Posted on 01/11/2007 12:49:25 PM PST by aculeus
I believe that the anti-cancer ingredient is cumin (found in both Mexican and Indian foods), not hot peppers.
You can add pepper filled Chinese food to your diet and vary your diet between TexMex, MexMex, and Chinese Pepper!
Bon Appetite'!
Are you buying your habanero's as seedlings, or planting them from seed yourself? I ask because I live in DeKalb, IL and would love to know a good IL supplier for seedling habaneros to plant. I've never had much luck when starting my own from seeds.
NFP
NFP
Could be. But cumin and peppers are plants while capsicum (standard American spelling) is a chemical compound which seems to be the stuff that's tested.
I buy the plants at Wal-Mart $2 each. I live in Pekin, the season is just not long enough to start them from seeds.
Now I go to the doctor to be pepper-sprayed?
NFP
If you follow the link, you can order them online. Not too expensive and once you have a batch, you can keep your own seeds and burn your tongue for free!
Understood -- bu look at this:
Chemopreventive effects of Cuminum cyminum in chemically induced forestomach and uterine cervix tumors in murine model systems.
* Gagandeep,
* Dhanalakshmi S,
* Mendiz E,
* Rao AR,
* Kale RK.
Radiation and Cancer Biology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-110067, India.
Lately, a strong correlation has been established between diet and cancer. For ages, cumin has been a part of the diet. It is a popular spice regularly used as a flavoring agent in a number of ethnic cousins.
In the present study, cancer chemopreventive potentials of different doses of a cumin seed-mixed diet were evaluated against benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P]-induced forestomach tumorigenesis and 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA)-induced uterine cervix tumorigenesis.
Results showed a significant inhibition of stomach tumor burden (tumors per mouse) by cumin. Tumor burden was 7.33 +/- 2.10 in the B(a)P-treated control group, whereas it reduced to 3.10 +/- 0.57 (P < 0.001) by a 2.5% dose and 3.11 +/- 0.60 (P <0.001) by a 5% dose of cumin seeds. Cervical carcinoma incidence, compared with the MCA-treated control group (66.67%), reduced to 27.27% (P < 0.05) by a diet of 5% cumin seeds and to 12.50% (P < 0.05) by a diet of 7.5% cumin seeds.
The effect of 2.5 and 5% cumin seed-mixed diets was also examined on carcinogen/xenobiotic metabolizing phase I and phase II enzymes, antioxidant enzymes, glutathione content, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and lipid peroxidation in the liver of Swiss albino mice. Levels of cytochrome P-450 (cyt P-450) and cytochrome b5 (cyt b(5)) were significantly augmented (P < 0.05) by the 2.5% dose of cumin seed diet. The levels of cyt P-450 reductase and cyt b(5) reductase were increased (significance level being from P < 0.05 to P < 0.01) by both doses of cumin. Among the phase II enzymes, glutathione S-transferase specific activity increased (P < 0.005) by the 5% dose, whereas that of DT-diaphorase increased significantly (P < 0.05) by both doses used (2.5 and 5%). In the antioxidant system, significant elevation of the specific activities of superoxide dismutase (P < 0.01) and catalase (P < 0.05) was observed with the 5% dose of cumin. The activities of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase remained unaltered by both doses of cumin. The level of reduced glutathione measured as nonprotein sulfhydryl content was elevated (significance level being from P < 0.05 to P < 0.01) by both doses of cumin. Lipid peroxidation measured as formation of MDA production showed significant inhibition (P < 0.05 to P < 0.01) by both doses of cumin. LDH activity remained unaltered by both doses of cumin.
The results strongly suggest the cancer chemopreventive potentials of cumin seed and could be attributed to its ability to modulate carcinogen metabolism.
From Science News
"A spice takes on Alzheimer's disease."
(Biomedicine).(use of curcumin may reduce risk of Alzheimer's disease)(Brief Article)
Author/s:
Issue: Dec 8, 2001
India has one of the lowest rates of Alzheimer's disease in the world. A diet rich in curcumin, a spice used in yellow curry, may offer a potential explanation and a new therapy for the brain disorder, according to a new study.
Research over the past few years has documented that regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, significantly reduces a person's chance of developing Alzheimer's disease (SN: 8/12/00, p. 101). Yet physicians hesitate to recommend regular use of NSAIDs because the drugs can have serious side effects, including liver and kidney damage, when taken for extended periods.
Looking for a safer and perhaps better, option Greg M. Cole and Sally A. Frautschy of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have turned to curcumin. The spice has well-known anti-inflammatory properties and is safe even when people regularly ingest large amounts. Unlike NSAIDs, curcumin is also an antioxidant--it thwarts the damage caused by reactive molecules called free radicals. Such damage may contribute to Alzheimer's disease, the researchers note.
The UCLA scientists have tested curcumin on mice genetically engineered to develop the brain lesions called amyloid plaques, which characterize Alzheimer's disease. In one experiment, the plaque burden in mice eating food laced with curcumin was 43 percent less compared with that in mice not ingesting the spice. Eating curcumin also reduced inflammation and free radical damage in the mouse brains, the researchers report. --J.T.
Thanks. I'll increase both my cumin and pepper intake.
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