What Is Beta Carotene and How It Helps Prevent Cancer?

Some fruits that contain beta carotene.

There is no doubt that most doctors will always recommend nourishing our bodies with vitamins that come directly from natural foods. One of those essential nutrients for our health is vitamin A, which comes from beta-carotene. What is it and what are the benefits of beta carotene? Here we tell you.

Beta Carotene, What Is It?

Beta-carotene is one of the pigments of the carotenoid group, which groups natural foods with red, orange and yellow pigments. Its importance is due to the fact that it provides approximately 50% of the vitamin A that you need in your balanced diet. In addition, it is a natural antioxidant agent that protects against many diseases.

What Benefits Does Beta Carotene Have?

• Studies show how consuming the recommended dose of beta-carotene in your daily diet decreases the chances of suffering asthma attacks caused by physical exercise.
• It also has a purifying effect as it eliminates bad cholesterol from our body and, therefore, reduces diseases associated with the heart.
• If your diet is abundant in beta-carotene, do not doubt that your defenses will rise and your immune system will thank you.
• Being a nutrient that optimizes the care of our skin, beta-carotene is a natural shield against free radicals and helps our body recover better if it suffers from mild sunburn.
• Delays the appearance of wrinkles on the face because it delays the skin from beginning to show signs of aging.
• It is well known that consuming enough beta-carotene as part of a balanced diet helps us maintain good quality of sight, but what few know is that it also reduces eye infections and the possibility of developing cataracts.
• Many people who suffer from osteoarthritis use the properties of beta-carotene to alleviate the symptoms of this disease.

How Does Beta Carotene Help Prevent Cancer?

Eating a good amount of fruits and vegetables with beta-carotene seems to reduce the risk of breast cancer, even for those premenopausal women who have a family history of this disease. Also, eating a diet containing carotenoids, including beta-carotene, could help prevent the risk of ovarian cancer in postmenopausal women.

In those who are sensitive to the sun, eating products with beta-carotene might protect the skin and reduce sunburn. However, in most people it is not likely to offer the same protection.

Lastly, beta-carotene also helps reduce the rate of macular degeneration, a condition in which the central part of the retina of the eye begins to deteriorate. In addition, it is a favorable agent for heart health.

What Foods Contain Beta Carotene?

Because it can be synthesized in the laboratory, alternative beta-carotene supplements are available on the market. However, consumption in this modality is not recommended for the general population. The good news is that there are many natural sources of beta-carotene! 

You can find it in both fruits and vegetables, and incorporate them into your daily diet. The richest sources of beta-carotene are yellow, orange, and green leafy vegetables and fruits. Among the vegetables rich in beta-carotene we can point out the carrot, spinach, red pepper, pumpkin and sweet potato. It can also be found in fruits such as papaya, orange, tangerine and peach.

In general, the more intense the color of the fruit or vegetable, the more beta-carotene this food will have. It is also present in condiments such as paprika, chili, parsley and coriander.

Manufacturing Process of Beta Carotene

There are 2 possible ways in which beta carotene can be produced by industrial reactions. First, Wittig reaction, an aldehyde namely Vitamin A is made to react with wittig’s reagent, to produce beta carotene. However the reverse of reaction, i.e. to produce vitamin A from beta carotene is more common. Second is Grignard reaction. β-retinyltriphenylphosphonium chloride and retinol recat together in presence of methanol and potassium hydroxide to produce β-carotene. This is BASF method and is widely used in industries. 

Conclusion

Now you know what beta-carotene is and the benefits it has for your body. Remember that maintaining a balanced diet is very important to stay healthy. If you still have questions about beta carotene or you are currently in need of it for your industrial needs especially in India, you can contact Leading Beta Carotene Supplier in India Named Tradeasia.