A Pinch of Ginger Root a Day May Keep Cancer Away

Chicken soup or orange juice may or may not help battle a cold, but natural remedies can be a cheap way to prevent disease. A new study may add ginger root as a natural way to help prevent colon cancer.

A new study showed that ginger root reduced the level of inflammation in certain patients. In previous studies, colon inflammation has been considered a symptom leading to colon cancer.

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Researchers examined 30 healthy patients over the course of 28 days; one group of patients received two grams of ginger root per day, while the other group was given a placebo. After 28 days, the group that was given ginger root had decreased levels of inflammation.

When the colon, or any part of the body, is inflamed it releases certain inflammatory proteins. High levels of these proteins lead to severe inflammation.

Ginger root was shown to reduce the level of some of these proteins and on its way to reduce another set of proteins linked with inflammation. If ginger root could reduce inflammation, it may also help battle colon cancer, researchers suggest.

Further studies are needed to examine how ginger root could help prevent cancer. This would include testing that follows similar standards as clinical trials.

Questions regarding the biological effects of ginger root and how these mechanisms may result in cancer prevention need to be answered before it can be recommended as a natural supplement.

This study was published in the October 2011 edition of Cancer Prevention Research.