Curcumin Naturally Fights Cancer, Heart Disease, Alzheimer`s Disease and Obesity

via: NaturalNews
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
By: John Phillip

[NaturalNews] Curcumin is one of a small number of super nutrients which has the demonstrated ability to dramatically lower the risk from cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer`s disease and has been shown to influence the storage of body fat by altering fat metabolism. Curcumin is a natural polyphenol which is extracted from curry powder and has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. You can experience a multitude of health benefits by eating the spice in its natural form or by supplementing with a concentrated extract of active curcuminoids.

Curcumin in the Fight against Cancer
Curcumin has been shown to be a powerful tool in the fight against cancer as it helps to restore immune system function which begins to weaken in many people as a result of decades of poor diet and environmental factors. Curcumin works to bolster immune function by restoring the function of key immune cells known as CD4 and CD8 T cells. According to a study published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry, curcumin increases the production of proteins which are needed for immune cell proliferation while reducing the development of proteins which destroy immune cells.

Curcumin Prevents Clogged Arteries While Lowering Heart Attack Risk
Curcumin influences the formation of dangerous coronary artery plaque by lowering levels of systemic inflammation which are known to cause the foamy substance to become unstable and rupture leading to a heart attack. This super nutrient regulates the action of our genes to inhibit the release of chemical messengers through the body in response to stress, poor diet and our environment. The result of a study released in The Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine indicates that curcumin prevents platelet coagulation which can result in a life threatening blood clot.

Curcumin Shown to Prevent Alzheimer`s Disease
Researchers have noted that the incidence of Alzheimer`s disease among the elderly Indian population where curry is regularly eaten with most meals is significantly lower than their western counterparts. Curcumin exhibits strong antioxidant properties and is known to cross the crucial blood-brain barrier, where it acts to limit the accumulation of damaging plaque; it also reduces the neuronal response to existing plaque tangles. By inhibiting amyloid plaque formation at the synapse where electrical impulses connect different parts of the brain, memory is preserved and symptoms of this devastating disease are minimized or eliminated.

Curcumin Assists Weight Management Goals
Curcumin helps to prevent obesity and assists natural weight loss due to its ability to inhibit the formation of new blood vessels which are required to form new baby fat cells. This polyphenol also influences how the body regulates triglycerides (blood fats) which are then stored as body fat or burned as a source of energy. A study published in The Journal of Nutrition details how curcumin prevents excessive accumulation of triglycerides in the blood and shifts our metabolism away from fat storage. The study authors conclude that curcumin `may have a potential benefit in preventing obesity.`

Very few natural nutrients exhibit such a wide array of health benefits as curcumin. Extensive research confirms the powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects which provide protection against many of today`s most devastating illnesses. Whether you choose to add curry to your diet or supplement with a concentrated form of this amazing spice, you can be assured of lowered disease risk and improved quality of life.

Article References:
http://www.jbc.org/content/282/22/15954.abstract?cited-by=yes&legid=j…
http://journals.lww.com/jcardiovascularmedicine/Abstract/2010/01000/A…
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/139/5/919?maxtoshow=&hit…

Read More At: NaturalNews.com

Radiation – How to protect yourself from its effects safely and naturally

via: NaturalNews
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
By: Lloyd Burrell

[NaturalNews] Whether concern stems from the possible exposure to drifting radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan or from every day sources of non-ionizing radiation (i.e., cell phones, computers, Wi-Fi, smart meters, etc.), exposure to radiation is a reality.

The constant exposure to electromagnetic fields results in DNA fragmentation which can lead to cancers of the parotid salivary gland, the thyroid gland, and the head. Kids are even more susceptible, with evidence of brain and spinal tumors appearing in children exposed to radiation.

Powerwatch, a non-profit organization prominent in the United Kingdom Electromagnetic Field and Microwave Radiation health debate, shares further consequences resulting from exposure to radiation, including:

• Cognitive dysfunction
• Failed pregnancies
• Certain types of dementia
• Overtiredness
• Compromised immune system function
• Headaches

Protection from radiation and its impending consequences is imperative as well as feasible through safe, natural sources.

Potassium iodide

Potassium iodide, simply composed of the elements potassium and iodine, is the most familiar solution for protection from radiation exposure. Potassium iodide, taken in supplement form, is also used to treat overactive thyroid.

While natural, does it work? Is it safe?

Potassium iodide is effective, yet contraindicated for a multitude of medications, can damage the thyroid, and brings with it other side effects in the form of:

• Red, bumpy, itchy skin
• Painful joints
• Facial and body swelling

After using potassium iodide for a long period of time, a series of other serious health complications may also surface.

