Yet another turmeric article

If you're not already adding turmeric to your diet, this article might convince you to start. I've included a few excerpts from the latest study.
***
Curcumin, a component of turmeric, has been shown to be non-toxic, to have antioxidant activity, and to inhibit such mediators of inflammation as NFκB, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), lipooxygenase (LOX), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Significant preventive and/or curative effects have been observed in experimental animal models of a number of diseases, including arteriosclerosis, cancer, diabetes, respiratory, hepatic, pancreatic, intestinal and gastric diseases, neurodegenerative and eye diseases. Conclusions: Turmeric, an approved food additive, or its component curcumin, has shown surprisingly beneficial effects in experimental studies of acute and chronic diseases characterized by an exaggerated inflammatory reaction. There is ample evidence to support its clinical use, both as a prevention and a treatment. Several natural substances have greater antioxidant effects than conventional vitamins, including various polyphenols, flavonoids and curcumenoids. Natural substances are worth further exploration both experimentally and clinically. (Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition 30:45-51, 2006)

The cost of medication is a large and growing part of health expenditure. This is one of many reasons why inexpensive alternatives to standard pharmaceuticals for prevention and treatment of disease, methods which have been successfully practiced for centuries in countries such as India and China, are increasingly attractive. Agents with the documented ability to boost resistance and decrease vulnerability to disease, often referred to as chemopreventive agents, will have an important role to play. These substances are not only inexpensive, they are also easily available and have limited or no toxicity. Among these chemopreventive agents are a series of phenolic and other compounds believed to reduce aging and prevent degenerative malfunctions of organs: isothiocyanates in cruciferous vegetables, epigallocatechin-3- gallate (EGCG) in green tea, caffeic acid in coffee, capsaicin in hot chili peppers, chalcones in apples, euginol in cloves, gallic acid in rhubarb, hisperitin in citrus fruits, naringenin in citrus fruits, kaempferol in white cabbage, myricetin in berries, quercetin in apples and onions, resveratrol and other procyanidin dimers in red wine, and various curcumenoids found in turmeric curry.

Curcumin (CU): A Promising Tool

Interest in polyphenols, and especially in CU as a chemoproctive agent, has dramatically increased in recent years. CU, the most explored of the curcumenoids, has received increasing interest in recent years. The majority of studies reported thus far are experimental and few clinical studies have been published. This review is intended to provide a comprehensive description of the experimental and clinical effects of treatment with CU.

Cancer. Cancer is a group of > 100 different diseases, which manifest themselves in uncontrolled cellular reproduction, tissue invasion1, and distant metastases. Behind the development of these diseases is often exposure to carcinogens, which produce genetic damage and irreversible mutations if not repaired. During the last 50 years, attempts have been made to find or produce substances that could prevent these processes, so-called chemopreventive agents. Cancers are generally less frequent in the developing world, associated both with less exposure to environmental carcinogens and a richer supply of natural chemopreventive agents. The incidence per 100,000 population in the USA is considerably higher than in India for the following diseases: prostatic cancer (23 times), melanoma of the skin (male 14 times, female 9 times), colorectal cancer (male 11 times, female 10 times), endometrial cancer (9 times), lung cancer (male 7 times, female 17 times), bladder cancer (male 7 times, female 8 times), breast cancer (5 times), and renal cancer (male 9 times, female 12 times). These differences are even greater when compared with China for some diseases, such as breast cancer and prostatic cancer. Consumption of saturated fat and sugary foods is much less common in the Asian countries, but equally important, consumption of plants with high content of chemopreventive substances is significantly higher in these countries. As an example, the consumption of CU has for centuries been about 100 mg/ d in these Asian countries. CU induces in vitro apoptosis of various tumor cell lines: breast cancer cells, lung cancer cells, human melanoma cells, human myeloma cells, human leukemia cell lines, human neuroblastoma cells, oral cancer cells, and prostatic cancer cells. CU also inhibits intrahepatic metastases in experimental models.

Source: American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
http://jpen.aspenjournals.org/

See also:
http://myelomic.blogspot.com/2005/09/yet-another-curcumin-article.html
http://myelomic.blogspot.com/2005/08/curcumin-blocks-melanoma-and-myeloma.html