Does Turmeric Help Fight Breast Cancer
The official answer is no. Turmeric isnt likely to prevent breast cancer from developing or returning all on its own.
Keep in mind that a number of studies have shown that curcumin the chemical compound found in turmeric has many potential health benefits, including some linked to cancer prevention and treatment. But its also not easily processed in the body.
And while curcumin has been found to have positive effects on a variety of cancers, including breast cancer, researchers have encountered obstacles when using it as a therapy.
So even though turmeric may provide a number of health benefits and even help ward off some cancers, its not a replacement for proven, traditional treatments. Read on to learn more.
active compound found in turmeric , a member of the ginger family.
Turmeric is a common spice used in traditional Indian cooking, especially in curry powder, and has long been used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine.
Known for its bright yellow color, consuming turmeric as a supplement or in foods has been associated with good health for centuries and for good reason.
As a compound, curcumin has been shown to have positive health effects on many parts of the body. Some studies have shown curcumin may be used to combat breast cancer in several ways, including:
- keeping cancer cells from growing
- preventing cancer cells from spreading
- stopping the cycle of reproduction in cancer cells
- causing cancer cell destruction
Curcumin Against Brain Cancer In Vivo
Subcutaneous and intracerebral orthotopic model of Human glioma U-87 cells in athymic mice on intraperitoneal dose of curcumin showed less than 50% decrease in median tumor volume in subcutaneous xenograft while in the orthotopic model, the average life span of group receiving similar dose increased by 12% as compared to the control group. In Female SCID mice xenograft model, human primary medulloblastoma cells were subcutaneously injected and after 30 days, the animals were given oral gavage of curcumin dissolved in corn oil. The tumor growth inhibition in curcumin treated group was significantly noticeable as compared to the control group. The group of Smo/Smo transgenic medulloblastoma mice receiving oral dose of curcumin was reported to have a median survival time of 192 days as compared to the control group, which had a median survival time of 144 days. This observation is in agreement with earlier claims of ability of curcumin to cross Blood Brain Barrier. Mechanistic insights in xenografted human medulloblastom D425 cells in athymic mice showed overexpression of p65 subunit of NF-B and the curcumin treated group showed tumor growth inhibition which can be partially attributed to down regulation of p65 subunit.
General Information And History
Curcumin is a member of the diarylheptanoid class of natural products derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa L., an East Indian plant, commonly called turmeric. The other major curcuminoids present in turmeric are demethoxycurcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, and cyclocurcumin together, they are termed the curcuminoid complex. The turmeric plant and preparations derived from it have a long history of therapeutic application in traditional Asian medicine. The crude and often dried plant material is widely consumed as a food additive, as part of curry spices, which typically contain numerous other ingredients. Turmeric and its preparations also have a long history of use as herbalmedicines and dietary supplements, primarily to treat various inflammatorydisorders.
Significant confusion exists in the scientific biomedical literature, as well as the popular literature, about the meaning of curcumin. Consequently, one group has developed a classification scheme that is described below.
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Adding Turmeric To Your Diet
Turmeric shows promise as a cancer treatment, but scientists dont yet know:
- Its exact proven benefits
- If too much can be detrimental
- How consumption may affect absorption of certain cancer medications
Some evidence suggests it does interfere with particular chemotherapy drugs. Turmeric can interact with diabetes medication causing blood sugar levels to drop too low. People on blood-thinning medications and undergoing surgery are at increased bleeding risk. Too much turmeric may also cause gastrointestinal disturbances. Your first step, even if you have no other medical issues along with your cancer, is to talk to your doctor or dietitian before adding turmeric to your diet.
How do you take it? Turmeric can be found in several forms: powder, tea, extracts, capsules and cut root or supplements. Remember, generally supplements and extracts may not act the same way in your body. In many cases, whole food turmeric turmeric root or powder is recommended during cancer treatment.If you are adding turmeric to foods and drinks, be sure to add black pepper, as well. Turmeric and curcumin are not absorbed well unless combined with black pepper.