The natural approach

A strong, healthy thyroid is the best protection from radioactive iodine-131 (nuclear power plant steam), and EMF exposure. Steven Schacter, author of Fighting Radiation with Food, Herbs and Vitamins, explains, “If sufficient amounts of natural iodine are available, radioactive iodine will not be absorbed.” Schacter advises eating seaweed (kelp) to obtain natural iodine.

Eating foods naturally high in iodine will supply the thyroid with adequate amounts of iodine, discouraging the absorption of radioactive iodine, and protecting it from EMF damage.

These foods are high in iodine and part of a natural, safe approach.

• Other seaweeds and sea vegetables
• Cranberries or cranberry juice
• Potatoes with the skin
• Beans – especially navy beans
• Himalayan crystal salt

For protection from cancers induced from radiation eat a variety of:

Dark leafy greens and orange starchy foods – (sweet potatoes, winter squash, carrots).

Additional protection:

• Milk thistle – a proven detoxifier
• Siberian ginseng – facilitates overall cellular health, strengthens body against all types of stress, including cancer treatments
• Curcumin – antioxidant and scientifically proven anti-inflammatory, protects and helps tissue healing
• Ecklonia cava – antioxidant seaweed extract
• Drink plenty of pure water every day to eliminate toxins
• Visual imagery – the power of positive thinking through the visualization of wellness throughout the body

Loss of minerals

Radiation exposure sets the stage for the release of specific minerals from the body which are necessary for optimal protection from electromagnetic fields.

These minerals are:

• Potassium
• Lithium
• Magnesium
• Copper
• Calcium
• Selenium – especially important as a co-factor of iodine for cell regeneration and protection

Because the body works synergistically to heal and protect, consume a variety of organic, whole plant-based foods in a variety of colors to guarantee a good supply of antioxidants and the elimination of free radicals.

Multi-vitamin supplements are a poor substitute but may be used from time to time to cover any missing nutrients.

It’s not practical in today’s society to completely eradicate all sources of radiation; however, the best protection comes from minimizing exposure in the first place. This approach along with the others mentioned here offers the best scenario for minimizing the dangerous effects of radiation exposure.

Sources for this article include:

http://bjr.birjournals.org/content/77/914/97.full

http://resourcenaturopathy.com

http://gailfaithedwards.com

Read More At: NaturalNews.com

New Studies on 3 Important Nutrients

via: Mercola
by: Dr. Mercola
July 11, 2012

Your body not only depends on nutrients in the food you eat, but is actually composed — atom-by-atom, molecule-by-molecule – by them, which is why we should not be surprised by the profound power that certain nutrients and food constituents have in supporting optimal health.

One of them, calcium, is an old-standby in many people’s supplement stashes, but new research suggests this is one nutrient you’re better off getting from food sources.

Two lesser known, but extremely therapeutic, nutrients are turmeric (the spice that gives curry its deep yellow color) and resveratrol (a polyphenol found in plants, particularly grape skins), and which in two new studies have been revealed to have exciting health benefits.

Calcium: Good From Food, Not From Supplements?

Calcium is one of the most popular dietary supplements on the market, largely because of the widely circulated belief that regular supplemental doses of this mineral are essential for building and maintaining healthy bones. As a result, many people believe that taking a calcium supplement is one of the best — if not an essential — strategy to prevent bone fractures resulting from osteoporosis.

However, it’s becoming increasingly clear that while organically-bound calcium from your diet is beneficial, elemental calcium supplements, e.g. calcium carbonate, calcium citrate, etc., may dramatically increase heart attack risk, and other health problems.

A recent study published in the journal Heart found that people who took calcium supplements regularly had an 86 percent greater risk of having a heart attack, which led researchers to suggest such pills should be “taken with caution.”ⁱ Dietary calcium, on the other hand, had no such risk! In fact, those who got their calcium exclusively from supplements more than doubled their risk of a heart attack compared to those who took no supplements.

A similar trend has been seen for kidney stones, with people taking calcium supplements at a greater risk, while those who consume a high level of calcium in food at a reduced risk.ⁱⁱ There have been a number of studies that indicate calcium supplements increase your risk for cardiovascular incidents and other problems, as well as NOT being of much benefit to your bones.

