Research shows turmeric also has strong anti-cancerous attributes and suggests that the high consumption could be responsible for the low incidence of some cancers among India's inhabitants.

Prostate cancer is certainly the most spectacular example of the differences that exist between India and western countries. The incidence of prostate cancer is about 100 cases per 100,000 people in North America, but only about five out of 100,000 Indians develop this disease.

Moreover, curcumin's anticancerous effect is probably linked to its ability to attack tumours on many fronts. All the studies conducted to date on vegetable molecules, found curcumin is the one that has the highest number of distinct anti-cancerous effects, according to Dr. Richard Beliveau, in a recent article he published in the Toronto Sun, including the following cancer fighting attributes:

- Inhibition of growth of several types of cancerous cells.

- Stimulation of the death of these cancerous cells.

- Inhibition of the resistance to chemotherapy.

- Inhibition of angiogenesis.

- Inhibition of inflammation.

This strong anti-inflammatory activity is important for turmeric's anti-cancerous properties. Researcher believe that one cancer out of six is directly linked to chronic inflammation and there is no doubt curcumin's reduction of inflammatory processes can help block development of cancer.

Since this spice is more soluble in fats, you should mix it into prepared foods (spaghetti sauce, dressings, soups) by adding it to the vegetable oil used for cooking.

The intestine has trouble absorbing curcumin, but absorption can be increased by pepper, so you must always add pepper to the dishes that contain turmeric.