More on CURCUMIN
Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Carcinogenic Anti-Oxidant

Curcumin is the main part of the Indian spice Turmeric.  Turmeric is a member of the same family as ginger.  Turmeric has been used in ancient Indian and Chinese medicine for centuries.  It is a traditional remedy for jaundice, digestive problems, and has been used to protect the stomach and to relieve nausea. 

Curcumin has received increased scientific interest.  In 2005 nearly 300 scientific papers referenced curcumin in the National Library of Medicine's PubMed database.  

Recent studies have found conclusively that the healing properties of curcumin include:
  • Anti-oxidant properties - neutralizes free radicals - stronger than vitamin E
  • Lowers cholesterol - blood thinning
  • Anti-inflammatory - stronger than Hydrocortisone
  • Anti-bacterial
  • Anti-carcinogenic
  • Strengthens the liver
Curcumin has many desirable attributes. As an anti-carcinogenic, curcumin targets many biological pathways simultaneously.  This property makes it difficult for malignant cells to develop resistance to it. The cancer cells would have to go through several mutations before developing resistance to curcumin. Curcumin specifically blocks the NF Kappa B pathway, inhibiting replication and spread of various types of cancer cells. Curcumin has been used at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center as an adjunctive therapy for pancreatic cancer and multiple myeloma.  It is now being tried on colon cancer as well.

Curcumin has been shown to be effective against an array of inflammatory diseases in animals, including:  pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, colitis, gastritis, and allergies.

In humans, healing effects of curcumin have been seen in patients with diabetes, autoimmune disorders and cardiovascular diseases.  (from: B. Aggarwal,  "Curcumin: The Indian Solid Gold") Aggarwal author goes on to state that he suggests cancer patients work themselves up to a daily dose of 8 grams of curcumin a day. Most pharmaceuticals are measured out in milligrams.

"...the low presence of curcumin in the blood - and the corresponding need to elevate the amount consumed if the substance does indeed fight disease - is a challenge that will continue to nag curcumin researchers. Because curcumin is absorbed poorly from the gut into the bloodstream and is also broken down in the body rapidly, a patient consuming 8 grams would probably end up with a concentration in blood plasma no higher than 2.o Nml. It could be elevated if researchers develop various means of increasing the concentration of curcumin in the bloodstream.
 
"Spice Healer - Curcumin shows promise for treating Alzheimer's, Cancer and Other Diseases," Gary Stix, Scientific American  January 14, 2007

Drug companies have been working to isolate the active ingredients in curcumin which trigger its specific therapeutic results. So far they been unsuccessful. Isolating these ingredients would enable formulators to synthesize and patent these curcumin-derived drugs products. 

"Curcumin is medically promising because inflammation and oxidative damage are contributors to so many diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, arthritis and various cancers, said Gregory Cole, a professor of medicine and neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has conducted numerous studies on the spice.

Some clues as to turmeric’s clout come from observing patterns of illness among people. For example, scientists have long noted that Indians have much lower rates of certain cancers than their American counterparts. That led researchers to wonder whether diet plays a role — and, more specifically, turmeric.

Mouse studies at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have shown that the spice blocks growth of a skin cancer, melanoma, and inhibits the spread of breast cancer into the lungs. One 2004 study with mice showed that adding curcumin to Taxol, or paclitaxel, a commonly prescribed chemotherapy for breast cancer, enhances the drug’s effect, making the therapy less toxic and just as powerful.

Such studies have triggered two human clinical trials. One is testing the ability of curcumin tablets to help patients with pancreatic cancer, which kills 30,000 people a year. (Only 50 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer will live longer than six months.) Fifty patients will receive 8 grams of curcumin daily and researchers will evaluate their six-month survival rate.

A second, more preliminary. clinical trial is examining a safe and active dose of curcumin in patients with multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of the bone marrow. If the trials pan out, curcumin may have an added advantage: Unlike most cancer therapies, it appears to have no toxic side effects.

'The active component of turmeric turns out to be the best blocker yet of a natural chemical called TNF, or Tumor Necrosis Factor, which contributes to cancers and arthritis and is resistant to chemotherapy drugs,' said Bharat B. Aggarwal, professor of cancer medicine in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, who has studied the spice for a decade."

"Curry Flavor"
H.E. MacGregor
Los Angeles Times  March 8, 2008


A study is now underway at the University of California, LA in conjunction with the Veteran's Administration to test whether curcumin can prevent the buildup of amyloid plaques that burden the brains of Alzheimer's patients.  Once these studies are complete, the experimenters have announced their intentions to come up with formulations of curcumin that would enhance its bio-availability.  We address the issue of the bio-availablity of curcumin today.

Our Single-Nutrient Liposomal Curcumin has minute particle-sized molecules of curcumin encapsulated in phosphatidyl-choline phospholipid liposomes. A one teaspoon dose contains 250 mg of curcumin.  To achieve the levels of curcumin necessary to address cancer using conventional supplements, you would need to consume 15,000 mg of curcumin a day.  Using our Liposomal Curcumin, you would only need to take 1,200 mg, about 5 teaspoons a day. 

With the preponderance of evidence showing the benefits of curcumin, we feel that any person truly concerned about their health should consider curcumin as a part of their daily supplemental regime.

We offer Curcumin in 2 of our Liposomal Formulas:

Besides the CURCUMIN Single Nutrient Formula, curcumin is an ingredient in our Liposomal CAN-HELP Complex:

Normal dosage is one tablespoon, which contains:

500 mg Curcumin

Normal dosage is 1 ounce (2 tablespoons), which contains:

   100 mg Curcumin
3,333 mg Vitamin C
   100 mg CoQ10
   100 mg Glutathione
   100 mg Resveratrol
   100 mg Vitamin B1 
   100 mg Vitamin B6
   100 mcg Vitamin B12
       5 mcg Folic Acid

Although CAN-HELP has been formulated to offer anti-cancer nutritional support for cancer patients, this is an excellent anti-oxidant formula that can be used by anyone at a reduced dosage for general nutritional support.

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