Cardiovascular

A 2010 meta-analysis showed calcium supplements (without coadministered vitamin D) are associated with a 27% increased risk for heart attack.ⁱⁱⁱ Even when calcium was administered with vitamin D, which helps you absorb and utilize calcium, elemental calcium still increased heart attack risk by 24 percent^iv

A 2008 study found calcium supplements are associated with a greater number of heart attacks in postmenopausal women^v

A 2004 study showed that people with excess calcium in their coronary artery and who take statins have a 17-fold higher risk of heart attacks than do those with lower arterial calcium levels; researchers concluded that the two most definitive indicators of heart attack were LDL levels and arterial calcium build-up

Osteoporosis and Bone Density

• A 2010 article presented evidence for a total lack of support in the research for calcium supplements reducing fracture risk^vi
• A 2007 study showed that calcium from dietary sources has more favorable effects on bone health than calcium from supplements in postmenopausal women^vii
• A 2009 study of postmenopausal women using calcium supplements showed that, although calcium loss from bone was slowed, bone loss was still occurring^viii

What Makes Calcium Supplements Potentially Dangerous?

Your body does not make calcium, and in fact loses this important mineral daily through your skin, nails, hair, sweat and elimination, which is why you must replace it on a regular basis. Historically this has been through dietary sources.

It has been estimated, however, that your body excretes as little as 100 mg a day, making the current recommendations by the National Osteoporosis Foundation for women over 50 to take 1,200 mg a day a bit troubling. When we compare our calcium-rich diet to the traditional calcium-poor Chinese peasant diet, which was free of cow’s milk and calcium supplements, approximately 250 mg a day of plant-based calcium was all that was needed to fulfill their bodily needs – and this is a culture with no word for “osteoporosis” in its 3,000+ year old language!

Due to the fact that about 99 percent of your body’s calcium is stored in your bones and teeth, if you don’t get enough calcium, your body will use the calcium reserves in your bones to perform vital metabolic functions. This is where the idea that supplementing with calcium could prevent calcium loss from your bones comes from — but it is an overly simplified theory that lacks solid evidence to back it up, especially in Western, modernized cultures, which consume unprecedentedly large amounts of dairy-derived, fortification-based and supplemental calcium.

The truth is that taking any calcium in excess or isolation, without complementary nutrients like magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin K2, which help keep your body in balance, can have adverse effects, such as calcium building up in coronary arteries and inducing heart attacks. Even taking calcium with vitamin D does not appear to be sufficient to prevent these types of adverse effects.

So when you take a biologically foreign form of calcium (such as limestone, oyster shell, egg shell and bone meal (hydroxylapatite)), or when your body’s ability to direct calcium to the right places becomes impaired (as when you are deficient in vitamin K2), calcium may be deposited where it shouldn’t be, which can lead to multiple health problems, including heart attacks. It’s more likely your body can use calcium correctly if it’s food-based calcium.

Good sources include:

• Organic grass fed and finished raw milk and cheese from pasture-raised cows
• Leafy green vegetables
• The pith of citrus fruits
• Carob
• Sesame seeds and wheatgrass

Calcium from dietary sources is typically better absorbed and utilized than calcium from supplements, which is why studies involving calcium from natural food sources have shown favorable results, including a 25 percent lower risk of dying from all causes.^ix

It is also vital to remember that magnesium, along with a variety of additional trace minerals such as strontium, boron, and the other crucial vitamin K2, may all be every bit as, if not even more important than calcium.

Turmeric Provides Heart and Diabetes Protection, and Anti-Cancer Effects

The next nutrient in the news is turmeric, which is no surprise as there are so many research studies that show it has powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and antioxidant properties. Last year, a study by Penn State researchers revealed that an antioxidant-rich spice blend made of turmeric, rosemary, oregano, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, garlic powder and paprika could reduce your insulin levels by 21 percent, and your triglycerides by 31 percent when added to a meal.^x

Separate research has shown that turmeric and its active compound curcumin reduced blood sugar in diabetic rates, leading to less insulin sensitivity and lowered oxidative stress.^xi

Continue Reading At: Mercola.com

38 Natural Alternatives for HIV

via: GreenMedInfo
by: Pat Robinson
July 11, 2012

Fortunately, natural substances are being researched for their therapeutic value for our immune health. “Superbugs” develop due to repeated, frequent and multiple different antibiotic prescriptions. Plant products have historically been consumed and utilized for their anti-microbial and holistic benefits. Here are 38 natural substances which indicate potential benefit for people with HIV.

