The curry spice turmeric could help prevent and
                 possibly even cure cancer. 

                 Also found in yellow mustard, turmeric contains
                 an ingredient called curcumin that researchers
                 from the University of Texas MD Anderson
                 Cancer Center in Houston say may help suppress
                 and destroy the blood cancer multiple myeloma.
                 Curcumin is what gives mustard and turmeric
                 their yellow color.

                 In the laboratory, the researchers added curcumin to human cells
                 infected with multiple myeloma. The result: The curcumin stopped
                 those cells from replicating, and the cells that were left died,
                 reports Reuters.

                 Even though the study did not actually test curcumin in cancer
                 patients, lead researcher Dr. Bharat B. Aggarwal is so impressed
                 with these early lab results that he recommends cancer patients eat
                 food seasoned with turmeric. And with good reason. Previous
                 research has shown that curcumin may fight other types of cancers
                 besides multiple myeloma. It has also been shown to have
                 antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that can heal wounds
                 and possibly fight Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. Best
                 of all, curcumin has no known side effects in human beings--even in
                 large amounts. The study findings were published in the journal
                 Blood.

                 A study last year from Kumamoto University in Kumamoto, Japan,
                 that was published in the journal Cancer also found that curcumin
                 prevented cancer and stopped tumors from growing. Reuters
                 reports that the Japanese researchers determined that curcumin
                 inhibited the production of interleukin-8 (IL-8), a protein that
                 attracts white blood cells to a particular site and leads to
                 inflammation. The compound also reduced the activity of nuclear
                 factor kappa-B (NF-kappaB), a molecule that helps regulate the
                 gene that produces IL-8. 

                 What does that mean? Tumor cells secrete high levels of IL-8,
                 which is a protein that causes inflammation. The exact role IL-8
                 plays in cancer growth is still unclear, but previous research shows
                 it may stimulate tumor cells to produce at the same time it
                 suppresses the immune system. But the compound in
                 turmeric--curcumin--curbs IL-8. If the spice actually does what the
                 study findings suggest, then "curcumin is capable of working as a
                 potent agent that reduces tumor promotion," the researchers
                 concluded.

                 In yet another study, researchers from the University of Rochester
                 Medical Center in Rochester, N.Y., found that curcumin helped
                 protect the skin of cancer patients who were undergoing radiation
                 therapy. A common and painful side effect of radiation is burns and
                 blisters. Mice who were given three doses of curcumin for five to
                 seven days a week along with a dose of radiation had minimal skin
                 damage caused by the radiation. In addition, curcumin was found to
                 suppress the development of new cells in tumors, which furthers
                 the effectiveness of radiation therapy, reports Health Newswire. 

                 There's only one problem with what could be Mother Nature's
                 miracle cure for cancer, and you won't believe what it is: Greed. To
                 learn more about turmeric's cancer-fighting properties, including
                 the proper dosage, requires large medical experiments with a great
                 number of patients. Such ventures are costly and are typically
                 financed by drug companies eyeing future product development.
                 However, in this case, the "drug" is a natural compound. Aggarwal
                 explained to Reuters that no drug company can reap the financial
                 benefits if turmeric proves to be an effective anti-cancer drug so
                 no drug company is likely to pay the big bucks needed for the
                 medical studies.

                                                    --Cathryn Conroy