Block Inflammatory Signaling

The list of chronic diseases caused by inflammation is enormous.^1-3

From initiating cancer, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease to the chronic pain of arthritis, sustained inflammation relentlessly destroys our aging bodies.^1,3

Mainstream medicine has failed to offer satisfactory solutions for suppressing chronic inflammatory reactions.³ Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and glucocorticoids target acute pain, but they have adverse side effects and are not suitable to quench ongoing inflammation.^4,5

This widespread problem led scientists to seek a solution to safely reduce both acute pain and the chronic inflammation. ⁶

Three plant extracts have been identified that powerfully inhibit the underlying factors that trigger inflammation—safely reducing both chronic pain and long-term disease risk.

Unlike drugs, turmeric oil, ginger, and curcumin work through diverse mechanisms to block multiple pathways of the inflammation-signaling process.^7-16

These natural ingredients deliver benefits that no currently available drug can—they inhibit both COX and LOX enzymes, which in turn curtails creation of the prostaglandin and leukotriene signaling molecules.^7-16

An abundance of studies have confirmed that the biochemical actions of curcumin, ginger, and turmeric oil can be beneficial against the causative factors behind arthritis,^16-23 cardiovascular disease,^16,24-28 cancer,^29-33 and other diseases…and these effects are often observable in a matter of weeks!^20,27,29,34

A novel method has been discovered to deliver more of the active molecules found in these three plant extracts to your bloodstream.^35-38

An All-Out Assault on Chronic Inflammation

 

Just about every chronic disease—from arthritis, to heart disease, to diabetes, to Alzheimer’s disease— has one thing in common: destructive, unchecked inflammation.^1-3

Chronic inflammation is often the end result of a complex “domino effect” of signaling molecules known as prostaglandins and leukotrienes.^39,40 The problem with most drugs is that they only inhibit one of the steps involved in chronic inflammation (providing only partial relief).⁴¹

For example, NSAIDs inhibit the production of prostaglandin signaling molecules by blocking enzymes known as COX-1 and COX-2. But they do not inhibit production of leukotriene signaling molecules, which requires blocking the 5-LOX enzyme.^7,41

Curcumin , turmeric oil, and ginger work together to block all these signaling pathways to deliver broad-spectrum protection against chronic inflammation.^7-16

As a result, these plant extracts have potential benefit against numerous disorders.^42,43

2,000 Studies Can’t Be Wrong!

Inflammation is a major trigger of cancer,⁴⁴ the second leading cause of death in the United States.⁴⁵

Your body has a natural ability to fight cancer through the activity of its own tumor-suppressing genes.⁴⁶ However, over time, environmental factors such as inflammation can turn off (or “silence”) these genes, allowing cancer to take hold and spread unchecked.^47,48

Over 2,000 published studies show curcumin suppresses many cancers—including breast, prostate, liver, skin, colon, and lung cancers^31,49—by interfering at every stage of their development, progression, and metastasis.⁵⁰ While anticancer drugs and cancer itself weaken the immune system, curcumin enhances it,^51-55 serving as an “immune-restorer.”⁵²

Guard Against Platelet Aggregation

Inflammation plays a key role in the development of cardiovascular disease.⁵⁶ Due to their action against the underlying causes of inflammation: curcumin, ginger, and turmeric have all been found to have powerful effects against cardiovascular disease.^16,24-28

A study on ginger indicated that it could improve cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications that occur as a result of platelet aggregation (the tendency of blood cells to clump together).²⁴ For the study, either ginger or aspirin taken daily with 10 mg of the antihypertensive drug nifedipine (Procardia^®) was shown to boost the drug’s anti-platelet aggregation effect in both normal and hypertensive patients.

