COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers have
designed a urine test that can simultaneously measure the extent of a potential
carcinogenic process and a marker of garlic consumption in humans.
In a small pilot study, the test
suggested that the more garlic people consumed, the lower the levels of the
potential carcinogenic process were.
The research is all about body
processes associated with nitrogen-containing compounds, scientists say. These
processes include nitrosation, or the conversion of some substances found in
foods or contaminated water into carcinogens.
“What we were after was developing a
method where we could measure in urine two different compounds, one related to
the risk for cancer, and the other, which indicates the extent of consumption
of garlic,” said Earl Harrison,
Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Human Nutrition at Ohio State, an
investigator in Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, and senior author of the study.
Ultimately, the scientists hope to
find that a nutritional intervention could be a way to stop the process that
develops these carcinogens. This process is most commonly initiated by exposure
to substances called nitrates from certain processed meats or high-heat food
preparation practices, or to water contaminated by industry or agricultural
runoff.
Vegetables also contain nitrates,
but previous research has suggested that the vitamin C in vegetables lowers the
risk that those nitrates will convert to something toxic. Researchers suspected
that nutrients in garlic could have similar antioxidant effects as vitamin C.
The study is published in a recent
issue of the journal Analytical
Biochemistry.
Ginger May Have Cancer-Fighting Qualities
Oct. 11, 2011 -- Ginger supplements
appear to lower some indicators of inflammation in the colon, a new
study shows.
The study, published in Cancer
Prevention Research, is an early step toward finding out whether compounds
found in ginger root might prevent colon cancer.
"Many studies in cell culture
have shown that ginger is an anti-inflammatory," says study researcher
Suzanna M. Zick, ND, a research assistant professor at the University of
Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor.
Other studies in mice and rats have
shown that ginger may help prevent the formation of tumors when it's fed to the
animals exposed to a chemical that causes colon cancer.
Zick and her team wanted to see
whether those findings might translate to humans.
Testing the Effects of
Ginger on the Colon
For the study, researchers randomly
assigned 30 healthy adults to take capsules containing either 2 grams of
powered ginger root or a placebo powder every day for four weeks.
"It's equivalent to about 2
tablespoons of ground-up ginger root," Zick says. "It's probably not
what an average American would want to do every day. But certainly in India and
China and Japan, they eat that amount on a daily basis," she says, noting
that those countries have lower rates of colorectal cancer.
But Asian diets may be protective
for other reasons, too. Asian diets tend to include more vegetables and fiber
and less red meat, for example.
"It probably all contributes
together," she says.
People in the study were asked to
take the capsules at mealtimes. They weren't allowed to use any other kind of
medications, including aspirin or
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
immediately before or during the study, because those are known to have
anti-inflammatory effects.
Ginger Fights
Inflammation Many Ways.
• First,
ginger helps to regulate some very important neurotransmitters that are
responsible for regulating inflammation. Medications that also alter these
neurotransmitters include aspirin, ibuprofen, Celebrex and many others.
Surprisingly, it’s been only since the early 1970s that researchers finally
unlocked the mystery how aspirin actually works to reduce pain and
inflammation.
• Second,
fresh ginger is one of nature’s most potent sources of protein-digesting
enzymes. Many factors, including aging, illness, and infections can decrease
our ability to digest foods properly. This allows undigested food proteins to
enter our bloodstream, producing allergic reactions in some people and
inflammatory reactions in other parts of our body. Eating a slice of fresh
ginger with a meal helps to break down these food proteins for us. Confucius,
who composed many wise sayings, was known to eat a slice of fresh ginger with
every meal.
Scintillating cinnamon
Cinnamon is one of the most ancient spices, and if it is not the most popular, it soon may be.
City of Hope scientists found that a cinnamon extract interfered with a protein that helps tumors establish a blood supply, which is critical to keep them growing. Now, our team is pursuing additional studies on the spice that may choke the life out of cancer.
Turmeric prevents cancer
Medicinal property of turmeric is known by everyone and have been used in house holds and pharmaceuticals for preparing many drugs. Wide range of research proved that Turmeric have cancer preventing properties. This is also used in various other medicine which include drugs for inflammation-fighting compounds called curcuminoids. It also helps in curing diseases like Alzheimer’s, arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Turmeric is also used skin and beauty products.Spices like Garlic. Ginger, Cinnamon, Turmeric and Cayenne pepper are some of the spices we use in our day to day life. But how many of us know that they are also cancer fighting spices. One of most important factor in rising of cancer cases are our changing life style. Smoking, pollution, tobacco chewing and ultra violet rays due to depleting ozone adds to the causes of cancer. So apart from maintaining a healthy life style, there are some spices which you can take regularly to prevent cancer.
Cayenne Pepper prevents cancer
