Cancer arouses more fear in the human heart than any other disease. The dread is well placed, even though cancer is not the #1 killer in the Western world.
Every year, more than 1.5 million people are diagnosed with cancer, not including skin cancers, which are by far the most common cancers. Skin cancers afflict 2 million more people every year.
Each year, 569,000 of us will die of cancer.
Lung, colon, prostate and breast cancers kill more Americans than any other forms.
While most of us think that cancer is an inherited disease, science shows us that fewer than 2% of all cancer is related to genetics (broken or mutated genes). That means 98% of cancer is caused by something else.
Epigenetics: We can control our lives
That “something else” has opened a whole new science called epigenetics, meaning literally “above genetics.”
The good news is that we have far more control over our epigenetics than genetics.
Renowned scientist Ajay Goel, Ph.D., of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Laboratory at the Baylor Research Institute at Dallas, is at the forefront of epigenetic research.
He explains a complex science in simple terms: “Everything we do from the day we are born, everything we eat, drink and are exposed to in our environment has an indirect but strong influence on our genetics. As we age and grow, it is very natural that some of the genes tend to get turned off as a consequence of our eating habits, exercise regimens and exposure to toxic environmental stresses. Doing the right thing in this regard can help us keep our genes healthy.”
So, when we don’t eat correctly or exercise and are exposed to toxins, damage to genes takes place and disease occurs.
“Fortunately, unlike genetic defects, epigenetic alterations have a unique characteristic: These changes are reversible,” says Dr. Goel.
“In other words, although we can do nothing if we are born with a defective gene, it is certainly within our reach to keep our genomes healthy and we can even reverse some of the epigenetic changes by eating right and with regular consumption of health-promoting natural dietary botanicals and herbals,” he explains.
Curcumin is an important part of the cancer picture
“Every cell in our bodies has a finite life span,” says Dr. Goel. “We have genes in our bodies that govern this natural process of cell death. But sometimes those genes go into a deep slumber, allowing cells to continue to live and reproduce long beyond their time, creating cancerous tumors.”
Among many ways curcumin addresses cancerous cells, it has been scientifically proven to actually “wake up” those sleeping genes, telling cancer cells it is time to die and stopping the growth of cancerous tumors.
Dr. Goel and his team have produced groundbreaking research that promises to change the way we think about cancer and how it is treated—and curcumin certainly has a strong role in this change.
The staid and highly respected MD Anderson Cancer Center expressed uncharacteristic enthusiasm about curcumin’s anti-cancer properties in a 2003 statement by researchers published in the journal Anticancer Research:
“Extensive research over the last 50 years has indicated it can prevent and treat cancer . . . Curcumin can suppress tumor initiation, promotion and metastasis.”
Let’s take a look at the large body of research that proves curcumin’s effectiveness at preventing and fighting cancer:
Blocks carcinogenic substances: We’re all exposed to carcinogens on a daily basis from auto exhaust, air pollution, food packaging, pesticides and a broad spectrum of substances with which we cannot avoid contact. Curcumin apparently blocks those carcinogens, preventing them from causing the cellular damage that ultimately results in cancer.
Stops invasion: Cancer cells invade normal tissue with the help of certain enzymes called matrix metalloproteinase. Curcumin slows or stops the activity of this enzyme, helping halt the spread of cancerous cells.
Cuts off tumor blood supply: Invasive tumors are fed by their own specially developed network of blood vessels through a process called angiogenesis. Curcumin slows the ability of these tumors to create their blood supply, eventually starving and killing the abnormal clusters of cells.
Convinces cancerous cells to die: As Dr. Goel points out, “sleeping genes” interfere with the cancer cells’ natural life and death cycle called apoptosis. Cancer cells quite literally turn off the signal that it is time to die. Curcumin actually turns on that signal, telling the cancer cells to die, so the tumors eventually die, too. Dr. Goel is currently engaged in more research on the sleeping gene mechanism.
Stops cell mutations: Cells that divide and reproduce imperfectly can mutate into cancerous cells. Curcumin can slow or stop those mutations. There is a study under way at Baylor University comparing the anti-cancer properties of synthetic curcumin, the more bioavailable BCM-95 formulation of curcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin (a single curcuminoid) and curcumin bound to lecithin to determine which form is most effective in controlling cancer cells.
As a final word, even the famed Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is on the curcumin bandwagon, endorsing an anti-cancer cocktail mixed with another known cancer preventive, green tea.
While the scientific evidence in favor of curcumin for many diseases is impressive, the quality of proof that curcumin prevents and treats a wide variety of cancer is truly exceptional.
Cancer prevention alone should be a sufficient incentive to include curcumin in your daily supplement regimen.
