Turmeric, an Indian spice often called as the “golden spice of life” is one of the most widely used spice all over the world. Turmeric comes with a lot of uses starting from its use in food, cosmetics and medicines.
Turmeric, botanically called Curcuma longa contains an antioxidant called Curcumin which has been clinically proven to show anti-cancer effects. A few recent clinical studies have revealed that Turmeric can prevent and slow down the growth of a number of types of cancerous cells, mainly the tumors of esophagus, mouth, intestines, stomach, ovaries, lungs, breast, and skin.
Curcumin is said to help in fighting cancer mainly because of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-stimulating benefits. Another reason as to why Curcumin is directly linked to treating cancer is that it stimulates ‘Apoptosis’ (programmed cell death/cell suicide) which helps to get rid of the cancer breeding cells without posing a threat to the development of other healthy cells. Recent findings show that Curcumin decreases inflammation. It also hinders the transformation of cells from normal to tumor. It also helps to destroy transmuted cancer cells thereby preventing them from spreading throughout.
Advance research still needs to be done whether or not it would work the same on humans as turmeric can only be incorporated into one’s diet in small amounts which otherwise would result in causing nausea and/or diarrhea.
Cancer being the second leading cause of death throughout the world has no cure as of yet. However, Curcumin has emerged as a potent cancer-preventing agent that helps in fighting cancer. Though numerous investigations and clinical tests prove that turmeric can help in fighting cancer, further clinical experiments are on to investigate the role of curcumin in cancer treatment. However, it is clear that curcumin, a component of turmeric, exhibits anticancer and other health benefits which is also very cost-effective.
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