Carotenoids are a family of natural fat-soluble nutrients important for antioxidant defense (Packer, 1992, 1993; Cadenas and Packer, 2002) found throughout the plant kingdom. They are responsible for the red, orange or yellow color of many fruits and vegetables, such as pineapples, citrus fruits, peaches, nectarines, persimmons, tomatoes, papaya, apricots, carrots, watermelons, pumpkins, squash...

Metabolism, like other aspects of life, involves tradeoffs. Oxidant by-products of normal metabolism cause extensive damage to DNA, protein, and lipid. We argue that this damage (the same as that produced by radiation) is a major contributor to aging and to degenerative diseases of aging such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, immune-system decline, brain dysfunction, and cataracts. Antioxidant...