Personal tastes differ, so start out with small amount and adjust based on your flavor preferences. Here are some quick, easy ways to add turmeric to your diet:
Be adventurous. You can find many delicious options online. Weve included a couple below for starters.
Mayo Clinic Q And A: Turmeric Use In Breast Cancer Treatment
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I recently was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I will have surgery followed by chemotherapy. A friend told me that turmeric has anti-cancer properties. I have taken turmeric supplements in the past for osteoarthritis. Can you tell me more about turmeric and if I can safely take it as a supplement along with conventional breast cancer treatment.
ANSWER: Turmeric, a bright yellow spice powder made from the root of a plant in the ginger family, is grown in many Asian countries and other tropical areas. It’s a major ingredient in curry powders common in many Indian and Asian dishes, and it is used as a coloring for foods, fabrics and cosmetics. The root can be dried and made into capsules, tablets, extracts, powders or teas. Or it can be made into a paste to apply to the skin.
Turmeric’s main active component curcumin is what gives the spice its yellow color. Curcumin has anti-inflammatory properties, making it a potential treatment for a number of health conditions, including reduced pain and increased ease of movement in people with osteoarthritis. One study found that taking turmeric extract three times daily was comparable to taking a 1,200-milligram dose of ibuprofen daily for arthritis pain. However, more research is necessary to confirm these effects.
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Spice Has Potential Health Benefits But May Affect Chemo And Radiation
Should you consider including turmeric in your diet for its terrific taste? Or because of its potential cancer-healing power? Perhaps both.
The active ingredient in turmeric curcumin is billed as a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Though the jury is still out, it is touted for its potential to prevent tumor development and kill existing cancer cells.
An important word of caution: Check with your cancer care team before regularly including turmeric in your diet. Some studies indicate curcumin consumption can interfere with certain chemotherapy drugs or radiation. Its always wise to consult with your doctor and dietitian when making significant dietary changes.
Ongoing research indicates curcumin is a good dietary addition. Spices have long been used for medical purposes in many cultures. Several studies have been completed and are ongoing to better identify which are most advantageous and how to best utilize them.
Turmeric is one of the most extensively studied spices to date. Used in Asian and Indian medicine to treat several conditions, turmeric also is a popular natural health recommendation for treatment of inflammatory disorders such as gastrointestinal problems, chronic pain and skin conditions. One study found curcumin can kill cancer cells in multiple ways, leaving healthy cells unaffected an important finding because chemotherapy drugs kill healthy cells and cancer cells.
Curcumin Against Resistant Lung Cancer
Human non-small cell lung cancer cell line A549, which showed 50% cell viability at a high dose of 10,000 U of interferon -alpha , was investigated to understand the resistivity of these cells against such a higher concentration of IFN. On treatment with one-tenth of the IC50 value, the A549 cells showed an increase in p50 and p65 subunits of NF-B with respect to time, in addition to an increase in Cox-2 expression. On pretreatment with curcumin, a dose-dependent decrease in these subunits was noticed in Western Blot Analysis and a decrease in Cox-2 expression was also noted. Thus, curcumin showed a remarkable decrease in NF-B and Cox-2 activity in a dose-dependent manner with a maximum dose of 50 M in IFN resistant A549 cell lines and it increased the vulnerability of cells towards the cytotoxic activity of IFN. The lower water solubility of curcumin has led to the use of methods like micelles and nanocapsules for effective permeation and release. Adriamycin resistant A549/ADR lung cancer cell line showed a reversal of resistance to doxorubicin on treatment with polymeric micelles loaded with doxorubicin and curcumin.
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Story : Dieneke Ferguson Story
A woman called Dieneke Ferguson diagnosed in 2007 with blood cancer , recently has beaten the disease by using turmeric.
