Turmeric and cancer

Why can turmeric help with cancer? The effectiveness of turmeric is considered proven by many scientists, whether it is breast cancer, leukemia or skin cancer. Curcumin develops various properties that cause the body to react more strongly to pathogens or inhibit the growth of cancer cells and metastases.

Several factors are important for its effectiveness against existing tumors. In order for a tumour to increase in size, it needs certain transcription factors. Once these no longer exist, further growth is not possible for the time being. The required transcription factors are responsible for providing the genes that are used to divide the cells.

However, turmeric is able to silence the transcription factors, which prevents the tumor cells from duplicating. Curcumin also helps to strengthen the membranes of healthy cells. Strengthened cell membranes are regarded as less susceptible to pathogens.

Curcumin molecules enter the lipid layer, which increases the stability of the lipid layer. While healthy cells become firmer and stronger, experiments have shown that cancer cells lose stability instead.

How much Turmeric a day

According to the monograph of the European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy (ESCOP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), a daily dose of up to 3 g of turmeric powder from the dried root stock is recommended.