1. Whey protein concentrate supplementation can stimulate glutathione synthesis and, possibly, decrease the occurence of associated co-infections.
2. Curcumin is an effective treatment for HIV-associated diarrhea.
3. A polyphenol and antioxidant rich fruit and vegetable concentrate has therapeutic value in HIV patients due to enhanced proliferation, which could restore disturbances in T-cell homeostasis.
4. Neem leaf extract safely increases CD4 cell levels in patients with HIV/AIDS.
5. Selenium supplementation suppresses the progression of HIV-1 viral burden and improves CD4 count.
6. Cinnamomum zeylanicum has therapeutic activity in HIV-associated oral candidiasis.
7. Elderberry, green tea and cinnamon extracts rich in certain flavonoid compounds were shown to block HIV-1 entry and infection.
8. Licorice contains the compound glycyrrhizin which has significantly inhibits HIV replicationin the peripheral blood mononuclear cells from HIV-seropositive patients.
9. Sumac (Rhus chinensis) contains compounds with anti-HIV activity.
10. Lactoferrin (from milk) may inhibit HIV virus infection in children.
11. The use of Alternanthera pungens herb tea by HIV-infected patients may lead to significant increase T lymphocytes and decrease in biomarkers of oxidative stress, and might help in theprevention of the opportunist diseases.
12. Plasma antioxidant capacity can be increased by long-term ingestion of polyphenols fromfruit juices or fruit-vegetable-concentrate in HIV-seropositive patients.
13. American ginseng reduces oxidative stress in patients taking the antiviral medication zidovudine without altering drug pharmacokinetics.
14. Korean ginseng improves treatment outcomes in HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy.
15. Glycyrrhiza uralensis (TCM herb) improves immune function in HIV-infected patients.
16. Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) has therapeutic activity as an ajunct to HIV/AIDS management.

Continue Reading At: GreenMedInfo.com

Why The Law Forbids The Medicinal Use of Natural Substances

via: GreenMedInfo
by: Sayer Ji
February 26th, 2012

According to the FDA’s legal definition, a drug is anything that “diagnoses, cures, mitigates, treats, or prevents a disease.”

The problem with this definition is that there are numerous substances, as readily available and benign as found on our spice racks, which have been proven by countless millennia of human experience to mitigate, prevent and in some cases cure disease, and which cannot be called drugs according to the FDA.

How can this be? Well, the FDA has assumed for itself Godlike power, requiring that its official approval be obtained before any substance can legally be used in the prevention and treatment of disease.

The FDA’s legal-regulatory control therefore is totalitarian and Napoleonic in construct; what it does not explicitly permit as a medicine is implicitly forbidden.

Historically the FDA has required new drugs undergo expensive and elaborate multi-phased clinical trials, which are out of the grasp of any ordinary interest who might want to demonstrate the efficacy of a non-patentable (and therefore unprofitable) herb, food or spice.

The average out-of-pocket cost for obtaining a new drug approval is US$ 802 million dollars,[1] and therefore an investor putting capital into bringing to market a substance that does not lend itself to market exclusivity and therefore cannot produce a return on investment, is committing economic suicide, if not also breaking the law. The investor actually has a legally-binding fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders to make a profit. And therefore, capital will not flow into any would-be commodity that can be produced or obtained with ease, including most things that grow freely on this Earth.

It is an interesting footnote in history that shortly after the Declaration of Independence, Congress declared that natural substances, e.g. water or salt, were God’s gift to mankind and that therefore products of nature should be limited in their patent protection. While this was a noble declaration, it has actually been used against those whose rights it would protect. It has forced private interests to synthetically alter natural substances — for instance the burgeoning biotech field of recombinant DNA technology, i.e. genetically modified organisms (GMOs) — for the sole reason that it guarantees them ownership/patent rights.

In fact, a medical system that legally requires it make a profit threatens to destroy and/or incriminate itself if non-patented, non-profitable natural substances or therapies are employed. It also results in so much collateral damage to those it purports to serve that it could rightly be called a modern form of human sacrifice.

As a result, instead of choosing prospective medicines logically: because they work, are easily accessible, and safe, billions of dollars flow in the exact opposite direction, capitalizing only those substances which are unnatural, and therefore while proprietary are almost invariably unsafe, and whose access and administration can be intensively controlled.

Has The Attempt To Co-opt Medicine Through the Drug-Based Model Undone Itself?

And yet, there is a silver lining to the story. Due to the fact that our bodies are ultimately constructed from the natural things (food, air and water), and obey very strict natural laws such as the well-known principle of chirality (handedness) – the fact that all amino acids in our body turn a beam of polarized light in the left-handed direction (L-lysine) and sugars to the right-handed direction (D-ribose)– one cannot simply create biologically active, synthetic drugs arbitrarily, as a mistake in handedness (or similar property) could be fatal. Nature, therefore, still provides an elegant biomolecular architecture of irreproducible intelligence and complexity, from which synthetic analogs are modeled and/or derivatives are spun.

As a result, billions of dollars of drug industry and government money (i.e. tax payer money) flow into finding lead compounds for drug development.  Nature is put on the rack, if you will, and her secrets teased from her through innumerable animal and test tube experiments, in order to find compounds that can then be converted into synthetic, patented drugs.

