Carotenoid Complex

Sometimes called "nature's crayons," carotenoids are a huge family of colorful plant pigments, many of which act as precursors of vitamin A. Carotenoids are responsible for the red in tomatoes, the orange in carrots, and the yellow in squash. They are also present in green plants such as spinach, where they are obscured, or masked, by green chlorophyll. About 600 carotenoids have been identified so far — 50 to 60 of which appear in our food supply.

Scientific interest in the health benefits of carotenoids began in the late 1970s when researchers began to learn that diets rich in fruits and vegetables were associated with decreased incidences of certain diseases. Scientists later learned that fruits and vegetables derived many of their health benefits from "protector nutrients", such as carotenoids. They even learned carotenoids performed specific functions in specific regions of the body.

GNLD has been a pioneer in the field of dietary carotenoid investigation, and our scientific research led to the development of our exclusive Daily Carotenoid Complex™. Introduced in 1992, Daily Carotenoid Complex™ represents the culmination of more than a decade of scientific investigation and seven years of development. Some of our original research was presented by members of our Scientific Advisory Board at the New York Academy of Sciences in 1993 (1), and their findings were later published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2).

Bioavailability

Assuring that a product is bioavailable, meaning that after it is ingested, it actually is utilized by the body, is an important step in the development of any nutritional product. Daily Carotenoid Complex™ has been rigorously tested and proven to be highly bioavailable by numerous independent researchers, including several from the U.S. government! (2, 3, 4, 5-7) In fact, we know of no other nutritional supplement that can provide as much HUMAN bioavailability data as Daily Carotenoid Complex™.

Daily Carotenoid Complex™ is an all-natural, lipid-soluble antioxidant supplement derived from tomatoes, carrots, spinach, red bell pepper, strawberries, apricots, and peaches. Many researchers have chosen GNLD’s Daily Carotenoid Complex™ for their studies because it is a broad-spectrum, whole-food carotenoid supplement that provides a consistent, standardized form of carotenoids that they can base their studies, and reputations on! Such scientific scrutiny assures you that the ingredients in Daily Carotenoid Complex™ are in fact reaching your body to do their work.

Assuring that Carotenoid Complex was bioavailable was a primary step in the ongoing scientific investigation of this product. It was essential to prove in human subjects that, when taken as part of the diet, the carotenoids in Carotenoid Complex are digested in the gastrointestinal tract and ultimately absorbed into the bloodstream. These test results from a bioavailability study conducted under the direction of the GNLD Scientific Advisory Board proved human bioavailability.

Data source: CONCENTRATIONS BEFORE AND AFTER SUPPLEMENTATION WITH A CAROTENOID MIXTURE, Arianna Carughi and Fred Hooper, Neo-Life Company of America, Fremont, CA, USA. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 59:896-9, 1994.

Protection from oxidation at the lipid and cellular level

Blood lipid protection

Carotenoids play an important role in the protection of blood lipids, specifically LDLs, from oxidation. A USDA research team used Daily Carotenoid Complex™ to validate this critical function carotenoids play in the diet, specifically a diet with sufficient intake of the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E. The researchers concluded that Daily Carotenoid Complex™ inhibited oxidative damage and decreased oxidative susceptibility of LDL cholesterol in human blood after only 12 days of supplementation. (3)

Lipid protection

Other studies which utilized Daily Carotenoid Complex™ were conducted by researchers at Florida International University (Miami), the University of Washington (Seattle), and the USDA's Western Human Nutrition Research Center (Presidio of San Francisco). These studies demonstrated that three capsules of Daily Carotenoid Complex™ per day prevented the oxidation of cellular lipids. (4, 5)

The studies ran for 120 days, during which time nine healthy young women lived in the metabolic research unit of the USDA's Western Human Nutrition Research Center, where diet, exercise, and other activities were controlled.

Researchers tested beta-carotene alone (0.5 milligrams), which did not cause a significant decrease in lipid oxidation. In contrast, when Daily Carotenoid Complex™ with its broad-spectrum of nutrients including alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and zeta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, cryptoxanthin, and other natural fruit and vegetable carotenoids was tested, it caused a much greater decrease in lipid oxidation than the beta-carotene alone. The researchers concluded that the findings provide evidence to support the beneficial effects of carotenoids in preventing lipid peroxidation in cells.

LIPID PEROXIDATION SUSCEPTIBILITY
DAY 71 = DEPLETION
DAY 92 = 21 Days on beta carotene only
DAY 99 = 7 Days on Carotenoid Complex

LIPID PEROXIDATION SUSCEPTIBILITY

Beta carotene = values after 21 days Caro. Complex = values after 7 days
*Data source: EFFECTS OF A CAROTENE DEFICIENT DIET ON MEASURES OF OXIDATIVE SUSCEPTIBILITY AND SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE ACTIVITY IN ADULT WOMEN; Free Radical Biology in Medicine, Vol. 17, No. 6, pp. 537 - 544, 1994.

