Cancer is not a disease that can be ignored today. It’s such a widespread disease and the treatments for the cancers are not the easiest ones to go through. Although the cancer treatments are able to cure cancers to some extent, they are not safe in several ways. The easiest thing that we can do against cancer is to prevent them from occurring. How? The lesser-known fact is that our planet already has some natural agents to fight against cancer. Some of them are not only able to fight against the cancer cells, but can even kill them. At the same time, a few of these agents taste good. In this article, we are going to speak about a few spices with the cancer-fighting ability here. So, continue reading…
- Turmeric:
Yes, this is not an uncommon spice in Indian kitchens. Every home will have this. So, what’s special about turmeric? The specialty comes because of its constituent, which is called “Curcumin”. This is nothing but a cancer-fighting polyphenol. Several clinical studies have shown that curcumin has the ability to inhibit the growth of different forms of cancers. Examples of the forms of cancers that can be inhibited by turmeric are:
- Bone Cancer
- Breast Cancer
- Brain Tumors
- Colon Cancer
- Liver Cancer
- Pancreatic Cancer
- Stomach Cancer
- Bladder Cancer
- Kidney Cancer
- Prostate Cancer
- Leukemia
- Ovarian Cancer
- Melanoma
No, don’t think the list is over! Literally, curcumin has more abilities than this. The most important thing about this constituent of turmeric is that it has the ability to inhibit cancer development at any stage. So, the person who has cancer at cell mutation stage can be saved and the person who has cancer at metastasis can also be saved. The way it works is by stimulating the programmed cell death of the cancer cells without doing any harm to the normal cells. So, if you have turmeric in your kitchens, just feel lucky and move on!
- Garlic:
This again is not a new spice for the Indians. Several population studies that have been conducted in various parts of the world have shown that there is a link between the increased consumption of garlic and the decreased risk of some forms of cancers. Researchers strongly say that the increased intake of this spice can prevent the risks of the following forms of cancers:
- Colon cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Breast cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Esophageal cancer
With the phytochemical allicin, the garlic triggers the synthesis of cancer-fighting enzymes. Thus, your garlic could block the formation, as well as halt the activation of cancer-causing substances. In addition to these important actions, garlic could also improve DNA repair and slow down cell production. Moreover, like turmeric, it could also induce apoptosis, thereby, inhibiting the cancer growth and killing the cancer cells.
- Ginger:
For centuries, ginger has been accommodating our Indian kitchens. But, do you know ginger has cancer-fighting properties? A research study that was conducted on tumor-bearing mice has shown that the ginger can kill some kinds of cancerous cells. As such, our ginger has the ability to fight cancer in two ways.
Firstly, ginger has the ability to make the cancer cells to commit suicide by the process called apoptosis. This way, the cancer-causing cells will destroy themselves when at the same time leaving the surrounding normal cells untouched. In addition, the anti-inflammatory properties of ginger would help prevent precancerous cells from multiplying. It also would prevent ideal climates for cancer growth. Secondly, the ginger will fight cancer through the process called “autophagy”. In this, it would actually trick the cancerous cells to eat each other. No matter whether you are using it in fresh or dried forms, it will be useful. Nowadays, ginger is often found to be used in chemotherapy too.
- Cinnamon:
Cinnamon, which is occupying Chinese medicine for centuries, is known to treat several health issues. Yes, this is not uncommon in Indian cuisine too. Besides forming a valuable addition to coffee, cinnamon has the ability to protect against Type-2 diabetes and heart diseases. Not only this, this wonderful spice that is got from tree bark has shown abilities to inhibit the growth, as well as the spread of various forms cancers. The tests that were performed in laboratory cell cultures showed that cinnamon can be able to inhibit the growth and spread of the following types of cancers:
- Melanoma
- Lymphoma
- Colorectal cancer
- Cervical cancer
Also, in some other studies involving various mice models bearing melanoma, the extract of cinnamon that was orally administered was able to inhibit the tumor growth to significant levels. Furthermore, cinnamon extract has also shown some strong positive results in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
In addition to all these, cinnamon has some excellent antioxidant properties and is able to provide protection against oxidative damage caused by free radicals. So, cinnamon is not only a tasty addition to your dishes and beverages, it has some strong properties against cancer too. So, make it regular to use cinnamon in your cooking.
- Cayenne Pepper:
Cayenne pepper, which is yet another common spice found in our kitchens, contains “capsaicin – cancer preventative agent”. Although it’s true that your cayenne pepper can cause heartburn when used in large quantities, a little sprinkled on your foods could do magic! And, we would say this small quantity that is consumed every day is good enough to cause the health benefits.
There is some proven evidence to show this. In several clinical studies that were conducted in various parts of the world, the secondary metabolite compound (capsaicin) has shown to cause apoptosis of different types of cancer cells. In addition to these actions, the cayenne pepper as such is found to be protecting our body against carcinogenic chemicals.
In a recent research study, this spice has shown its ability to slow down the growth of prostate cancer cells and has the capacity to even destroy them. In specific, the cayenne pepper is being studied with regards to skin cancer, which is the second most common type of cancer today. Let’s hope for the best!