Warning of a dietary supplement that causes lung cancer and fatal heart disease

A US national task force has warned against taking a dietary supplement because it increases the risk of cancer or fatal cardiovascular disease, according to what it reported.

The US Preventive Action Task Force (USPTF) published a draft statement on its website, saying that it "officially recommended against taking beta-carotene supplements."

"Studies indicate that beta-carotene supplementation may increase the chances of developing lung cancer in people who are already at higher risk (such as smokers)," one of the research team was quoted as saying by "Sputnik".

Five studies also found a "statistically significant increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease" in people who took beta-carotene supplements after 4 to 12 years of follow-up.

"Evidence suggests there is no benefit from taking vitamin-E, and beta-carotene can be harmful, as it increases the risk of lung cancer, especially," said John Wong, MD, MD, of Tufts American Medical Center in Boston, in a statement. For those who smoke, it also increases the risk of death from heart disease, or stroke.”

Beta-carotene is a natural phytochemical that is one of many red, orange, and purple pigments found in fruits and vegetables.

It is found naturally in foods such as carrots, broccoli, spinach, sweet potatoes and apricots.

But isolating certain chemicals from fruits and vegetables in supplement form is a different story, and some commercial beta-carotene supplements can contain double doses of the substance, which are more than what experts recommend getting from a healthy diet.

"Grains do not necessarily improve health and prevent chronic disease," said Larry Appel, director of the Johns Hopkins Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research.

He added: "Other nutrition recommendations have much stronger evidence of benefits, such as eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and reducing the amount of saturated fats, trans fats, sodium and sugar you eat."

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news