Curcumin: a delicious spice that kills cancer cells

Curcumin is a constituent of turmeric, a spice found in curry dishes in India and Asia. It's also been used for thousands of years in Ayruvedic medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties. One of its most promising uses is as a potent cancer killer and preventive.

Certain types of cancer have a common basis for growth - nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB). If you could control or suppress NF-kappaB, you would be able to stop cancer or prevent its spread. Curcumin can do that!

Curcumin stops lung cancer in its tracks
Cigarette smoke has been implicated in a number of diseases, including lung cancer. When doctors exposed lung cancer cells to cigarette smoke, NF-kappaB was activated PERSISTENTLY! Once it's been activated, it doesn't need additional prodding to keep going. However, when cancerous cells were first exposed to curcumin, the herb "abolished" the effect of smoke and prevented the activation of NF-kappaB!

When drugs & surgery don't stop breast cancer...
Like lung cancer, breast cancer may be controlled if NF-kappaB expression can be suppressed. Doctors recently discovered that breast cancer resistant to Taxol (a powerful pharmaceutical) was not resistant to curcumin. The spice inhibited NF-kappaB and prevented metastasis (spread of cancer) to the lungs. Researchers concluded that dietary supplementation with curcumin "has a therapeutic potential in preventing breast cancer metastasis."

Curcumin slays even more cancers
Human mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that is very aggressive. It's resistant to chemotherapy, leaving its victims with few options. When researchers treated MCL cells with curcumin, they found that it inhibited NF-kappaB, suppressed the spread of the disease and forced the cells to die.

The prognosis for pancreatic cancer isn't good, with less than 10% of victims surviving. Because NF-kappaB plays a significant role in this type of cancer, scientists attempted to "modulate NF-kappaB activity." They found that curcumin supplementation reduces NF-kappaB, which is "accompanied by marked growth inhibition and apoptosis [cell death]."

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is another cancer that has been shown to cave in to curcumin. Doctors found that it inhibited the spread of cancerous cells and forced the cells to die. Again, this was accomplished by inhibiting NF-kappaB expression.

A cheap supplement that may help you fight off deadly diseases
You could start adding turmeric to your diet, but you may not get enough curcumin to have an effect on any health issues. Fortunately, curcumin supplements are relatively inexpensive because the plant is prolific and readily available. You should be able to find curcumin at your local health food or supplement store. If not, click on the Amazon link below to get a pharmaceutical-quality supplement!



Be well!

Additional sources:
Carcinogenesis. 2003 Jul;24(7):1269-79
Clin Cancer Res. 2005 Oct 15;11(20):7490-8
Biochem Pharmacol. 2005 Sep 1;70(5):700-13
Cancer. 2004 Nov 15;101(10):2351-62
Int J Cancer. 2004 Sep 20;111(5):679-92

* * * * * * * *
I am not a doctor and have no medical training.
The information in this blog is not intended
to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Statements made on this blog
have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Consult a healthcare professional before using any products,
treatments or exercises mentioned on this blog.