After diagnosis and through nearly 15 months, myeloma had progressed and reached stage three, and this means that the disease had begun to spread inside Dieneke Ferguson body.
Although the woman had undergone numerous chemotherapy rounds and a stem cell transplant, she had still suffered from the disease without getting any positive results.
But, in 2011 she had new hope because she began to take doses of curcumin daily, and her dose was 8 grams of curcumin on empty stomach every night.
After a few months, she began a course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy every week, which means that she had exposed to breath pure oxygen inside an enclosed chamber that is higher than the atmospheric pressures.
Doctors reported that over the last 5 years Dieneke cancer was noticed to be stable, and her blood components counts are in the normal values.
Scientists attributed the effect of curcumin in curing cancer to its antioxidant, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic properties.
Doctors believe that Dienekes case is considered the first recorded case of a patient that recovered from cancer by using Turmeric after the lack of therapeutic response of the conventional cancer treatments.
However, they said that more research is needed about these results to confirm that curcumin could be a new vital and safe treatmentpathway for cancer in the soon future.
Sources: 1
Enhancement The Solubility And Stability Of Curcumin
Though curcumin has been indicated as highly cytotoxic towards various cancer cell lines, its insolubility and instability in water contributes to low bioavailability. On the other hand, photodegradation and low bioavailability are major hurdles for the therapeutic use of curcumin. However, the solubility of curcumin could be enhanced by utilizing the solubilizing properties of rubusoside, and the rubusoside-solubilized curcumin successfully inhibited cell viability in human colon, breast, and pancreatic cancer cell lines . In order to increase curcumin photostability and enhance its anticancer activity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells, Mulik et al. formulated the transferrin-mediated solid lipid nanoparticles , which enhances the anticancer effect of curcumin in breast cancer cells in vitro. Moreover, it was found that curcumin conjugated with phosphatidylcholine increased curcumin bioavailability five-fold compared to original curcumin . The prodrugs, which are produced by mono-PEGylation of curcumin, are stable in buffer at physiological pH and released curcumin readily in human plasma .
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Q& a: Turmeric Use In Breast Cancer Treatment
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I recently was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I will have surgery followed by chemotherapy. A friend told me that turmeric has anti-cancer properties. I have taken turmeric supplements in the past for osteoarthritis. Can you tell me more about turmeric and if I can safely take it as a supplement along with conventional breast cancer treatment?
ANSWER: Turmeric, a bright yellow spice powder made from the root of a plant in the ginger family, is grown in many Asian countries and other tropical areas. It’s a major ingredient in curry powders common in many Indian and Asian dishes, and it is used as a coloring for foods, fabrics and cosmetics. The root can be dried and made into capsules, tablets, extracts, powders or teas. Or it can be made into a paste to apply to the skin.
Turmeric’s main active componentcurcuminis what gives the spice its yellow color. Curcumin has anti-inflammatory properties, making it a potential treatment for a number of health conditions, including reduced pain and increased ease of movement in people with osteoarthritis. One study found that taking turmeric extract three times daily was comparable to taking a 1,200-milligram dose of ibuprofen daily for arthritis pain. However, more research is necessary to confirm these effects.
Explore further
Curcumin Against Head And Neck Cancer In Vivo
Balb/c nu/nu mice, subcutaneously xenografted with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma SSC40 tongue cells showed decrease in tumor volume in curcumin-pre-treated group with a dose of 15 mg/day through oral gavage. The pre-treated group showed no development of tumors in 4-nitroquinolineoxide-induced carcinogenic model in oral cavity. A study of HNSCC CAL27 cells xenograft in nude mice showed that liposomal curcumin intravenously administered on alternate days for a period of 35 days resulted in 71.8% reduction in mean tumor weight in well-established xenograft tumors. The study also reported normal appearance of kidney, liver, heart, spleen and lung on histological examination and reduced expression of NF-B was noted in the immunohistochemical post-treatment profiling of tumor cells.
