The top two natural compounds I would suggest as natural treatments for disease are curcumin and grape seed extract. They are an amazing pair, working along two different pathways; fat soluble for curcumin, and water soluble for grape seed extract. And the impact they can make on your health is virtually miraculous.  Curcumin in the form of turmeric (Curcuma longa) has been consumed as food for over 5,000 years in India and Asia.  Curcumin has been researched as a very powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory component that could have an effect on 80 to 90 percent of all our diseases.  However, it is only found in trace amounts in turmeric.  While turmeric is an excellent spice, curcumin is considered by researchers as a powerful medicine.  Grapes are the most commonly consumed fruit in the world.  The seeds of the grape have become a by-product of the food industry in the production of grape juice and wine.  Here too, grape seed extract is a powerful antioxidant, even more so than curcumin, and a powerful anti-inflammatory component.  From some wines and grape juice, you may get some of the polyphenols found in grapes  So, while a healthy diet is key, the best way to get these natural cancer fighters is through high-absorption extracts such of curcumin and grape seed.

Curcumin neutralizes unstable free radicals that steal electrons from neighboring molecules, and stops them from creating a cascade of cellular damage. It inhibits inflammatory markers in the body to prevent tissue degradation. However, not all curcumin extracts are the same, and many are difficult for the body to absorb. In my years of research, the most effective curcumin extract is one that is made into a very fine powder and then blended with turmeric essential oils for up to 10 times the absorption of plain 95 percent extracts. This same curcumin does more than simply absorb. It stays in the bloodstream – at significant levels. That means it isn’t simply “spiking” when you use it, it sticks around to fight threats to your health.  Curcumin has been shown to stop cancer initiation, promotion and progression. It prevents the changes that cause normal cells to become cancerous, stops the replication of cancerous cells (tumor formation), and stops cancerous cells from migrating to other parts of the body (known as metastasis). Published studies on curcumin’s anticancer activity (so far) have found that it can suppress breast, prostate, liver, skin, colon and lung cancer.  Additionally, curcumin has been shown to increase the activity of anticancer drugs and to decrease drug resistance in cancer cells (meaning it helps cancer drugs kill tumors more efficiently).  It also protects normal cells from the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs and radiation treatments. This means that using curcumin in combination with chemotherapy drugs may mean less of the toxic drugs are required, but the results will be better with significantly reduced side effects.  A recent study showed that curcumin in combination with the chemotherapy drug, 5-FU, made the drug more effective in treating colon cancer cells. This is a huge breakthrough, because as cancer cells become more resistant to chemotherapy, most people have to suffer through higher (and even more toxic) levels of the treatment. Curcumin – that gift from nature that has been here all along – helps our complicated medicines do the job that curcumin could probably do on its own.