 LIFE
EXTENSION
The following excerpts are from
Durk Pearson's and Sandy Shaw's #1 best-selling book
LIFE EXTENSION (Warner Books) on Canthaxanthin
" The use of very
high doses of beta carotene to reduce photosensitivity does have a
cosmetic drawback, however. The beta carotene will color your
skin yellow (which can also occur if you eat a great many carrots),
making you look jaundiced. Of course, it isn't really jaundice
(caused by liver failure), and your doctor will realize it
immediately when he sees the whites of your eyes have not turned
yellow. Nevertheless, you may not want to be carrot-colored.
There is another carotenoid, canthaxanthin, which is very closely
related to beta carotene. This is the material that makes
flamingos and certain shellfish pink. We think it provides
better protection from ultraviolet light and singlet oxygen better
than beta carotene, and it colors the skin a beautiful
natural-looking golden-copper tan when taken orally. "
" Any plant
containing chlorophyll but no carotenoids will be killed by a few
minutes of exposure to sunlight since about one photosynthetic
reaction in a thousand allows a dangerous molecule of singlet oxygen
to escape. Like plants, we can protect ourselves from sunlight
with carotenoids. moreover, in some recent reports,
carotenoids appear to be remarkably effective inhibitors of
carcinogenesis (cancer) in humans. " (pgs. 422-423)
" In the spring of
1981, I added a carotenoid, canthaxanthin (Orobronze) to my formula,
primarily for its ability to color human skin a golden-bronze color
without UV exposure, but also for the very substantial protective
effects of the carotenoids. The results have been better than
expected.
After a winter
indoors glued to a computer writing this book with Sandy, we pulled
the plug and went on a micro-vacation. I spent 2 1/2 days in
the Mohave high desert clothed as shown in the accompanying photos,
without even getting a slight sunburn. (This location was
about 80 miles south of Death Valley.) This substantial
increase in sunburn resistance over the prior summer was presumably
due to the addition of Orobronze (canthaxanthin) to my personal
experimental life extension formula. Carotenoids such as beta
carotene and canthaxanthin are excellent deactivators of highly
reactive and damaging forms of excited oxygen, singlet and triplet
oxygen, which are photochemically produced via ultraviolet light.
In addition, they are good free radical scavengers (also ultraviolet
light induced), and ultraviolet absorbers. The principal mode
of activity was not UV (ultraviolet) absorption, however, because my
canthaxanthin tan darkened very noticeably due to UV-stimulated
melanin production in my skin. Most of the protective effects
are probably due to deactivation of excited oxygen and free
radicals. " (pg. 771)
" 'Mr. Smith' says
that there was a 'real dramatic' effect on his skin's resistance to
sunburn when he used canthaxanthin, a carotenoid (chemically related
to the yellow coloring matter in carrots, beta carotene). His
skin is relatively light and sensitive to sunlight, especially his
nose. He began using about 120 milligrams of canthaxanthin per
day, then went to the same dose every other day. He looks as
if he has a beautiful golden-bronze suntan and he says his
resistance to sunburn is dramatically improved. Recently, when
he forgot to use sun-block on his nose, it received only minor
sunburn compared to what would be expected from earlier
experiences.* " (pg. 743)
* Mr. Smith is commonly
known to be movie star Clint Eastwood.
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