More scientific proof that spice combinations are best for breast.

A recent scientific paper confirms how important it is to use combinations of spices to combat diseases.

Now we know that turmeric is one of the most important anti-cancer spices and that, over the years it has attracted a lot of research. For a long time I have been going on about how important it is to take COMBINATIONS of spices and that turmeric (or its principal compound, curcumin) is pretty ineffective when used on its own.

This newly published research paper confirms yet again the concept that spices work far better at combating cancer when used in combination. In other words, they spice up one another’s disease-fighting capabilities!

New research into turmeric and breast cancer.

Writing in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, scientists at the University Of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, USA found that the anti-cancer action of curcumin (from the spice turmeric) was enhanced enormously when combined with the compound piperine (from black pepper).

Importantly they found that, in the laboratory, this spicy combination not only attacked developed breast cancer cells, it also prevented the production of new cancer cells by neutralizing the cancer stem cells themselves.

As with other biological tissue types, cancer cells are derived from specific cancer stem cells – kill these and you kill the disease.

Curcumin and piperine do just that.

Although quantities larger than ordinary dietary amounts of turmeric and piperine were used in this research, a regular intake of smaller quantities of these and other spices are probably more than adequate in PREVENTING the onset of breast cancer in the first place. Epidemiological statistics bear this out as the incidence of breast cancer in eastern, spice consuming nations are up to four times lower than they are in the West.

Journal reference: http://www.springerlink.com/content/y27556643833025w.

Keith Scott is a medical doctor who has a special interest in nutritional medicine. He has written several books on health related topics including Medicinal Seasonings, The Healing Power Of Spices and Natural Home Pharmacy. For more information about infertility, antioxidants and spices and to download a FREE PDF COPY of Medicinal Seasonings go to: Medicinal Herbs And Spices.
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Technorati Tag: Breast Cancer

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A whole raft of scientific studies carried out over the past few decades has shown conclusively that turmeric’s principal antioxidant phytonutrient, curcumin, has powerful cancer fighting properties. This new research is yet a further endorsement of this spice’s fantastic disease fighting capabilities.

Curcumin

Curcumin is found in turmeric, ginger and a number of other spices. It is a widely acknowledged to be one of the most important cancer fighting, food-based compounds as it has also been shown to help prevent a number of cancer types as well as neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Researches at The Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center and the College Of Veterinary Medicine in the USA have discovered another string to this wonderful spice’s medicinal bow. In a recent paper published in the journal Menopause the scientists describe how curcumin blocks the carcinogenic effects of hormone replacement therapy in post menopausal women.

The culprits

Most hormone replacement preparations prescribed for post menopausal problems include a combination of estrogens and progestin hormones. It is the latter synthetic progesterones that increase the risk of breast cancer in those who have such bad menopausal symptoms that they cannot do without hormone replacement therapies.

Progestins increase the risk of breast cancer by stimulating the blood supply to developing cancer cells. They do this by enhancing the production of a growth factor that is responsible for the formation of new blood vessels.

By blocking the production of the progestin-stimulated growth factor, curcumin attenuates the blood supply to breast cancer cells without which they cannot survive.

Anti-obesity activity of curcumin

Coincidentally another recent bit of scientific work indicates that curcumin’s ability to inhibit the growth of blood vessels may also make it a useful in the fight against obesity! In a similar fashion to its cancer-fighting effects it does so by inhibiting the blood supply to new fat cells. By inhibiting the formation of fat cells curcumin slows down the rate at which the body stores fat. More importantly it makes it easier for individuals to lose weight as, once a fat cell has formed, the body can’t get rid of it.

It is important to note that curcumin taken on its own is not well utilized by the body – i.e. it has a low bioavailability. This is because enzymes in the intestines and liver break it down before it has had a chance to do its good work.

Spicy synergism with curcumin

Fortunately other spices contain compounds (like black pepper’s piperine) that increase the bioavailability (and thus efficacy) of curcumin by several thousand per cent. Therefore taking a capsule of curcumin on its own is unlikely to be of much benefit in terms of the prevention or treatment of disease. It is far better to follow the culinary wisdom of thousands of years and use a wide variety of spices with curcumin-containing turmeric as phytonutrients in plant foods tend to have synergistic effects with one another.

Keith Scott is a medical doctor who has a particular interest in nutrition. He is the author of several books including Natural Home Pharmacy and more recently, Medicinal Seasonings, The Healing Power of Spices. Watch the VIDEO at: YouTube.com
Find out more about the use of spices in the prevention and treatment of other diseases and download a FREE PDF COPY of Medicinal Seasonings at: http://www.medspice.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr_Keith_Scott

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Research into curcumin and breast cancer treatment has thrown up some fascinating and potentially useful results. Many of the discoveries regarding curcumin and breast cancer treatment have relied on animal models and test tube studies. None has yet reached clinical trial stage although a preliminary trial has been done.

Curcumin (CC) has been found to inhibit the growth of cells of cancer of the breast grown in cell cultures in the laboratory. These include hormone-dependent, hormone-independent and multidrug-resistant cells

The compound also showed anticancer activity against mouse breast tumor cells.

In female rats, CC also showed a protective effect against chemically induced mammary cancer i.e. if the animals were given it prior, they developed less malignancies.

An early clinical trial has been reported where a topical application of a CC ointment was made in seven patients with cancer of the breast. The results showed that 71% of the patients had a positive response measured as a reduction in the size of lesions, less pain, less itching and reduced exudates.

One of the challenges that needs to be overcome if curcumin and breast cancer treatment is to progress to practical use is the low absorption: very little of the compound crosses the boundary from the digestive system to the blood stream.

One solution is the concurrent use of piperine which increases absorption by 2000%.

Another is the use of enteric coating which reputable manufacturers use to ensure that nutrient-containing supplements are delivered to the upper intestine rather than be destroyed by the acidic stomach enzymes.

Although we cannot declare that a cure has been found, these are promising results regarding the future of this treatment. One can therefore recommend taking CC more as a preventative rather than a cure.

The best way to take it would be as part of a multi-nutrient supplement containing a range of other healthy components. This ensures that all the ingredients work harmoniously together to provide the best effect.

Such a supplement would also include critical components that are essential for the functioning of some nutrients so for example piperine to aid in absorption. It would also include other malignancy-protective nutrients like lycopene and resveratrol.

Roger Franklin is a writer, researcher and passionate user of natural health products at GoodHealthToGo. Please visit http://www.goodhealthtogo.com for more info and to learn about the products that we use that contain curcumin.
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Technorati Tag: Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Treatment

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