Beta Carotene

Men who pop too many vitamins in the hope of improving their health may in fact be raising their risk of the deadliest forms of prostate cancer, especially men with a family history of the disease. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that men who exceeded the recommended dose -- taking more than seven multivitamins a week -- increased the risk of advanced cancer by about 30%. "We didn't see any relationship with overall prostate cancer," said Dr.

Dr. Luigi Di Bella, 90, the Italian physician known for his controversial, unsuccessful attempts to cure cancer, died Tuesday in Modena, Italy, of respiratory problems. Although not trained in cancer research, Di Bella began experimenting with melatonin, generally considered a sleep aid, to treat cancer in the 1960s. Over the years, he developed Di Bella Multitherapy, a drug cocktail of up to 100 chemicals including melatonin, beta-carotene, Vitamin D and shark cartilage.

When it comes to preventing macular degeneration, the leading cause of legal blindness in Americans older than 55, don't overlook vitamins. That's the word from scientists at the National Eye Institute who say antioxidants and zinc may help people at high risk for developing advanced age-related macular degeneration keep their vision.

Watermelons stored at room temperature deliver more nutrients than refrigerated or freshly picked melons, U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists say. Penelope Perkins-Veazie and Julie Collins of the USDA's South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Lane, Okla., looked at carotenoids -- antioxidants that can counter the damage caused by sun, chemicals and day-to-day living.

Guidelines released Monday by the American College of Chest Physicians indicate that at present lung cancer screening with CT scanning and other methods is generally not warranted outside of studies. The researchers conclude that screening with CT imaging or certain sputum tests does not reduce lung cancer deaths, even in high-risk groups such as heavy smokers.

A 5-year-old British girl's face and hands have turned orange after she drank two-thirds of a gallon of the fruit drink Sunny Delight for several days. The beverage contains significant levels of provitamin A (beta carotene), which is partly responsible for the orange color in carrots.

A nationwide study that may link nutrients found in carrots, oranges and other common foods with inhibiting the growth of potentially cancerous colon polyps is endangered because local investigators are having difficulty finding qualified subjects. The object of the study, funded by a five-year, $3.

HIV-positive women who are breastfeeding should not be given vitamin A supplements because it increases the risk of transmitting the AIDS virus to their infants, researchers said Thursday. Mother-to-child transmission of HIV has been largely controlled in the United States and other developed countries through the use of antiretroviral drugs, but is a major problem in the developing world. In 2008, there were 430,000 new HIV infections in infants, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa, and breast feeding accounted for more than 95% of them.

Call it the cancer-prevention pantry, or foods you shouldn't leave home without. But parsley, soybeans and licorice root? Until recently, the link between diet and cancer has rested primarily on population studies showing that some societies have more or less of certain types of cancer depending on what they eat.

A decade ago, antioxidants -- nutrients such as beta carotene and vitamins C and E -- were taking the nutrition world by storm. These free-radical fighters, medical experts predicted, would extend human life by protecting us from environmental hazards, cancer and heart disease. Antioxidants began making headlines in the early 1990s, when several large medical studies showed lower rates of cancer in people who took vitamin E and beta carotene.