Turmeric is a Cancer Fighting Powerhouse

• How to Use Turmeric
• Other Potential Health Benefits

Turmeric is a versatile herb, containing over 300 beneficial compounds. It has a long history in both traditional medicine — especially in preventing and treating various cancers. ^(ii.29, 30)

Decades of modern medical research suggest that turmeric and its compounds could help fight cancer on multiple fronts: ^(ii.30-34)

Curcuminoids (or curcumin for short) are the pigment compounds that give turmeric powder its golden yellow color. They are also the most extensively studied for their health benefits, including against cancer. ^(ii.29, 31)

Types of Cancer Turmeric Compounds Could Help Prevent or Treat

• Bladder cancer ^(ii.35)
• Blood cancers (e.g., leukemia, lymphoma, MGUS, myeloma) ^(ii.36-39)
• Brain cancer ^(ii.40)
• Breast cancer ^(ii.41, 42)
• Cervical cancer ^(ii.43)
• Colon cancer ^(ii.44, 45)
• Head and neck cancers ^(ii.46)
• Kidney cancer ^(ii.47)
• Liver cancer ^(ii.48, 49)
• Lung cancer ^(ii.50)
• Oral cancer ^(ii.51)
• Ovarian cancer ^(ii.52)
• Pancreatic cancer ^(ii.53)
• Prostate cancer ^(ii.54, 55)
• Sarcoma ^(ii.56)
• Skin cancer ^(ii.57)
• Stomach (gastric) cancer ^(ii.58)

How to Use Turmeric

Turmeric is a common, and widely used, spice in many ethnic foods — especially in recipes from Southeast Asian countries (such as India). So can adding turmeric to your diet reduce your risk of cancer? ^(ii.59)

Cancer is a complex disease that many factors contribute to — including environmental toxins, genetics, lifestyle, and diet. Despite arguably greater exposure to carcinogens, people in countries where turmeric is heavily consumed have far lower rates of several different types of cancer. These include lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. ^{(ii.29, 30, 59, 60)}

Oral Turmeric Supplements

Studies also suggest that oral supplements of curcumin may help prevent the progression of cancer in some people. By itself, curcumin supplements have prevented the development of cervical cancer from precancerous cells. Results of animal and clinical studies suggest that oral doses of turmeric, turmeric oil, and its curcumin compounds could improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy in a number of different cancers, including: ^{(ii.43, 61-63)}

• Advanced, metastatic breast cancer (combined with docetaxel)
• Colon cancer (improved survival)
• Gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic cancer

Topical turmeric may help prevent skin cancer, according to preclinical studies. Curcumin supplements and topical creams that contain turmeric can relieve side effects of conventional radiation cancer treatments. In a clinical trial, gargling with turmeric mouthwash helped delay and reduce the severity of painful oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer. ^(ii.64-67)

Other Potential Health Benefits of Turmeric

Turmeric contains over 300 compounds. Research suggests many of them have multiple health benefits, and likely contribute to turmeric's beneficial health effects in many diseases and conditions. These include: ^{(ii.50, 68, 69)}

• Antibiotic
• Antifungal
• Antioxidant
• Antimicrobial
• Antivenom
• Antiviral
• Anti-inflammatory
• Immune-boosting

Turmeric's health promoting properties not only may help prevent and treat cancer, they could also help with many of the most common diseases people face today. These include diabetes, heart disease, and antibiotic resistant infections. ^{(ii.41, 43, 70)}