Support Your DNA Health With Turmeric
Al Sears, MD, CNS – If you ask a traditional doctor how you can prevent cancer, you’ll hear misguided advice like stay out of the sun, eat a low-fat diet and pay attention to your family’s medical history…
Western medicine still questions the healing and preventative power of medicinal spices like turmeric.
But multiple peer-reviewed scientific studies from around the world reveal that curcumin — the chemical compound in turmeric — can target 10 separate factors that can lead to cancer.
You’d have a good shot at preventing cancer by just eliminating one factor…
But when you can eliminate 10 of them, you have provided yourself with significant anticancer protection.
Today, the bulk of research on this miracle root centers on cancer. In fact, of the thousands of papers published on curcumin, almost 40% focus on cancer.
A recent study published in the journal Anticancer Research showed that curcumin targets cancer mother cells — the young malignant cells that grow into tumors — but leaves healthy stem cells untouched.1
Studies have shown that curcumin also helps:2
- Regulate tumor suppressor pathways and starves tumors of vital blood supply
- Trigger programmed cell death in breast cancer cells
- Target destruction of cancer-cell mitochondria while leaving healthy cells alone
- Halt replication of cancerous cells
- Block molecules to prevent tumors from growing and spreading
- Prevent DNA damage
More studies show that curcumin strikes at multiple targets in prostate cancer, interfering with the spread of cancer cells and regulating inflammatory responses through NF-kB, the master regulator.3,4
I recommend a curcumin supplement that contains piperine, a black pepper extract that supercharges curcumin’s absorbency.
Turmeric Iced Tea
But this time of year, I like making turmeric iced tea using the fresh root I’ve harvested from my garden. This is the recipe I use:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups water
- 1 inch fresh turmeric root, peeled and thinly sliced
- ½ tsp. freshly chopped ginger
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- Lemon wedges
Directions:
- Boil water in a small pan, then add the first four ingredients.
- Lower heat to medium low, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Strain into larges glasses, add ice, honey and lemon.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. Sordillo PP and Helson L. “Curcumin and cancer stem cells: Curcumin has asymmetrical effects on cancer and normal stem cells.” Anticancer Research. 2015;35:599-614.
2. Wang K, et al. “Synergistic chemopreventive effects of curcumin and berberine on human breast cancer cells through induction of apoptosis and autophagic cell death.” Sci Rep. 2016;6:26054.
3. Schmidt KT and Figg WD. “The potential role of curcumin in prostate cancer: The importance of optimizing pharmacokinetics in clinical studies.” Transl Cancer Res. 2016;5(Suppl 6):S1107-S1110.
4. Ibid.
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