Inadvertently, some of the very same companies and interests which require that natural substances not receive the same drug-approval status as synthetic ones, are funding research that prove basic vitamins, foods and spices are as effective or more effective – and usually much safer – than the drugs  they are developing to replace or supplant them.

This means that tens of thousands of studies do exist showing that natural substances may prevent and/or treat disease, at least in the in vitro (test tube) and animal models. These results often confirm traditional uses in Ayurvedic, Chinese and other traditional systems of medicine, and therefore may be compelling enough for individuals or healthcare practitioners to use the information to inform their treatment decisions.

The Case For Curcumin In the Prevention and Treatment of Disease

The government biomedical and life sciences database known as Medline contains over 21 million published study citations, and is accessible to search through engines such as Pubmed.gov.  2.6 million of them contain reference to cancer.  115,000 of them remain after applying the “Complementary Medicine” filter.   There are 2,625 topics on cancer which can be found indexed on the GreenMedInfo.com database, referencing 612 natural substances of potential value.

Turmeric, and particularly its polyphenolic constituent known as curcumin, which gives the spice its golden hue, is one of the most extensively studied natural compounds of all time, with 4588 references to it on the National Library of Medicine’s bibliographic database known as Medline [as of 2.25.2012]. And yet, despite having been shown to have therapeutic value in over 500 disease states in animal and in vitro studies, it still has not been the subject of extensive human clinical research – for the reasons stated above.

GreenMedInfo.com, an open source natural medicine database, has indexed curcumin’s anti-cancer properties in over 50 cancers, with the top 10 most cancers researched in association with curcumin listed below.

Cancer	Number of Articles
Breast Cancer	58
Colorectal Cancer	23
Colon Cancer	51
Prostate Cancer	42
Pancreatic Cancer	24
Cancers: Drug Resistant	40
Lung Cancer	37
Liver Cancer	27
Cancer Metastasis	32
Skin Cancer	15

Sources: http://www.greenmedinfo.com/substance/curcumin

As one can see curcumin holds great promise. It has been repeatedly demonstrated to possess simultaneously both chemoprotective/chemosensitizing and radioprotective/radiosensitizing properties, meaning it is capable of reducing the adverse effects on healthy cells caused by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as enhance the cancer-killing properties of these conventional therapies. It also has an exceptionally high margin of safety, at least an order of magnitude greater than commonly used conventional chemotherapy agents such as 5-fluoruracil.[2] Given these facts curcumin, at the very least, should be considered an ideal candidate for use as an adjuvant in integrative cancer care, and perhaps as a first-line treatment alternative to conventional chemo-agents.

For additional information on the remarkable research supporting the use of Turmeric and Curcumin in medicine, watch the video below.  Join our Facebook research page on Turmeric for updates: Turmeric – What The Research Reveals

Source: GreenMedInfo.com

6 Bodily Tissues That Can Be Regenerated Through Nutrition

via: GreenMedInfo
by: Sayer Ji
June 29, 2012

It may come as a surprise to some, especially those with conventional medical training, but the default state of the body is one of ceaseless regeneration.  Without the flame-like process of continual cell turnover within the body – life and death ceaselessly intertwined – the miracle of the human body would not exist.

In times of illness, however, regenerative processes are overcome by degenerative ones. This is where medicine may perform its most noble feat, nudging the body back into balance with foods, herbs, nutrients, healing energies, i.e. healing intention. Today, however, drug-based medicine invariably uses chemicals that have not one iota of regenerative potential; to the contrary, they almost always interfere with bodily self-renewal in order to suppress the symptoms against which they are applied.

Despite the outright heretical nature of things which stimulate healing and regeneration vis-à-vis the conventional medical system which frowns upon, or is incredulous towards, spontaneous remission in favor of symptom suppression and disease management, over the course of the past few years of trolling MEDLINE we have collected a series of remarkable studies on the topic…

Nerve Regeneration – There are actually a broad range of natural compounds with proven nerve-regenerative effects. A 2010 study published in the journal Rejuvenation Research, for instance, found a combination of blueberry, green tea and carnosine have neuritogenic (i.e. promoting neuronal regeneration) and stem-cell regenerative effects in an animal model of neurodegenerative disease. [1] Other researched neuritogenic substances include:

1. Curcumin
2. Lion’s Mane Mushroom
3. Apigenin (compound in vegetables like celery)
4. Blueberry
5. Ginseng
6. Huperzine
7. Natto
8. Red Sage
9. Resveratrol
10. Royal Jelly
11. Theanine
12. Ashwaganda
13. Coffee (trigonelline)

There is another class of nerve-healing substances, known as remyelinating compounds, which stimulate the repair of the protective sheath around the axon of the neurons known as myelin, and which is often damaged in neurological injury and/or dysfunction, especially autoimmune and vaccine-induced demyelination disorders.  It should also be noted that even music and falling in love have been studied for possibly stimulating neurogenesis, regeneration and/or repair of neurons, indicating that regenerative medicine does not necessary require the ingestion of anything; rather, a wide range of therapeutic actions may be employed to improve health and well-being, as well.

