The Life Extention Foundation has been saying this for many years. Now scientists are wanting to "develope" this treatment...meaning "drug", no doubt! (Eat lots of Thai curry dishes...I'm hooked on Panang curry with chicken!)
From Dr. Cinque's newsletter today:
Scientists say curry compound kills cancer cells
A molecule found in turmeric can kill esophageal cancer cells in the laboratory, suggesting it might be developed as an anti-cancer treatment, scientists said on Wednesday.
Researchers at the Cork Cancer Research Center in Ireland treated esophageal cancer cells with curcumin -- a chemical found in the spice turmeric, which gives curries a distinctive yellow color -- and found it started to kill cancer cells within 24 hours.
The cells also began to digest themselves, they said in a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Previous scientific studies have suggested curcumin can suppress tumors and that people who eat lots of curry may be less prone to the disease. Sharon McKenna, lead author of the Irish study, said her study suggested a potential for scientists to develop curcumin as an anti-cancer drug to treat esophageal cancer.
Cancers of the esophagus kill more than 500,000 people across the world each year. The tumors are especially deadly, with five-year survival rates of just 12 to 31 percent.
McKenna said the study showed curcumin caused the cancer cells to die "using an unexpected system of cell messages."
Normally, faulty cells die by committing programed suicide, or apoptosis, which occurs when proteins called caspases are 'switched on' in cells, the researchers said.
But these cells showed no evidence of suicide, and the addition of a molecule that inhibits caspases and stops this "switch being flicked' made no difference to the number of cells that died, suggesting curcumin attacked the cancer cells using an alternative cell signaling system.
U.S. researchers reported in 2007 that curcumin helps stimulate immune system cells.
Scientists have been killing cancer cells in laboratories with curcumin for years now,but unfortunately there is a big problem when testing is carried out in humans.
There is low biovailability through poor absorption of curcumin in the liver and blood levels peak and drop after a few hours and a sustained blood level for treatment has so far been elusive.
Some companies claim to have overcome this problem adding black pepper (Bioperine), but while it does increase curcumin levels, they still appear to be inadequate for treating established diseases such as cancer.
This is a company that claims to have overcome the problem(although I have no evidence that this is so). Please note I have no FI in the company.
Yes, there is biopeperine and it should probably be taken with most vitamins and meals and is why black pepper in food has always been known to inhance digestion.
On the other hand, and I have no evidence for this, just intuition, I think that the tumeric mixed in the stool as it passes through the digestive tract will have healing benefits to the wall of the intestines and colon.
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I believe there has been success using curcumin for some types of cancer but I haven't had the time yet to look it up. I will get back to that soon. Meanwhile, LEF has a patent-pending product called Super Bio-Curcumin that they say is 400 mg per capsule but is equivalent to 2,772 mg. They don't list bioperine but it may be in their patent-pending formula. Seems as though that should be more effective. Here is a video they have on You Tube. I am a member of LEF, but have no other connection to their products.
More news about curcumin, bioperine and human breast cancer research.
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Curcumin and bioperine target breast cancer stem cells
An article published online on November 7, 2009 in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment reveals the discovery by scientists at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center that curcumin, a compound derived from the spice turmeric, and piperine from black pepper help inhibit the growth of stem cells that fuel breast cancer.
Stem cells are unspecialized cells that can develop into any type of cell in a particular organ. In their introduction to the article, University of Michigan Medical School clinical lecturer Madhuri Kakarala, MD, PhD, RD and colleagues explain that "The cancer stem cell hypothesis asserts that malignancies arise in tissue stem and/or progenitor cells through the dysregulation or acquisition of self-renewal." According to this hypothesis, the recurrence of cancer after chemotherapy is due to the drugs' ineffectiveness against cancer stem cells. Accordingly, eliminating cancer stem cells and reducing the amount of normal stem cells could decrease cancer risk.
