This means that almost one-third of all Americans take a prescription NSAID. When we include OTC NSAID use, it is equivalent to every man, woman, and child in the United States taking a NSAID daily for over three months. Even for pennies on the dollar, the NSAID market is incredibly lucrative.

Most of us have taken NSAIDs, but maybe we don’t know what class of drug we were or are taking. Let me give you a few examples of common NSAIDs:

• Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, Caldolor)
• Naproxen and naproxen sodium (Aleve, Naprosyn, Midol, Pamprin, Anaprox)
• Aspirin (Bayer, Anacin, Bufferin, St. Joseph)
• Diclofenac (Voltaren, Voltarol, Cataflam)
• Celocoxib (Celebrex)

As the class name suggests, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduce inflammation but are not related to steroids, which also reduce inflammation. NSAIDs work by reducing the production of prostaglandins, chemicals that promote inflammation, pain, and fever. Prostaglandins also protect the lining of the stomach and intestines from the damaging effects of acids (including stomach acid) and promote blood clotting by activating blood platelets. Prostaglandins also affect kidney function.

The enzymes that produce prostaglandins are called cyclooxygenase (COX). There are two types of COX enzymes, COX-1 and COX-2. Both enzymes produce prostaglandins that promote inflammation, pain, and fever; however, only COX-1 produces prostaglandins that activate platelets and protect the stomach and intestinal lining.

NSAIDs block COX enzymes and reduce the production of prostaglandins, which is how they reduce inflammation, pain, and fever. Since they reduce the prostaglandins that protect the stomach and promote blood clotting along with pain and inflammation, NSAIDs can cause ulcers in the stomach and intestines without warning and increase the risk of internal bleeding. In fact, the new cardiology guidelines are showing that NSAIDS such as aspirin should not be used for primary prevention of cardiovascular events since the harm is now outweighing the good. [1]

Unfortunately, even with such data, medical practitioners downplay the dangers of NSAIDs, as do the pharmaceutical companies that make these popular OTC drugs. Over the last twenty years or so, dozens of published clinical research studies have demonstrated the dangers of NSAID use. [2] Most of this research, however, was completed and published in Europe and the rest of the world, and, thus, the results did not get the attention of the medical establishment in the United States. This is largely due to grievances expressed by pharmaceutical companies and lobbyist groups who influence the regulatory systems that are supposed to protect us. Sadly, our scientific journals aren’t much better; they are almost all funded by their advertisers — pharmaceutical companies.

What exactly are the dangers of NSAIDs that these pharmaceutical companies want to downplay? If you regularly use NSAIDs to treat your arthritis, for example, you are in for quite an unpleasant surprise.

The downplayed international research reveals that NSAIDs have been shown to do the following: [3]

• Accelerate the progression of osteoarthritis
• Decrease joint-space width
• Increase joint forces/loads
• Increase risk of joint replacement
• Inhibit proteoglycan synthesis (the proteins in connective tissue)
• Inhibit synthesis of cellular matrix components (molecules that provide structural and biochemical support to the surrounding cells)
• Inhibit chondrocyte proliferation (the cells that form cartilage)
• Inhibit collagen synthesis (the structural protein found in connective tissue)
• Inhibit glycosaminoglycan synthesis (molecules that form substances that act as a lubricant and shock absorber)

The scientific literature makes it abundantly clear that NSAIDs — from in vitro and in vivo studies, in both animals and humans — have a significant negative effect on cartilage matrix, which causes an acceleration of the deterioration of articular cartilage in osteoarthritic joints. The preponderance of evidence shows that NSAIDs have no beneficial effect on articular cartilage and accelerate the very disease for which they are most used and prescribed.

This is why those of you who have taken NSAIDs for years or decades still have joint pain. Although NSAIDs temporarily help with pain, they actually degenerate your joints; therefore, arthritis sufferers keep taking NSAIDs because the pain persists.

The immediate pain relief offered by NSAIDs leads most people to not question why they have taken something for so long and, most crucially, why their problem hasn’t been resolved. So many patients of mine will tell me that they started using a NSAID like ibuprofen to treat their arthritis pain. They clearly remember only taking one or two pills a day and then, over time, needing to take more and more to the point that they may take one to two pills every few hours plus another NSAID like naproxen sodium (i.e., Aleve). Some of these people have been taking NSAIDs for more than 20 years, without a doctor once warning them about the damage this long-term use is causing in their joints.

