Liver and Carrots—The Perfect Health Food

ated state of tissues and particularly the skin, it has Health Food become increasingly valuable in the treatment of more than 100 dermatological disorders and of various cancers. Probably the most well known of its uses is in the Vitamin A and Retinoids: An Update of Biological treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia, where RA Aspects and Clinical Applications induces complete remission rates of 90%, not by cyto-Edited by M. A. Livrea toxicity but by the induction of normal differentiation Basel: Birkhauser (2000). 312 pp. $175.00 and a return to normal hematopoeisis. Other excellent examples of its efficacy include the suppression of pre-malignant lesions including oral leukoplasia, bronchial Vitamin A is a crucial molecule throughout the life of an metaplasia, and cervical dysplasia. It is also effective organism. Via its biologically active metabolite retinoic in reducing the incidence of secondary tumors in the acid (RA), vitamin A is involved both in embryonic devel-aerodigestive tract. Thus, there is a vast literature con-opment and the maintenance of the differentiated state cerning retinoids in dermatology and cancer. in the adult animal. With regard to the embryo, very Therefore, any book which purports to keep the reader severe abnormalities in multiple organ systems occur if updated on this wide spectrum of subjects and this vitamin A is removed from the maternal diet. In adults, vast array of literature has a daunting task. The major studies conducted after the First World War in which reference work for the retinoids (The Retinoids, eds. vitamin A was removed from the diet of laboratory and farm animals demonstrated that dramatic changes in Academic Press) is a massive tome of nearly 700 pages, body tissues occurred, including the transformation of but was published in 1994 and clearly needs updating. the mucous epithelia of the body into keratinizing epithe-Thus, there is a need for a continual supply of new lia. The most notable and widespread defect due to lack books. Since that time there have been at least three of vitamin A in the human population manifests in the other books which review this literature: Vitamin A in eyes as night blindness, or more severely, xerophthal-chapter by J. A. Olsen that the ancient Egyptians recog-Retinoids: The Biochemical and Molecular Basis of Vita-nized night blindness and treated it correctly by applying min A and Retinoid Action (H. Nau and W. S. Blaner, the juice squeezed from cooked liver to the eyes or …