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Best Way To Eat Turmeric For Cancer And Cancer Prevention
Brew Turmeric Tea
Brewing turmeric tea is a brilliant way of adding turmeric into your diet. To brew this tea, all you have to do is boil a cup of water then add a quarter of a teaspoon of turmeric in it. Allow the tea to simmer for snout then minutes then strain it into a cup. You can add honey or lemon juice to add flavor to it.
Blend it into a smoothie
Adding a pinch or two of turmeric will definitely change the color of your smoothie, but it will not change its taste. Turmeric has a strong yellow pigment and will change the color of any food you consume. However, you will add it into your system successfully by mixing it with your favorite yogurt or fruit juice.
Brush your teeth with it
Turmeric contains antioxidant properties that are great for your teeth. Turmeric can therefore bleach your teeth and give you a brighter smile. At the same time, it will be absorbed into your blood system through your mouth. Be warned however, that the yellow pigment of the turmeric will turn your toothbrush bristles yellow
Fortify your soup
Turmeric is a spice that when ground up properly, can be added into curry powder. Using this powder to flavor food makes it taste better and more palatable. Also, turmeric can be added directly into other types of soups, fortifying them.
Spread on your skin
Turmeric has the advantage of being non-toxic to human consumption. Take some ground turmeric, mix it with a little water or oil then apply it on your skin. Wash off after about 15 minutes.
Whats The Best Way To Take Turmeric
Turmeric is a flowering plant that grows in tropical climates. To use as a spice or medicinally, the root of the turmeric plant is dried and chopped up or ground into a fine powder. You can typically buy turmeric in chopped or powdered form at many markets and grocery stores.
When used in cooking, this powder can be directly added into foods for flavor or color. When used medicinally or as a nutritional supplement, the general consensus is that between 500 to 2,000 milligrams per day is enough.
Youll need to eat about 2 teaspoons of this yellow powder to get about 500 mg of turmeric, so consuming 2,000 mg directly or in food can be a challenge if youre not a fan of the taste or texture.
But turmeric is sold in a number of ways that can be added into your diet without eating it in your foods. Liquid extracts are the most potent, but you can purchase turmeric supplements in capsules, pills, and gummies.
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What Does The Research Say About Turmeric And Cancer
Some research has shown the curcumin in turmeric may play a role in preventing cancer growth, killing cancer cells, and alleviating treatment side effects.
One way that curcumin is thought to work is by lowering levels of inflammation in the body.
Chronic inflammation underlies most chronic diseases, cancer included, says Lise Alschuler, ND, a professor of clinical medicine and an assistant director for the fellowship in integrative medicine at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine in Tucson, Arizona. Along with the lowered inflammation, quality of life improves.
Studies have suggested that curcumin can inhibit enzymes such as cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase , which are important for regulating inflammatory processes in the body. Abnormal levels of COX-2 or iNOS are associated with inflammatory disorders and certain cancers.
Lab studies have shown that curcumin uses various mechanisms to kill cancer cells and reduce the growth of new blood vessels in tumors. Authors of a review published in the AAPS Journal concluded that its ability to kill tumor cells and not normal cells makes curcumin an attractive candidate for drug development.
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You Are A Professional In The Garment Industry But It Sounds Like You Spend A Lot Of Time Creating This Awareness
Bhadresh: I spend my time and money giving awareness. This is my passion. If you have any patient, then put me in touch. I will share all the very specific information along with respective research papers to convince him/her. I have a huge amount of information and literature I have collected in the past three years to counsel individuals about their medical challenges. I have done a very in-depth study regarding the medical impact of curcumin. Taking curcumin in higher doses can stop metastatic or progression of cancer. As stated earlier it also has high impact while one is under chemo-therapy treatment of cancer. Curcumin is the only natural answer to the inflammatory aspect underlying most cancers.
A research report found in Life Extension Magazine, written by David Hoffnung states:
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