A select group of 30 volunteer patients were administered with a Ginger Root Supplement or placebo and after a month showed a promising decrease in many of the inflammation markers in the colon.

Inflammation of the colon is an indicator believed to be a precursor to colon cancer. Thus reducing inflammation is an important step in colon cancer prevention.

Suzanna M. Zick, N.D., M.P.H., a research assistant professor at the University of Michigan Medical School and colleagues, enrolled 30 patients and randomly assigned them to two grams of ginger root supplements per day or placebo for 28 days.

Zick commented that :

“We need to apply the same rigor to the sorts of questions about the effect of ginger root that we apply to other clinical trial research. Interest in this is only going to increase as people look for ways to prevent cancer that are nontoxic, and improve their quality of life in a cost-effective way.”

The study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, measured standard levels of colon inflammation and saw real reductions in most of the markers, and others trending towards significant reductions.

The team says that Phase II trials are now required to validate the initial results. It’s interesting to see a herb that is not under patent, being treated with the same methodical approach used to test pharmaceutical drugs in which there is obviously a far greater vested interest in studying and proving their validity. Many doctors complain that natural medicine is unproven “witchery” but when you think into it, it’s only because there is no real financial interest or profit incentive to spending thousands testing a product which is common property.

In Summary :

–Reductions of markers like PGE2 may be a biomarker for colon cancer prevention. –Phase II study conducted in humans requires validation. –Natural supplement use could be potential cancer prevention strategy

Ingwer 2 fcm
Ginger may have colon cancer prevention qualities

Zick is a naturopathic doctor (N.D.), who has followed a four year degree that places traditional medical education alongside training in natural therapies, diet, nutrition and other alternative treatments. Her program is one of only eight in the US, compared with 135 regular medical schools.

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute and University of Michigan Clinical Research Center and the Kutsche Family Memorial Endowment. The ginger extract was donated by Pure Encapsulations (Sudbury, MA).

Written by Rupert Shepherd