Outperforms Leading Arthritis Drug

The hallmarks of the most common form of arthritis (osteoarthritis) are inflammation and cartilage destruction. While both ginger and curcumin block inflammation—curcumin also inhibits cartilage breakdown by the body!⁵⁷

In one study, one group of rheumatoid arthritis patients received 500 milligrams of curcumin daily, another received 50 milligrams daily of the NSAID drug diclofenac, and a third group received a combination of the two. After eight weeks, the curcumin-only group had the greatest reduction in joint pain and swelling, with no supplement-related adverse effects. By contrast, 20% of participants in the drug-only group dropped out due to adverse effects!¹⁹

Ginger has also been tested against the NSAID drug diclofenac. Two groups of osteoarthritis patients took either ginger extract ( 340 milligrams daily) or diclofenac (100 milligrams) for four weeks.²⁰ Both treatments were equally as effective; however, the drug group experienced an increase in digestive pain (dyspepsia) and degeneration of their stomach mucosa.

Reverse Cognitive Impairment

Curcumin and ginger offer great promise in the fight against cognitive decline and dementia.

In animal models of Alzheimer’s, curcumin has been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier in order to enhance clearance of amyloid-beta from the brain (the accumulation of which is strongly associated with Alzheimer’s).⁵⁸

One impressive study demonstrated ginger’s ability to defend against—and possibly even reverse—middle-aged cognitive impairment.⁵⁹ For the study, 60 healthy middle-aged women took 400 or 800 milligrams of ginger extract or placebo daily. After two months, the ginger participants showed significantly enhanced memory and brain activity consistent with boosted cognitive capability.

As beneficial as these ingredients are on their own, they’re even more powerful together. Scientists have combined curcumin and ginger extracts with turmeric oil in a novel formulation that also delivers a distinct advantage: it naturally enhances absorption.

Enhanced Formula Provides Better Absorption!

Turmeric oil is obtained from the potent liquid remaining after curcumin extraction.^60,61 Aside from turmeric oil’s own strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, research revealed that its rich content of compounds called aromatic turmerones produces a significant enhancement of curcumin levels inside the cell compared to normal curcumin.³⁸ This formulation also contains phospholipids, a type of emulsifying molecule that enhances absorption of poorly soluble active compounds.⁶²

Summary

Chronic inflammation eventually leads to serious diseases such as cancer.^1-3Drugs that target acute inflammation are not suitable for long-term use and can cause substantial side effects.^3-5

In a significant breakthrough, ginger, curcumin, and turmeric oil have been found to block chronic inflammation at every stage of the process, safely inhibiting long-term disease risk.^7-16

Multiple studies demonstrate that these three extracts combat an array of disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis. ^16-33

These three extracts have been combined in a groundbreaking formulation that greatly boosts absorption!

If you have any questions on the scientific content of this article, please call a Life Extension^® Health Advisor at 1-866-864-3027.

Editor's Note

Science continues to evolve, and new research is published daily. As such, we have a more recent article on this topic: Major Advance! New Highly Bioavailable Curcumin

