Beta-Carotene

Recommends against

“The US Preventative Services Task Force concluded with moderate certainty that there are harms from supplementing with beta-carotene, and those harms outweigh the benefits. They also recommend against using vitamin E supplements due to evidence that both may increase mortality.”

Top 5 Supplements With STRONG Evidence Of Benefit

11:43

2 references in 2 episodes from 2023–2024

Brad Stanfield recommends against supplementing with beta-carotene, citing the US Preventative Services Task Force's conclusion that harms outweigh benefits and Cochrane review evidence that antioxidant supplements including beta-carotene may increase mortality. No personal use, dosing guidance, or specific benefit claims are present—both references are purely cautionary.

Recommends against

“It has been shown that the lungs of smokers are a highly oxidative environment, and in combination with deficiencies in certain antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, carotenoids under these highly oxidative conditions can actually get cleaved into products that damage DNA, which has been shown to cause cancer.”

Rebuttal to Anti-Vitamin Editorial: "Enough is Enough"

9:24

1 reference in 1 episode from 2014

Rhonda Patrick recommends against beta-carotene supplementation for smokers, citing research that the highly oxidative lung environment of smokers can cause carotenoids to cleave into DNA-damaging products that promote cancer, especially when combined with deficiencies in vitamins C and E. No personal use, dosing guidance, or benefits are discussed.