By: Valerie Rosenbaum
Studies concerning curcumin and breast cancer treatment have only been conducted using animal models or test tubes. They are considered “preliminary”. Apparently, there is not enough evidence to suggest a need for clinical trials (using human volunteers) or perhaps it has to do with the effectiveness of currently available treatments.
Many types of cancer are difficult to treat. The treatments that are currently offered may have a low success rate, cause numerous unwanted side effects or even cause other cancers to form. Other diseases are difficult to treat, as well, which is why researchers are looking at less conventional, but possibly more effective compounds that are present in the natural world.
This is not that unusual. One of the drugs currently used to reduce unhealthy cholesterol levels is a naturally occurring substance found in red yeast rice, a species of mold. Other drugs are simply synthetic versions of naturally occurring substances. So, we have looked to nature in the past to provide treatments for disease. There’s no reason that we would not continue to do so.
While there are no trials currently underway concerning curcumin and breast cancer treatment, there are ongoing trials concerning its effect in treating pancreatic, colon and other types of cancer, as well as a separate trial concerning Alzheimer’s. The cancers that are being studied are difficult to treat and have a low survival rate.
The mean life expectancy of a person that has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s is currently seven years. There is no effective treatment. But curcumin, from turmeric, has been shown to prevent brain damage in animal models and even repair some of the damage that has already occurred. That’s why clinical studies were swiftly initiated. This is a disease that we must learn how to treat.
Much of the focus has been on prevention and early detection. Healthy diet is recommended, along with physical activity and regular checkups. Those are the things that the mainstream medical community will recommend, because they are “conventional”. Less conventional, but possibly more beneficial is the idea of striving for optimal nutritional intake.
It is an established fact that long-term nutrient deficiencies play a role in many disorders and diseases. We may have all but eliminated acute nutritional deficiencies in industrialized societies, but little attention has been paid to chronic, nutrient deficits.
Recommended daily nutrient intakes are based upon observing populations and looking at the amount that is needed to prevent outright diseases. No one knows exactly how much of any nutrient an individual may need every day. But, one thing is certain. The typical diet does not provide enough essential nutrients to achieve optimal good health.
New studies are published on a regular basis, concerning the value of specific nutrients and other dietary components for preventing chronic and life threatening diseases. Some of the recent ones concerned vitamin D, calcium, caffeine, tea catechins, red wine and resveratrol. Their benefits are to the heart, the brain and to all of the cells of the body, as a cancerous cell can form anywhere.
Researchers may eventually get around to studying curcumin and breast cancer treatment or prevention. Until then, find a good multi-nutritional supplement and take it on a daily basis.
Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
About Valerie Rosenbaum
Valerie Rosenbaum has spent several years researching every anti aging supplement available. As a result of that effort she has found that it is critical to include an enteric coating for an anti aging supplement to be truly effective. Learn more about what she discovered at her website NaturalBalanceSupplements.com
by: Rusty Ford
Wow, as a two time survivor of cancer I found it amazing that I might be able to eat my self free of cancer. Well, that is an over statement but new research is showing that Curcumin to have strong cancer fighting properties. Curcumin also called turmeric is the compound that gives curry its yellow tint. Curcumin has long been known for its antioxidant properties and is being studied now for it benefits in treating several different diseases. Cancer researchers have taken an interest in Curcumin because many countries with curry-rich cuisines have lower cancer rates than Western countries have.
Researchers from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center found Curcumin, blocks a key biological pathway needed for development of melanoma and other cancers. The study was published in the August 15, 2005 issue of the American Cancer Society journal “Cancer”. The study tested varying doses of Curcumin on three melanoma cell lines. It showed that Curcumin stops laboratory strains of melanoma from proliferating and induced apoptosis (programmed cell suicide). The results were the same for high concentrations of Curcumin over short periods of time and smaller doses over longer periods of time.
In a study published in 2002 in “Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention”, researcher gave three groups of mice different amounts of Curcumin extract for 15 weeks. The results showed that the group of mice given the largest amount of Curcumin found a reduction of 40 percent in benign tumors that were caused the same gene that causes mot types of colon cancer. A similar study was published in “The Prostate” in 2001. Again three groups of mice were used. All three were injected with human prostate cancer cells. One group was a placebo group that received no treatment. One group was given Curcumin when injected with the cancer cells. The other group was given Curcumin two weeks after the cancer injection. After 6 weeks the tumors in the two groups give Curcumin were to percent smaller than in the placebo groups.
A study on Curcumin and breast cancer was published in Cancer Research, Vol. 62, July 1, 2002, pp. 3868-75. This study found that the use of Curcumin was as effective in preventing the spread of breast cancer as Taxol in laboratory mice. In the study mice were induced with breast cancer then the tumors were removed such as with a mastectomy in humans. Then the mice were divided into 4 groups. One was a placebo group, one received Curcumin, one received Taxol, and the other Curcumin and Taxol. After 5 weeks the study showed that half the mice in the Curcumin group had the cancer spread to the lungs. Only 22 percent of those in the Curcumin plus Taxol group had seen the cancer spread. 75 percent of the Taxol only group saw the cancer spread. The placebo group saw 95 percent of the mice had the cancer spread to the lungs. These were amazing results.
Human studies are just beginning. But the early signs are that the simple safe spice may offer a safe way of preventing cancer and may also be a great way of aiding in the treatment of Cancer.
It should be noted that a culture study showed that Curcumin reduced the effects of several chemo drugs used for treating cancer.
Rusty Ford
http://my-local-news.com
About the Author:
Rusty Ford is the editory of http://arthritis-symptom.com and the health editor for http://My-Local-News.com.
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