Continue Reading At: GreenMedInfo.com 

This Indian spice packs a powerful anti-cancer punch

via: NaturalNews
Friday, March 11, 2011
by: John Phillip

[NaturalNews] Known as a staple in the Indian diet, turmeric and its powerful derivative compound curcumin have rapidly gained attention as a potent antioxidant compound that is used to prevent and treat many forms of cancer. Curcumin is taking its rightful place among a small handful of agents that fight cancer at the genetic level by inhibiting ten critical initiation steps necessary for development and progression of the disease. The spice has demonstrated efficacy in more than 240 peer reviewed research studies over the past year alone. Scientists continue to provide conclusive evidence that indicates most health-minded adults should include the spice as part of their regular diet.

Cancer is known to develop through ten independent causative factors including DNA damage, chronic inflammation, cellular signaling dysfunction, abnormal cell death and metastasis. As if designed by nature to provide a protective shield against each of the factors known to promote cancer, curcumin has been shown to inhibit and halt the expression of genes that allow cancer cells to multiply.

Publishing in the AAPS Journal, researchers found that curcumin is an inexpensive natural compound that fights cancer at its root cause by derailing the initiation phase of ten different pathways used by the disease to multiply and spread throughout the body. Curcumin has also been shown to interfere with the production of advanced glycation end products, which promote the accumulation of dangerous inflammatory byproducts that lead to cancerous mutations.

The FEBS Journal reports that curcumin is particularly effective in targeting hormone-dependent forms of the disease such as breast cancer. The study found that curcumin is able to induce apoptosis (normal programmed cell death) in the most resistant breast cancer cells that lack estrogen receptors. The spice targets only cancerous cells causing them to self-destruct by destroying the mitochondria that power the rapidly growing tumor tissue.

Curcumin is a potent agent in the fight against colon cancer, an insidious form of the disease that ranks second among cancer deaths and takes the lives of more than 50,000 Americans each year. The Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research provides evidence that curcumin slows the progression from colon polyp to cancerous growth by damping the pro-inflammatory cytokine called NF-kB. This action halts the development of cancer cells before they can become detectable tumors.

An extensive library of research underscores the importance of curcumin as an anti-cancer agent. As the second leading cause of death, cancer will affect 1 in 3 women and half of all men during their lifetime. Any natural compound that can help to lower these statistics should be embraced by traditional and alternative medical institutions alike. Nutritionists recommend supplementing with 250 to 400 mg of curcumin twice daily with meals to provide optimal cancer protection.

Article References:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19590964
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20646066
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jir.2010.0051

Source: NaturalNews.com

How Turmeric and Curcumin are Excellent at Preventing Chronic Disease

TheRedPillGuide
June 21, 2012
Editor’s Note

Upon realizing through serendipitous circumstances some time ago what type of benefits Turmeric & Curcumin could showcase, we opted to infuse this food/supplement into our daily diet about three months ago, albeit in supplement form.

The main reason for its implementation for myself personally were for its anti-inflammatory properties due to a debilitating disease that has plagued my health for the better part of 15 years.  Am constantly researching for what type of supplements & foods can offer strong anti-inflammatory properties and Turmeric and Curcumin has been one of them.  It has done great in keeping my chronic medical condition in remission.

Just thought that it would be important to share this tidbit as a preface, since just like myself, there are probably many individuals out there searching for alternatives to the many costly medications that entail a slew of dangerous side effects at times.

Always keep in mind, make sure to carry out your research and always remember to take your health & life into your own hands.

————————————————————————————————-

via: NaturaSociety
Lisa Garber
June 21, 2012

Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer—that’s quite a lot to expect of a humble root of the ginger family. Like ginger, turmeric and curcumin (the powdered and supplement form, respectively, of the Curcuma longa plant) play center stage in millenia-old Asian medicine and cuisine. It wasn’t until 1949, however, that the West studied its scientific properties. In the magazine Nature, authors E. Schraufstatter and H. Bernt reported on the root’s ability to fight strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella paratyphi, Trichophyton gypseum, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and our curiosity hasn’t been sated since. Research always shows how turmeric can be especially effective at preventing chronic disease.

