Turmeric (Curcuma longa is a rhizome closely related to ginger. It’s a popular spice in Indian cuisine, and its yellow pigment, curcumin, gives curry blends their golden yellow color. A new review of curcumin in the journal Life Sciences demonstrates its powerful medicinal potential.

According to the review, curcumin, a powerful antioxidant, helps reduce the risk of cancer in three ways: It’s anti-mutagenic(it suppresses tumor formation); it’s antimetastatic (it helps prevent tumors from spreading); and it’s anti-angiogenic (it helps prevent tumors from coasing the body to create new blood vessels to feed them).

As a powerful antioxidant, curcumin reduces the concentration of free radicals in the blook stream, helping to prevent and reverse the cell damage caused by these highly reactive oxygen ions. Cell damage caused by free radicals is the root cause of heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and many cancers. Curcumin has a host of other health benefits, as well. Many studies show that it also provides anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-biotic action. As a natural COX-2 inhibitor (COX-2s are enzymes responsible for inflammation), curcumin has anti-inflammatory properties. You may recall the hoopla some years ago when COX-2 drugs, such as Vioxx, were introduced. They were hyped as potent anti-inflammatories for arthritis and inflammation-induced pain, but without causing the stomach-upset associated with other drugs, the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs). Then it turned out that the COX-2 drugs increased risk of heart attach and stroke, and Vioxx was withdrawn. While not as potent as Vioxx, curcumin has never been shown to have side effects. In fact, instead of incrasing the risk of heart attack and stroke, it reduces it.