of 68 studies on nearly a quarter-million people said on Tuesday. The finding drew fire from critics who said it was flawed and based largely on studies of people who were already chronically ill before they were treated with the supplements. Tuesday’s report related only to synthetic supplements and not to fruits and vegetables in everyday diets which are natural and contain less concentrated levels of antioxidants, said the study from the Center for Clinical Intervention Research at Denmark’s Copenhagen University Hospital. While the review did not pinpoint any biochemical mechanism that may be behind the increased death risk, it may be that ‘by eliminating free radicals from our organism, we interfere with some essential defensive mechanisms,’ the study concluded.” (02/28/07)