Treating and Preventing Chronic Disease with Turmeric

You might have caught Dr. David B. Agus on The Daily Show earlier this year. In his book, The End of Illness, he summarizes that low-grade inflammation is the root of most diseases, from heart disease to diabetes, Alzheimer’s to arthritis, cancer to allergies and acne. Turmeric—as you’ll see in the following research—therefore seems like a worthy ally in the fight against illness and disease, can can be used for preventing chronic disease.

• Preliminary experimental research at the Medical University Graz in Austria shows how curcumin can protect the liver and delay liver damage that might otherwise lead to cirrhosis.

• Kansas State University research finds a 40 percent reduction in heterocyclic amines—carcinogenic compounds formed when meats are barbecued, boiled, or fried—with the addition of certain spices, like turmeric.

• Curcumin may inhibit melanoma and slow the spread of breast cancer into the lungs according to rodent studies at the University of Texas.

• With the rate of Alzheimer’s disease in India being less than a quarter of that of the U.S., many epidemiologists hypothesize that turmeric—a staple for curry—has something to do with it.

• An Italian study with 50 osteoarthritis patients found that after 90 days, 58% of those taking curcumin reported less pain and stiffness compared to control groups. Additionally, researchers determined a 300% improvement in mood and a 16-fold decrease in C-reactive protein (inflammation marker) in the curcumin group.

Using Turmeric and Curcumin

Dr. Andrew Weil (founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine), and other experts say that plants are usually better than drugs for overall health and preventing chronic disease, excepting extreme cases. With this in mind, you can incorporate a moderate amount of turmeric into your diet right in the kitchen. (And no, you don’t have to eat curry every day.)

• Brew turmeric tea by bringing four cups of water to boil and adding one teaspoon of ground turmeric. Strain after 10 minutes and add honey or lemon to taste.

• Sprinkle turmeric over deviled eggs or add to egg salad for a more complex taste and pretty yellow hue.

• Like lentils? Add turmeric to almost any lentil recipe. The same goes for cauliflower.

• The next time you’re preparing a party dip, mix turmeric with dried onion, omega-3-rich mayonnaise, garlic, salt, and pepper. Serve with raw vegetables and spread the word about turmeric’s ability to conquer chronic disease!

Source: NaturalSociety.com

Curcumin Outperforms Pharmaceuticals and Prevents Disease Without Side Effects

Preventdisease
March 21, 2012

Adding to the wealth of research confirming that high antioxidant spices protect the body and prevent disease more effectively than drug based treatments, a Michigan State University researcher has found that curcumin, a compound found in the spice turmeric, is proving effective at preventing clumping of a protein involved in Parkinson’s disease.

One of the most comprehensive summaries of a review of 700 turmeric studies to date was published by the respected ethnobotanist James A. Duke, Phd. He showed that turmeric appears to outperform many pharmaceuticals in its effects against several chronic, debilitating diseases, and does so with virtually no adverse side effects.

Alzheimer’s 
Duke found more than 50 studies on turmeric’s effects in addressing Alzheimer’s disease. The reports indicate that extracts of turmeric contain a number of natural agents that block the formation of beta-amyloid, the substance responsible for the plaques that slowly obstruct cerebral function in Alzheimer’s disease.

Arthritis 
Turmeric contains more than two dozen anti-inflammatory compounds, including sixdifferent COX-2-inhibitors (the COX-2 enzyme promotes pain, swelling and inflammation; inhibitors selectively block that enzyme). By itself, writes Duke, curcumin – the component in turmeric most often cited for its healthful effects – is a multifaceted anti-inflammatory agent, and studies of the efficacy of curcumin have demonstrated positive changes in arthritic symptoms.

Cancer
Duke found more than 200 citations for turmeric and cancer and more than 700 for curcumin and cancer. He noted that in the handbookPhytochemicals: Mechanisms of Action, curcumin and/or turmeric were effective in animal models in prevention and/or treatment of colon cancer, mammary cancer, prostate cancer, murine hepato-carcinogenesis (liver cancer in rats), esophageal cancer, and oral cancer. Duke said that the effectiveness of the herb against these cancers compared favorably with that reported for pharmaceuticals. 

Weight Loss
Dietary curcumin can stall the spread of fat-tissue by inhibiting new blood vessel growth, called angiogenesis, which is necessary to build fat tissue. Curcumin-treated groups have been found to have less blood vessel growth in fat tissue. Blood glucose, triglyceride, fatty acid, cholesterol and liver fat levels also were lower.