References

1. Strzelecka M, Bzowska M, Kozieł J, et al. Anti-inflammatory effects of extracts from some traditional Mediterranean diet plants. J Physiol Pharmacol. 2005 Mar;56 Suppl 1:139-56.
2. Ramos-Nino ME. The role of chronic inflammation in obesity-associated cancers. ISRN Oncol. 2013 May 30:697521.
3. Tabas I, Glass CK. Anti-inflammatory therapy in chronic disease: challenges and opportunities. Science. 2013 Jan 11;339(6116):166-72.
4. Graham DY, Opekun AR, Willingham FF, Qureshi WA. Visible small-intestinal mucosal injury in chronic NSAID users. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2005 Jan;3(1):55-9.
5. Dixon WG, Bansback N. Understanding the side effects of glucocorticoid therapy: shining a light on a drug everyone thinks they know. Ann Rheum Dis . 2012 Nov;71(11):1761-4.
6. Singh VP, Patil CS, Kulkarni SK. Differential effect of zileuton, a 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor, against nociceptive paradigms in mice and rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2005 Jul;81(3):433-9.
7. Grzanna R, Lindmark L, Frondoza CG. Ginger—an herbal medicinal product with broad anti-inflammatory actions. J Med Food. 2005 Summer;8(2):125-32.
8. Li F, Nitteranon V, Tang X, et al. In vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of 1-dehydro-[6]-gingerdione, 6-shogaol, 6-dehydroshogaol and hexahydrocurcumin. Food Chem. 2012 Nov 15;135(2):332-7.
9. Cretu E, Trifan A, Vasincu A, Miron A. Plant-derived anticancer agents - curcumin in cancer prevention and treatment. Rev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi. 2012 Oct-Dec;116(4):1223-9.
10. Plummer SM, Hill KA, Festing MF, Steward WP, Gescher AJ, Sharma RA. Clinical development of leukocyte cyclooxygenase 2 activity as a systemic biomarker for cancer chemopreventive agents. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2001 Dec;10(12):1295-9.
11. Menon VP, Sudheer AR. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2007;595:105-25.
12. Baliga MS, Joseph N, Venkataranganna MV, Saxena A, Ponemone V, Fayad R. Curcumin, an active component of turmeric in the prevention and treatment of ulcerative colitis: preclinical and clinical observations. Food Funct. 2012 Nov;3(11):1109-17.
13. Tsai KD, Lin JC, Yang SM, et al. Curcumin protects against UVB-induced skin cancers in SKH-1 hairless mouse: analysis of early molecular markers in carcinogenesis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:593952.
14. Flynn DL, Rafferty MF, Boctor AM. Inhibition of 5-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE) formation in intact human neutrophils by naturally-occurring diarylheptanoids: inhibitory activities of curcuminoids and yakuchinones. Prostaglandins Leukot Med. 1986 Jun; 22(3):357-60.
15. Kiuchi F, Iwakami S, Shibuya M, Hanaoka F, Sankawa U. Inhibition of prostaglandin and leukotriene biosynthesis by gingerols and diarylheptanoids. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo). 1992 Feb; 40(2):387-91.
16. Liju VB, Jeena K, Kuttan R. An evaluation of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antinociceptive activities of essential oil from Curcuma longa. L. Indian J Pharmacol. 2011 Sep;43(5):526-31.
17. Jancinova V, Perecko T, Nosal R, Kostalova D, Bauerova K, Drabikova K. Decreased activity of neutrophils in the presence of diferuloylmethane (curcumin) involves protein kinase C inhibition. Eur J Pharmacol. 2009 Jun 10;612(1-3):161-6.
18. Moon DO, Kim MO, Choi YH, Park YM, Kim GY. Curcumin attenuates inflammatory response in IL-1beta-induced human synovial fibroblasts and collagen-induced arthritis in mouse model. Int Immunopharmacol. 2010 May;10(5):605-10.
19. Chandran B, Goel A. A randomized, pilot study to assess the efficacy and safety of curcumin in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. Phytother Res. 2012 Nov;26(11):1719-25.
