Tumeric's Cancer-fighting Properties.

[Guest guest]

Found this article on Compuserve's newsdesk. Well, golly gosh, is mainstream

catching up, or fessing up? LOL Probably the last statement says it all.

Blessings, n

Eat This Spice. It Could Save Your Life

The curry spice turmeric could help prevent and possibly even cure cancer.

Also found in yellow mustard, turmeric contains an ingredient called curcumin

that researchers from the University of Texas MD Cancer Center in

Houston say may help suppress and destroy the blood cancer multiple myeloma.

Curcumin is what gives mustard and turmeric their yellow color.

In the laboratory, the researchers added curcumin to human cells infected

with multiple myeloma. The result: The curcumin stopped those cells from

replicating, and the cells that were left died, reports Reuters.

Even though the study did not actually test curcumin in cancer patients,

lead researcher Dr. Bharat B. Aggarwal is so impressed with these early lab

results that he recommends cancer patients eat food seasoned with turmeric. And

with good reason. Previous research has shown that curcumin may fight other

types

of cancers besides multiple myeloma. It has also been shown to have

antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that can heal wounds and possibly

fight

Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. Best of all, curcumin has no known

side effects in human beings--even in large amounts. The study findings were

published in the journal Blood.

A study last year from Kumamoto University in Kumamoto, Japan, that was

published in the journal Cancer also found that curcumin prevented cancer and

stopped tumors from growing. Reuters reports that the Japanese researchers

determined that curcumin inhibited the production of interleukin-8 (IL-8), a

protein

that attracts white blood cells to a particular site and leads to

inflammation. The compound also reduced the activity of nuclear factor kappa-B

(NF-kappaB), a molecule that helps regulate the gene that produces IL-8.

What does that mean? Tumor cells secrete high levels of IL-8, which is a

protein that causes inflammation. The exact role IL-8 plays in cancer growth is

still unclear, but previous research shows it may stimulate tumor cells to

produce at the same time it suppresses the immune system. But the compound in

turmeric--curcumin--curbs IL-8. If the spice actually does what the study

findings

suggest, then " curcumin is capable of working as a potent agent that reduces

tumor promotion, " the researchers concluded.

In yet another study, researchers from the University of Rochester Medical

Center in Rochester, N.Y., found that curcumin helped protect the skin of

cancer patients who were undergoing radiation therapy. A common and painful side

effect of radiation is burns and blisters. Mice who were given three doses of

curcumin for five to seven days a week along with a dose of radiation had

minimal skin damage caused by the radiation. In addition, curcumin was found to

suppress the development of new cells in tumors, which furthers the

effectiveness

of radiation therapy, reports Health Newswire.

There's only one problem with what could be Mother Nature's miracle cure for

cancer, and you won't believe what it is: Greed. To learn more about

turmeric's cancer-fighting properties, including the proper dosage, requires

large

medical experiments with a great number of patients. Such ventures are costly

and

are typically financed by drug companies eyeing future product development.

However, in this case, the " drug " is a natural compound. Aggarwal explained to

Reuters that no drug company can reap the financial benefits if turmeric proves

to be an effective anti-cancer drug so no drug company is likely to pay the

big bucks needed for the medical studies.

--Cathryn Conroy