Cellular protection

In addition, the same studies (4,5) demonstrated that Daily Carotenoid Complex™ protected cells from oxidation. Biological markers for cellular oxidation were significantly reduced as compared to the beta-carotene group.

Antioxidant benefits

These findings are important because oxidation contributes to aging, the decline of the immune system, and chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, degenerative diseases of the eyes (cataracts, macular degeneration), and degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Daily Carotenoid Complex's ability to curb oxidative damage may help lessen cellular damage that can lead to disease. These studies are also significant because they demonstrate that carotenoids are necessary even when people consume diets plentiful in other antioxidants, including preformed vitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin C. Thus, Daily Carotenoid Complex™ can provide benefit to those who normally consume a well-balanced diet. (4,5)

Boosts immune power

Studies conducted by USDA researchers suggest that a carotenoid-deficient diet compromises immune power and that the broad spectrum of carotenoids in Daily Carotenoid Complex™ could enhance the immune response of otherwise healthy people. (6,7)

Daily Carotenoid Complex™ was proven to dramatically enhance both immune cell levels and overall immune cell responsiveness. First, supplementation with Daily Carotenoid Complex™ boosted levels of a particular type of white blood cell, lymphocytes called "natural killer" cells, which are the body's first immunologic line of defense against cancer. Supplementation with Daily Carotenoid Complex™ resulted in natural killer cell levels that were more than 21% above baseline values in just 20 days — more than twice the effect of beta-carotene alone! (6,7)

Second, Daily Carotenoid Complex™ caused a greater than 37% upswing in immune power in just 20 days; supplementation with beta-carotene alone did not provide this benefit. The upswing was measured as an increase in overall lymphocyte proliferation, a recognized standard for measuring immune competence and capacity to respond to an immune challenge. (6,7)

Lymphocyte proliferation in response to an immune challenge is an important indicator of immune competence. Testing for lymphocyte proliferation in response to an antigen is a standard, well researched indicator of immune strength.
Data source: CAROTENOID - FLAVONOID MODULATED IMMUNE RESPONSE IN WOMEN. T. R. Kramer, B. J. Burri & T. R. Neidlinger. USDA: Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, MD, & Western Human Nutrition Research Center, San Francisco, CA. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of Professional Research Scientists, Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB), Atlanta, GA. 9 - 13 April 1995.

Future research

The research conducted using Daily Carotenoid Complex™ has generated great interest in the scientific community for the possible roles that carotenoids may play in disease prevention and health promotion. For example, two carotenoids that have generated recent interest are lutein and its role in maintaining eye health, and alpha-carotene's role in cancer prevention. We are confident that there will be many other roles that are discovered for carotenoids in future research.

Only a small percentage of the world’s population eats the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, and GNLD truly has a product in which nearly everyone can derive benefit. GNLD’s Daily Carotenoid Complex™ helps to bridge the gap between what you really eat and what you really SHOULD eat.

REFERENCES:

1.     Carughi, A & Hooper, FG Plasma carotenoid concentrations before and after supplementation with a carotenoid mixture . Annuls of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 691: 244-245, 1993.

2.     Carughi, A & Hooper, FG Plasma carotenoid concentrations before and after supplementation with a carotenoid mixture. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 59 (4): 896-899, 1994.

3.     Dixon, ZR, Burri, BJ, Clifford, A, Frankel, EN, Schneeman, BO, Parks, E, Keim, NL, Barbieri, T, Wu, M, Fong, AKH, Kretsch, MJ, Sowell, AL, Erdman, JW Effects of a carotene-deficient diet on measures of oxidative susceptibility and superoxide dismutase activity in adult women. Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Vol. 17 (6): 537-544, 1994.

4.     Dixon, ZR, Shie, FS, Warden, BA and Burri, BJ Effect of Low Carotene Diet on Malondialdehyde (MDA) Concentration. FASEB J. 10:A240, 1996.

5.     Dixon ZR; Shie FS; Warden BA; Burri BJ; Neidlinger TR. The effect of a low carotenoid diet on malondialdehyde-thiobarbituric acid (MDA-TBA) concentrations in women: a placebo-controlled double-blind study. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Feb 1998, Volume 17(1):54-8

6.     Kramer, TR, Burri, BJ, and Neidlinger, TR. Carotenoid/Flavonoid Modulated Immune Response in Women, USDA Beltsville, Human Nutrition Research Center, San Francisco, California. Proceedings of the annual meeting of Professional Research Scientists Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology. 9-13 April1995.

7.     Kramer TR; Burri BJ. Modulated mitogenic proliferative responsiveness of lymphocytes in whole-blood cultures after a low-carotene diet and mixed-carotenoid supplementation in women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vol. 65(3): 871-875, Mar. 1997,