The researchers compared the effects of varying concentrations of curcumin and piperine, alone and in combination, to a control substance administered to cultured breast epithelial cells. The amounts of curcumin and piperine employed were the equivalent of approximately 20 times the potency of what could be consumed through one's diet. They found a reduction in markers for breast stem cells in cultures treated with the lowest concentration of curcumin, and complete inhibition at twice that concentration. Piperine also demonstrated an inhibitory property, although the effects were not as pronounced as those elicited by curcumin. However, the addition of piperine to curcumin resulted in a reduction in stem cells that was greater than either agent alone, while having no effect on normal cell development or viability. �This shows that these compounds are not toxic to normal breast tissue,� Dr Kakarala remarked.
The report is the first to conclude that curcumin and bioperine could help prevent cancer by targeting stem cells. This mechanism has the potential to prevent estrogen-sensitive tumors as well as more aggressive non-estrogen dependent cancers.
�If we can limit the number of stem cells, we can limit the number of cells with potential to form tumors,� Dr Kakarala noted. �Women at high risk of breast cancer right now can choose to take the drugs tamoxifen or raloxifene for prevention, but most women won�t take these drugs because there is too much toxicity. The concept that dietary compounds can help is attractive, and curcumin and piperine appear to have very low toxicity.�
the book D Bergy posted a link to is excellent but somewhat dated 2007
Since 2007 to date there have been a lot more papers published.
It's certainly an additional extra weapon to use in the fight against cancer or chronic illness. Cheap, safe and readily available. But do remember this is additional to other effective anti cancer strategies. Keeping Vitamin D3 levels above 60ng/ml 150nmol/l is still required.
Curcumin is working with the D3 and together they will work better than separately. Both Vitamin D3 and curcumin downregulate MMP 9's these are the devils that destroy myelin sheath in MS and promote tumor invasion in cancers.
Reducing the number of MMP 9's is as important for reducing cancer or MS progression as reducing the number of knives being carried on our streets is important for preventing knife crime.
The more different and varied effective strategies you can deploy the more likely you will achieve your object.
In AD patients, "inflammaging" may be associated with an increase of incompetent memory T cells and inflammatory cytokines produced by macrophages, whereas defective clearance of amyloid- 1-42 (A) may be related to defective transcription of immune genes necessary for A phagocytosis, -1,4-mannosyl-glycoprotein 4- -Nacetylglucosaminyltransferase and Toll-like receptors.
However, AD shows considerable heterogeneity of disease manifestations and mechanisms.
The approaches to re-balancing A immunity and inflammation are being pursued in transgenic animal models and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients.
The regulatory signaling pathways of microglial phagocytosis and inflammation involving co-receptors and transforming growth factor- have been considerably clarified in animal studies.
Natural immunostimulating therapies using vitamin D3 and curcuminoids have been developed in macrophages of AD patients.
AD patients possess two types of macrophages: a majority has "Type I", which are improved by curcuminoids and vitamin D3; whereas a minority has "Type II" responding positively to vitamin D3 but not to curcuminoids.
Other nutritional substances, such as plant polyphenols and omega-3 fatty acids, may inhibit inflammation and stimulate immunity.
More invasive immune approaches involve A vaccine and cytokine antagonists. Increased inflammation may represent the "first hit", and defective transcription of immune genes the "second hit" in the pathogenesis of AD.
So you may benefit from one or the other or possibly both.
Ginger is also known to help absorb other nutrients, at least anecdotaly, and has similar properties as Turmeric.
I take Turmeric, Ginger, Krill Oil, Vitamin C, Magnesium, a multivitamin, and D-3 in the Winter. I have taken larger amounts of Ginger and Turmeric when inflamed, but that is not needed any more.
That is the total anti-inflammatory and nutritional package I have put together for helping with my inflammatory disease of Crohn's.
These are just the passive methods to keep it under Wraps. I have a few active methods directed at the pathogens I think are responsible for the disease and symptoms.
Since I am not symptomatic, I have good reason to believe it is working as planned.
I use NOW brand Vit D3 in 5000IU small softgel beadlets too. Very reasonable -
$8.80 per bottle of 120, I think. Also from iHerb. They sent me a NOW brand
Catalog the last time I ordered 6 bottles of D3. I think I'll be trying more Now
brand nutrients from iHerb.
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Curry compound kills cancer cells
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