Curcumin for Prostate Cancer Protection

Julian Whitaker, MD

More than two million American men diagnosed with prostate cancer are alive today. But this says less about the value of conventional treatment than it does about the disease itself. Prostate cancer is generally slow growing and has a long latency period—two characteristics that make it a perfect candidate for curcumin.

New research shows that curcumin, an extract of the spice turmeric, strikes at prostate cancer on multiple fronts. Curcumin has antiproliferative actions, likely due to its ability to block angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels that are necessary for tumor growth. Prostate cancer progression is also frequently dependent on testosterone, and curcumin reduces cancer cells’ ability to respond to testosterone. Curcumin further interferes with the spread of cancer cells by regulating the body’s inflammatory responses and promoting tumor cell death (apoptosis). So wide-ranging are its anticancer effects that the researchers concluded, “Curcumin appears thus as a nontoxic alternative for prostate cancer prevention, treatment or co-treatment.”

Recommendation

• I recommend every man diagnosed with or at risk for prostate cancer take 4–8 grams daily, or three capsules of a curcumin liposome product such as Meriva two to three times a day.

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