Liquor, nicotine, and insufficient consumption of vegetables are among the main causes of esophageal cancer. Men are affected much more often than women. A healthy lifestyle is considered an important preventive measure.
Men are particularly affected
Esophageal cancer is a rather rare tumor, as only 350 Austrians contract it every year. However, men are affected about four times as often as women.
Symptoms include difficulty swallowing when eating solid foods or pain behind the sternum. As a preventive measure, avoid liquor, nicotine, and food and drinks that are too hot. Too much red and salted meat also carries risk.
Curcuma – a highly valued spice and remedy
Instead, the original Asian spice curcuma could be used more in the kitchen. Curcuma is traditionally used in Indian cuisine and is considered a remedy in Asia. It has now been scientifically proven that curcuma has antidepressant effects and can aid in the treatment of degenerative eye diseases.
Increasingly, its culinary, but also its healing effect is also appreciated in the West. More and more studies prove the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and cancer-inhibiting effect of curcumin, the dye contained in the curcuma plant.
Curcumin inhibits the growth of tumour cells and triggers their cell death.
Curcurmin fights cancer cells within 24 hours
A research team at the Cork Cancer Research Centre in Cork, Ireland, has now been able to show that the yellow dye curcumin inhibits the growth of tumor cells in the esophagus. The researchers observed that the plant substance causes the cells to die within 24 hours in laboratory experiments.
Curcurmin seemed to take action with respect to the ubiquitin proteasome system, a kind of quality control system for the proteins of the cells. Inhibition of this system led to an accumulation of metabolic products within a short time and subsequently to the death of tumor cells.
The curcuma plant has once again proven to be a promising active substance in cancer research, which will certainly still be the subject of various investigations in the future.
