Once again there was a marvelous description in the Styles section of the
Sunday N.Y. Times using ferrets!  Someone obviously has taste.  We know
who but you have to go to their website and read to learn more. ;-)!
 
There is a several paragraph short piece in the Feb 20th issue of Science
News (Vol. 155) which is interesting.  It refers to a full article in the
January 6th HOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE.  This is a follow-up
on the study which noticed that too much beta-carotene appeared to
increase lung cancer in smokers.  The 6 month study in ferrets found that
beta-carotene oxidizes with dangerous metabolites that pack a "toxic double
whammy".  The amounts used were similar when adjusted to the amounts used
in the human studies.  Some ferrets were exposed to cigarette smoke, and
others were not, some had neither beta-carotene nor smoke.  The metabolites
destroyed retinoic acid in the lungs; retinoic acid is a known cancer
suppressing vitamin-derived compound.  They also activated a protein which
spurs cellular division.  The ferrets which did NOT take betacarotene had
healthy lungs, the ones which took beta-carotene had precancerous changes
in their lungs, the ones which were exposed to cigarette smoke and
beta-carotene had the worst lung damage.
 
You can track down related websites.
 
Be careful with those supplements!!!!!!!!!!
[Posted in FML issue 2596]