Scientists looking for cancer cure have concluded that using turmeric for cancer treatment shows promising results. Turmeric is an Asian spice that adds flash of yellow color to the curry and even acts as a dye. Its medicinal benefits have been slowly revealing over the centuries and today science has found that curcumin (an active ingredient of turmeric) is very effective in fighting the cancer. So, let us know more about this spice, which has shown effective results against dreaded disease like cancer.

How Is Turmeric Useful In Cancer Treatment

Turmeric has an important ingredient called curcumin that is very effective in killing the cancer cells. Studies on turmeric and cancer have proved that curcumin has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that make it effective against tumor cells. In one of the studies on multiple myeloma, scientists found that cucurmin is able to retard and even prevent the reproduction of tumor cells. In this way, several studies have come up with different results and concluded that one can use turmeric for cancer cure. Let us summarize the effects of turmeric on cancerous cells in the following points:

• It slows down the initiation, growth, and invasion of tumor cells.
• Curcumin is very effective in preventing the proliferation of cancerous cells.
• It inhibits angiogenesis, and metastasis, thereby controls the cancer.
• It prevents the transformation of normal cells into tumor cells and thus reduces the risk of cancer.
• It is anti-inflammatory in action that makes it very effective in restricting the unwanted growth of cells.
• It has the ability to produce detoxifying enzymes in the body, which in turn protects the body against chemical carcinogenesis.
• It promotes the liver function, which is very helpful in retarding the spread of skin cancer.
• It strengthens the immune system and thereby enables the body to destroy mutated cells.
• Some studies on turmeric and cancer have indicated that curcumin blocks the blood supply to cancerous cells and thus inhibits their growth.

Science Behind The Anti-cancer Activities Of Turmeric

Research studies have proved that turmeric is a powerful antioxidant having anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties that makes it effective against most types of cancer. Let us unravel the science behind its most of the anti-cancer action.

• One of the precursors to the cancer is the localized enzyme eicosanoids that cause inflammation and uncontrolled growth of the cells. Turmeric has the ability to restrict the action of enzyme COX-2 and in turn retard the activity of eicosanoids.

• Tumor cells require blood supply for growth and proliferation. However, cucurmin stops the blood supply by inhibiting vascular epithelial growth factors, which are one of the growth factors required for blood supply.

Thus, turmeric addresses some of the basic causative factors of cancer and thereby helps in its treatment and prevention. In addition, it also has synergistic effect against cancer with EGCG and resveratrol, other cancer fighting natural ingredients. Further research is going on to have more evidence on the effect of turmeric against cancer. Until then one can use turmeric for cancer cure in different preparations or as herbal capsule.

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