Today I was reading about turmeric, because it’s something I never uses it for the cooking. But it seems like best remedy for anti-cancer effects or cure.
Turmeric, a kitchen spice that comes from India and Southeast Asia, is often used by traditional healers because it can help address inflammation, regulate blood sugar and fight infections. But turmeric’s benefits go beyond these traditional uses. According to ongoing research, the spice’s...
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Turmeric, a kitchen spice that comes from India and Southeast Asia, is often used by traditional healers because it can help address inflammation, regulate blood sugar and fight infections.
But turmeric’s benefits go beyond these traditional uses. According to ongoing research, the spice’s active ingredient, curcumin, can be used to prevent cancer.
Many studies have shown that turmeric has anti-cancer effects and that it can help reduce the number and size of tumors.
According to a study conducted by researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Peking University and Zhejiang University, turmeric can target aggressive and lethal forms of cancer and leave noncancerous cells unharmed.
The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
For the study, the researchers used biochemical, mouse cancer and cellular models to verify that curcumin can efficiently inhibit an enzyme known as dual-specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase 2 (DYRK2).
The research team used state-of-the-art X-ray crystallography to obtain 3D images showing curcumin can bind to DYRK2. This is important because DYRK2 inhibition impairs the activity of proteasomes, or protein complexes, linked to the development of cancer.
The researchers reported that suppressing proteasome activity in cancer cells interferes with proliferation, which helps reduce tumors and slows the growth of cancer.
Curcumin targets weakness of aggressive, hard-to-treat cancers
Certain cancers, such as multiple myeloma and triple-negative breast cancer, are classified as “proteasome-addicted.” This means these cancers are dependent on proteasome complexes.
Impairing the activity of proteasomes helps inhibit tumor development, and researchers think that this very dependency could be the weakness of aggressive and hard-to-treat cancers. While pharmaceutical proteasome inhibitors have already been developed and approved, they have a significant disadvantage: These medications tend to damage noncancerous cells.
To address this issue, researchers have tried to focus on inhibiting proteasome activity indirectly by identifying and manipulating proteasome regulators. Their search for suitable agents led them to turmeric and its active component curcumin.
Curcumin depletes DYRK2 and suppresses proteasome activity with very little damage to surrounding healthy cells. Curcumin works by boosting the cancer-fighting effects of pharmaceutical proteasome inhibitors, suggesting that smaller dosages and fewer side effects may be possible.
When used with carfilzomib, curcumin helped boost apoptosis, or cancer cell death, and caused minimal harm to healthy cells. Carfilzomib is an FDA-approved proteasome inhibitor used to treat multiple myeloma.
Aside from impairing the DYRK2 enzyme and inhibiting proteasome activity, curcumin also offers an impressive variety of pathways through which it can fight cancer:
One of the best ways to prevent and treat cancer is through diet. Here are the top 12 cancer-fighting foods, as well as recipes for cancer-fighting foods.
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5. Fresh Herbs and Spices
Turmeric, which contains the active ingredient curcumin, is one of the most powerful ingredients in an anti-cancer diet because it’s been shown to decrease tumor size and fight colon and breast cancer. Along with easy-to-use black pepper, turmeric absorption is enhanced and better able to fight inflammation. Aim for one teaspoon of turmeric powder and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper or more daily, which can easily be used in a tonic drink, with eggs or in a veggie stir fry. You can also take curcumin supplements; aim for 1,000 milligrams daily.
