TURMERIC HELPS CURE BREAST CANCER
Indian food has been directy linked to preventin of Breast Cancer,Turmeric, the spice that gives manycurries a yellor colour, helps halt the spread of Breast cancer,according a new research. Researchers,including Indian doctor Bharat Aggarwal,found that curcumin, themain ingredient of turmeric, appeared to stop tumors spreading to other parts of the body. It proved particularly effective when combined with an existing chemotheraphy drug. Researchers described their findings as “exciting”and said they hoped patients would be able to benefit from the discovery within a few years. Scients took 60 mice with breast cancer and, after removing the tumors,gave some curcumin and others a normal,drug-free diet. The rest were given a common chemotheraphy drug called TAxol, or a combination of curcumin and Taxol. The team found that 96 per cent of those on a normal diet withno medication developed tumors in the lungs that were visible without a mic-roscope. By contrast, none of those given curcumin and TAxol developed clearly visible tumors. Even when examined under a microscope,only 28 per cent of the mice given a combination of curcumin and Taxol shoed signs that the cancer had spread. Mice given only curcumin also saw a “significant reducitn” in the number of the visible lung tumors.
Scientists think that the spice helps shut down a protein that plays a key role in the spread of cancers. Dr.Aggarawal, a professor of cancer medicine, said: ‘We are excited about the results of the study and the possible implicatins for taking the findings into the clinic in the next several years.” It is not the first time scientists have gound that curriescan be good for health. Curcumin, a member of the giner family, is already widely used in Indian and Chinese medicine for a range of ailments from rheumantism to abdominal pain. Studies have suggested that turmeric can help to slow prostate cancer.
IN 204, researchers said curcumin, which gives curries a mustard-yellow colour,could help protect the brain against the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Ths could explain why rates of Alzheimer’s are far lower in India than in the West. Other curry spices linked health benefits include coriander which aids digestion, and fenugreek, which can help prevent mouth ulcers and sore throats.