Colon cancer may have met its match in this natural dynamic duo
You might call this pair the Batman and Robin in the fight against colon cancer!
This deadly cancer hits seniors the hardest, with around 70 percent of the cases being in those over 65. And not much, aside from telling us to get screened, is known about how to really prevent it.
As for treating it, we’re talking about surgery and likely chemo and radiation.
So when Saint Louis University researchers discovered how two easy-to-find compounds, one an herb and the other a spice, can give colon cancer cells the one-two punch, it’s certainly big news.
And while scientists continue to study the pair, there’s no reason not to incorporate more of these cancer fighters into your diet right now!
Researchers at Saint Louis University may have made the most promising discovery yet in how to prevent and treat colon cancer.
First, they took curcumin — that’s the active ingredient in the spice turmeric — and exposed colon cancer cells in the laboratory to it.
Then, those same cancer cells were given the knockout punch with silymarin. That funny-sounding ingredient is derived from the herb milk thistle, which has been used for ages to treat liver disorders.
The lead researcher of the study, which was published in The Journal of Cancer, said that combining the two substances “inhibited colon cancer cells from multiplying and spreading.” But…when the scientists pre-exposed the cancer cells to curcumin, and then treated them with silymarin, those malignant cells started dying off in droves!
Each one of these compounds is amazing enough on its own. But together, it looks like they’re superheroes!
Now, as an eAlert reader, you know that I’ve been telling you some remarkable things about turmeric and curcumin over the years. In fact, there have been over 3,000 studies proving its amazing antibacterial, antiviral, and heart-protecting benefits.
And as for cancer prevention, this spring, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Pondicherry University (in India) found that curcumin can, in laboratory studies, prevent and cure colon cancer!
Those researchers reported how the compound caused only the cancer cells to self-destruct, leaving normal cells intact.
Can you imagine if one of Big Pharma’s drugs could do something like that? Why, it would probably cost a thousand dollars a dose!
And for silymarin, I told you over 15 years ago that researchers discovered it to be a powerful killer of colon, skin, breast and prostate cancers. I think the real question here isn’t whether these compounds fight cancer, but why we’re not hearing more about all these remarkable findings?
I mean, here we have two amazing cancer fighters showing miraculous results in studies that go back decades, and yet we’re told that a non-surgical preventative, or dare I say a cure, for colon cancer is still not even on the horizon.
Unfortunately, the promising research I’ve been telling you about typically ends up in a Big Pharma laboratory where researchers try to turn it into a prescription drug. But as I told you over a decade ago, there’s good reason to believe that milk thistle products already available as supplements are potent enough to fight cancer.
And it’s certainly easy enough to get more turmeric in your diet. Why not take a leaf from those in India (where they just happen to have some of the lowest rates of colon cancer!), and start incorporating more of the spice into your cooking. Even the researchers recommended that!
And turmeric is also easily available to take as a supplement.
The only caveats are that silymarin may increase the potency of certain cancer drugs. So if you’re taking any chemotherapy meds, check with your doctor before starting up on any milk thistle supplements.
And turmeric can act as a blood thinner. So if you’re currently on an Rx drug to thin your blood, you should avoid it.
Sources:
“Plant compounds give ‘1-2’ punch to colon cancer” Saint Louis University, July 22, 2016, ScienceDaily, sciencedaily.com
