I always felt that they(the participants) should have been given the uptake
vitamins along with the beta carotene.  E is required for A and another for
E(glutathione I believe) and so on and so forth.  I hate studies that use
just one nutrient, especially if  it's a fat soluble vitamin and the backup
support isn't given. I think it's bad science.... Oliva

----- Original Message -----
From: "Maddy Mason" <[log in to unmask]>
This is another theory, which in practice, doesn't always pan out. The well
known CARET study, for example, where smokers were given supplemental doses
of beta carotene in an effort to combat the free radicals produced by
smoking, was a dismal failure. The treated group wound up with MORE cancers
than the placebo group.