Parkinson’s
A team of researchers has now demonstratedthat slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins are the cause of clumping, or aggregation, which is the first step of diseases such as Parkinson’s. A new study led by Ahmad, which appears in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, shows that curcumin can help prevent clumping.

“Our research shows that curcumin can rescue proteins from aggregation, the first steps of many debilitating diseases,” said Lisa Lapidus, MSU associate professor of physics and astronomy who co-authored the paper with Ahmad. “More specifically, curcumin binds strongly to alpha-synuclein and prevents aggregation at body temperatures.”

When curcumin attaches to alpha-synuclein it not only stops clumping, but it also raises the protein’s folding or reconfiguration rate. By bumping up the speed, curcumin moves the protein out of a dangerous speed zone allowing it to avoid clumping with other proteins.

- Only 1 percent of the elderly in India develop Alzheimer’s disease – this is one-quarter the rate of Alzheimer’s development in North America. This difference is thought to be due in part to regular consumption of curry in India.
- Daily intake of curcumin may decrease the risk of developing polyps in the colon, which in turn, decreases the risk of developing colorectal cancer.
- Regular consumption of turmeric may help to ease pain and inflammation that accompanies arthritis.
- Curcumin may be helpful in the treatment of some cases of cystic fibrosis.
- Curcumin can help to effectively treat skin cancer cells.
- Turmeric may help to prevent the spread of breast cancer cells.

The medicinal properties of tumeric are so significant that the National Institutes of Health is currently conducting clinical trials to determine if turmeric (curcumin) should be a part of conventional treatment recommendations for more than a dozen different diseases.

In Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric is thought to have many medicinal properties and many in India use it as a readily available antiseptic for cuts, burns and bruises. It is also used as an antibacterial agent.

Simply put, tumeric is one power spice that every person should have in their spice rack to add flavour to your favorite dish, but most of all prevent disease and advance your long term health.

Marco Torres is a research specialist, writer and consumer advocate for healthy lifestyles. He holds degrees in Public Health and Environmental Science and is a professional speaker on topics such as disease prevention, environmental toxins and health policy.

Source: Preventdisease.com

 

Curcumin is a potent tool in the war against prostate cancer and dementia

Natural News
Monday, February 27, 2012
By: John Phillip

[NaturalNews] Curcumin, the active anti-inflammatory compound found in the Indian spice tumeric, has gained an impressive reputation in the fight against many deadly forms of cancer. New evidence released in the journal Cancer Research finds that the natural phenol can slow prostate tumor growth by blocking receptors used to propagate cell tissue growth.

Additional research published in the journal PLoS Onee xplains the precise mechanism exerted by curcumin molecules to target the amyloid fibrils associated with the unnatural progression of protein-like plaque tangles that are characteristic in Alzheimer’s disease patients. Adding curry spice to your healthy diet or supplementing daily with a standardized curcumin capsule will help win your individual war against cancerous proliferation and Alzheimer’s dementia.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of the disease, with more than 250,000 diagnoses in the US each year. Any natural compound that targets the proliferation of prostate cancer cells would provide a significant remedy compared with the allopathic methods of radiation, surgery and chemical agents. To conduct the study, researchers subjected prostate cancer cells to hormone deprivation in the presence and absence of curcumin with ‘physiologically attainable’ doses.

Curcumin blocks prostate cell receptors to thwart cancer progression

The researchers found that curcumin blocked two genetic receptors necessary for prostate cancer advancement. These receptors have been shown is past studies to predict cancer incidence and rate of growth of existing tumors. They noted that the spice extract was “a potent inhibitor of both cell cycle and survival in prostate cancer cells.”

The lead study author, Dr. Karen Knudsen and her team found that other cancer cell lines multiply by a similar receptor mechanism and may also be inhibited by the curry compound. She commented that curcumin “also has implications beyond prostate cancer… in other malignancies, like breast cancer. In tumors where these play an important function, curcumin may prove to be a promising therapeutic agent.”

In a separate research body, scientists found that curcumin prolongs life and enhances activity of brain neurons, acting as a neuroprotective shield against Alzheimer’s disease advancement. The research team determined that curcumin acted to prevent the damaging accumulation of amyloid fibrils around the nerve synapse. Amyloid tangles are known to prevent normal electrical and chemical transmissions required to form memories and maintain cognition.

Scientific research models continue to extol the virtues of natural spice and herbal extracts such as curcumin to help prevent and treat many deadly diseases that kill countless millions each year. Incorporate curry spices as part of your healthy diet or include a daily supplement (250 mg to 500 mg standardized curcumin extract) to significantly lower cancer risk and support healthy brain function.

Source: NaturalNews.com