20. Drozdov VN, Kim VA, Tkachenko EV, Varvanina GG. Influence of a specific ginger combination on gastropathy conditions in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip. J Altern Complement Med. 2012 Jun;18(6):583-8.
21. Srivastava KC, Mustafa T. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) in rheumatism and musculoskeletal disorders. Med Hypotheses. 1992 Dec;39(4):342-8.
22. Shimoda H, Shan SJ, Tanaka J, et al. Anti-inflammatory properties of red ginger (Zingiber officinale var. Rubra) extract and suppression of nitric oxide production by its constituents. J Med Food. 2010 Feb;13(1):156-62.
23. Wigler I, Grotto I, Caspi D, Yaron M. The effects of Zintona EC (a ginger extract) on symptomatic gonarthritis. Osteoarth Cartilage. 2003 Nov;11(11):783-9.
24. Young HY, Liao JC, Chang YS, Luo YL, Lu MC, Peng WH. Synergistic effect of ginger and nifedipine on human platelet aggregation: a study in hypertensive patients and normal volunteers. Am J Chin Med. 2006;34(4):545-51.
25. Li HL, Liu C, de Couto G, et al. Curcumin prevents and reverses murine cardiac hypertrophy. J Clin Invest. 2008 Mar;118(3):879-93.
26. Arafa HM. Curcumin attenuates diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in rats. Med Sci Monit. 2005 Jul;11(7):BR228-34.
27. Al-Amin ZM, Thomson M, Al-Qattan KK, Peltonen-Shalaby R, Ali M. Anti-diabetic and hypolipidaemic properties of ginger (Zingiber officinale) in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Br J Nutr. 2006 Oct;96(4):660-6.
28. Ghayur MN, Gilani AH. Ginger lowers blood pressure through blockade of voltage-dependent calcium channels. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 205 Jan;45(1):74-80.
29. Zick SM, Turgeon DK, Vareed SK, et al. Phase II study of the effects of ginger root extract on eicosanoids in colon mucosa in people at normal risk for colorectal cancer. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2011 Nov;4(11):1929-37.
30. Hastak K, Lubri N, Jakhi SD, et al. Effect of turmeric oil and turmeric oleoresin on cytogenetic damage in patients suffering from oral submucous fibrosis. Cancer Lett. 1997 Jun 24;116(2):265-9.
31. Shehzad A, Wahid F, Lee YS. Curcumin in cancer chemoprevention: molecular targets, pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, and clinical trials. Arch Pharm (Weinheim). 2010;343(9):489-99.
32. Kunnumakkara AB, Anand P, Aggarwal BB. Curcumin inhibits proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis of different cancers through interaction with multiple cell signaling proteins. Cancer Lett. 2008 Oct 8;269(2):199-225.
33. Baliga MS, Haniadka R, Pereira MM, et al. Update on the chemopreventive effects of ginger and its phytochemicals. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2011 Jul;51(6):499-523.
34. DiSilvestro RA, Joseph E, Zhao S, Bomser J. Diverse effects of a low dose supplement of lipidated curcumin in healthy middle aged people. Nutr J. 2012;11:79.
35. Available at: http://www.ajofai.info/Abstract/(6)-gingerol%20content%20and%20bioactive%20properties%20of%20ginger%20(zingiber%20officinale%20roscoe) %20extracts%20from%20supercritical%20co2%20extraction.pdf. Accessed August 23, 2013.
36. Antony B, Merina B, Iyer VS, Judy N, Lennertz K, Joyal S. A pilot cross-over study to evaluate human oral bioavailability of BCM-95CG (Biocurcumax), A novel bioenhanced preparation of curcumin. Indian J Pharm Sci. 2008 Jul-Aug;70(4):445-9.
37. Benny M, Antony B. Bioavailability of Biocurcumax (BCM-095™). Spice India. 2006 Sept 9;19(9):11-5.
38. Yue GG, Cheng SW, Yu H, et al. The role of turmerones on curcumin transportation and P-glycoprotein activities in intestinal Caco-2 cells. J Med Food. 2012 Mar;15(3):242-52.
39. Available at: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/294/5548/1871.abstract?sid=93c8cda7-cda9-47a5-b548-cc1891de935f. Accessed August 23, 2013.
