302 THE CHINA STUDYwe did the test, single carotenoids could have widely ranging potencies.
While one carotenoid is potent in one reaction, the same carotenoid is
far less potent for another reaction. This variation manifests itself in
countless ways involving hundreds of antioxidants and thousands of
different reactions, forming a nearly indecipherable network. Consum-
ing one carotenoid at a time in the form of a pill will never be the same
as eating the whole food, which provides the natural network of health-
supporting nutrients.
Five years after our rather obscure work on these antioxidants,32 a
Harvard study 33 effectively kicked off the lycopene campaign. In my
opinion, lycopene, as a cancer fighter, is headed for an already over-
crowded magic bullet graveyard, leaving behind a trail of deep confu-
sion.
FRUIT CLAIMS
The fruit industry plays this game just like everyone else. For example,
when you think of vitamin C, what food product comes to mind? If you
don't think of oranges and orange juice, you are unusual. Most of us
have heard ad nauseum that oranges are a good source of vitamin C.
This belief, however, is just another result of good marketing. How
much do you know, for example, about vitamin C's relationship to diet
and disease? Let's start with the basics. Although you probably know
that oranges are a good source of vitamin C, you may be surprised to
know that many other plant foods have considerably more. One cup of
peppers, strawberries, broccoli or peas all have more. One papaya has as
much as four times more vitamin C than one orange.^34
Beyond the fact that many other foods are better sources of vitamin
C, what can we say about the vitamin C that is in oranges? This con-
cerns the ability of the vitamin to act as an antioxidant. How much of
the total antioxidant activity in an orange is actually contributed by its
vitamin C? Probably not more than 1_2%.35 Furthermore, measuring
antioxidant activity by using "test tube" studies does not represent the
same vitamin C activity that takes place in our bodies.
Most of our impressions about vitamin C and oranges are a mixture
of conjectures and assumptions about out-of-context evidence. Who
first established these assumptions? Orange merchants. Did they jus-
tify their assumptions on the basis of careful research? Of course not.
Did these assumptions (presented as fact) sound good to the marketing
people? Of course they did. Would I eat an orange to get my vitamin