Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Higher intake of fruits and vegetables provides a protective effect against lung cancer, likely mediated by phytochemicals such as carotenoids, but this protection does not extend to preformed vitamin A.
Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables to boost carotenoid intake, which is strongly associated with reduced lung cancer risk. Do not rely on preformed vitamin A supplements for this protection.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
In these studies, there is highly consistent evidence of an inverse association with carotenoid intake but not with intake of preformed vitamin A... evidence is strong that a phytochemical in fruits and vegetables, possibly a carotenoid or something associated closely with beta-carotene in the diet, protects against lung cancer.
Why this rating
Consistent inverse associations across multiple case-control and cohort studies, supported by blood level analyses.
Source
Diet, nutrition, and avoidable cancer.
W C Willett · Environmental Health Perspectives · 1995
DOI 10.1289/ehp.95103s8165
narrative_reviewCited 366×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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