40. Khanapure SP, Garvey DS, Janero DR, Letts LG. Eicosanoids in inflammation: biosynthesis, pharmacology, and therapeutic frontiers. Curr Top Med Chem. 2007;7(3):311-40.
41. Burnett BP, Levy RM. 5-Lipoxygenase metabolic contributions to NSAID-induced organ toxicity. Adv Ther. 2012 Feb;29(2):79-98.
42. Haniadka R, Saldanha E, Sunita V, et al. A review of the gastroprotective effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe). Food Funct. 2013 Jun;4(6):845-55.
43. Shishodia S, Sethi G, Aggarwal BB. Curcumin: getting back to the roots. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2005 Nov;1056:206-17.
44. Vendramini-Costa DB, Carvalho JE. Molecular link mechanisms between inflammation and cancer. Curr Pharm Des. 2012;18(26):3831-52.
45. Subramaniam D, Ramalingam S, Houchen CW, Anant S. Cancer stem cells: a novel paradigm for cancer prevention and treatment. Mini Rev Med Chem. 2010 May;10(5):359-71.
46. Available at: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/glossary=tumorsuppressorgene. Accessed August 23, 2013.
47. Meeran SM, Ahmed A, Tollefsbol TO. Epigenetic targets of bioactive dietary components for cancer prevention and therapy. Clin Epigenetics. 2010;1(3-4):101-6.
48. Teiten MH, Dicato M, Diederich M. Curcumin as a regulator of epigenetic events. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2013 Jun 11.
49. Anand P, Sundaram C, Jhurani S, Kunnumakkara AB, Aggarwal BB. Curcumin and cancer: an “old-age” disease with an “age-old” solution. Cancer Lett. 2008 Aug 18;267(1):133-64.
50. Thangapazham RL, Sharma A, Maheshwari RK. Multiple molecular targets in cancer chemoprevention by curcumin. AAPS J. 2006;8(3):E443-9.
51. Jagetia GC, Aggarwal BB. “Spicing up” of the immune system by curcumin. J Clin Immunol. 2007 Jan;27(1):19-35.
52. Bhattacharyya S, Mandal D, Sen GS, et al. Tumor-induced oxidative stress perturbs nuclear factor-kappaB activity-augmenting tumor necrosis factor-alpha-mediated T-cell death: protection by curcumin. Cancer Res. 2007 Jan 1;67(1):362-70.
53. Zandvoort A, Lodewijk ME, Klok PA, Timens W. Effects of multidose combination chemotherapy on the humoral immune system. Clin Immunol. 2003 Apr;107(1):20-9.
54. Churchill M, Chadburn A, Bilinski RT, Bertagnolli MM. Inhibition of intestinal tumors by curcumin is associated with changes in the intestinal immune cell profile. J Surg Res. 2000 Apr;89(2):169-75.
55. Pal S, Bhattacharyya S, Choudhuri T, et al. Amelioration of immune cell number depletion and potentiation of depressed detoxification system of tumor-bearing mice by curcumin. Cancer Detect Prev. 2005;29(5):470-8.
56. Madjid M, Willerson JT. Inflammatory markers in coronary heart disease. Br Med Bull. 2011;100:23-38.
57. Henrotin Y, Clutterbuck AL, Allaway D, et al. Biological actions of curcumin on articular chondrocytes. Osteoarthr Cartilage. 2010;18(2):141-9.
58. Yang F, Lim GP, Begum AN, et al. Curcumin inhibits formation of amyloid beta oligomers and fibrils, binds plaques, and reduces amyloid in vivo. J Biol Chem. 2005 Feb 18;280(7):5892-901.
59. Saenghong N, Wattanathorn J, Muchimapura S, et al. Zingiber officinale improves cognitive function of the middle-aged healthy women. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:383062.
60. Negi PS, Jayaprakasha GK, Jagan Mohan Rao L, Sakariah KK. Antibacterial activity of turmeric oil: a byproduct from curcumin manufacture. J Agric Food Chem. 1999 Oct;47(10):4297-300.
61. Jayaprakasha GK, Negi PS, Anandharamakrishnan C, Sakariah KK. Chemical composition of turmeric oil--a byproduct from turmeric oleoresin industry and its inhibitory activity against different fungi. Z Naturforsch C. 2001 Jan-Feb;56(1-2):40-4.
62. Marczylo TH. Verschoyle RD. Cooke DN. Morazzoni P. Steward WP. Gescher AJ. Comparison of systemic availability of curcumin with that of curcumin formulated with phosphatidylcholine. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2007;60:171-7.