The inappropriate use of NSAIDs and the deceptive marketing pushing their overuse in the United States began in the early 1980s. If you remember the NSAID commercials from back then, they generally showed a person who was over sixty-five taking an Advil or Motrin for joint pain caused by playing golf or lifting their grandchildren. Over time, the people in the commercials became younger and younger. Now when you see a NSAID commercial, many of the people shown are under the age of 21. Some are even teens — riding bikes, holding backpacks, etc. The change was so gradual that no one seems to have noticed or asked, “Why are young teens taking Advil?”

Aleve is well known for advertising the fact that you need to take just two Aleve, versus many ibuprofen pills, for “all day long, all day strong” relief. The problem is that although the pain relief from Aleve may last longer than that from ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, etc.), it still causes the same side effects. Even more concerning to me is that most MDs, health-care providers, pharmacists, and patients do not know that NSAIDs — both prescription (e.g., Celebrex) and OTC (e.g., Advil, Motrin, Aleve, Midol, and Pamprin) — all carry what is called a “boxed warning” or “black-box warning.”

What are the side effects of NSAIDs?

I will get to the black-box warning in just a moment. First, there are a few other important things you should know about NSAIDs.

Every drug on the market today has a monograph; this is a set of important information about the drug that the drug company provides to the FDA. The monograph shows pictures of how it is supplied and tells the proper dosages, indications, and conditions the product is used for, drug interactions, adverse reactions, safety monitoring, and manufacturing/pricing. Every drug, whether prescribed or OTC, has what are called “common reactions.” These are side effects that commonly occur when the product is taken.

The common reactions for NSAIDs, in general, follow:

1. Dyspepsia
2. Nausea
3. Abdominal pain
4. Constipation
5. Headache
6. Dizziness
7. Drowsiness
8. Rash
9. Elevated ALT, AST (liver enzymes)
10. Fluid retention
11. Tinnitus
12. Ecchymosis (bruising)
13. Dyspnea (shortness of breath)
14. Photosensitivity (sensitivity to light)

This list of common reactions means that someone who takes a NSAID will often experience one or more of these side effects. None of these common reactions are immediately life-threatening, but they can become problematic, as they can cause the person experiencing them to go to the doctor for more medications to treat the side effects. For example, if a NSAID causes heartburn, a doctor might prescribe a proton-pump inhibitor (acid blocker) such as Prilosec or Nexium, creating the beginning of a “drug cocktail” situation.

Most worrying to me as a physician is that NSAIDs commonly cause mild elevations in serum aminotransferase levels (AST liver enzymes); this occurs in up to 18 percent of patients taking NSAIDs over a prolonged period. [4] Many physicians downplay this elevation because it is considered mild. Most of us were taught that the liver enzymes (AST, ALT, and Alk Phos) had to be severely elevated to cause problems. But most MDs were not trained to understand what liver-enzyme testing actually measures.

From a functional standpoint, liver enzymes only elevate when about 60 percent of the liver is having some difficulty performing its normal metabolic breakdown of all foods, medicines, supplements, and so on, after digestion. Thus a mild elevation is not dangerous but will cause someone to be temporarily unable to break down toxins. This mild elevation causes some medications (and supplements) to metabolize either more quickly or more slowly than expected.

This, in turn, causes medications, like those for blood pressure or blood sugar, to have a stronger or weaker effect. If the patient (and often the physician) does not know about this side effect of mild liver enzyme elevation, the resulting change in blood pressure or blood-sugar numbers may cause the doctor to make unnecessary changes to the dosage of the relevant medications.

Doctors are accustomed to warning their patients about consuming alcohol, for example, while on certain medications; they advise that a glass of wine or beer may feel either stronger or weaker than usual when taken in tandem with many other medications, but they seldom mention NSAIDs. More importantly, mildly elevated liver enzymes can affect medications used for prevention, such as oral contraceptive pills. So, if you are taking birth-control pills and if your liver enzymes are ever elevated, it is recommended to use a second form of birth control until those enzymes return back to normal.

One does not have to take NSAIDs for long periods of time to experience one or more of the common side effects. One double-blind trial found that six out of 32 healthy volunteers (or 19 percent) developed a gastric ulcer that was visible on endoscopic examination after only one week’s treatment with naproxen (at a commonly prescribed dose of 500 mg twice daily—the same amount as five nonprescription Aleve). [5] Even worse, NSAID use can cause erosions and ulcerations in the small intestine (which is not visualized on normal endoscopy) causing chronic iron-deficiency anemia and protein loss due to increasing gut permeability. [6]

Mild side effects from NSAID use are altogether too common. But these mild side effects are not the main problem with NSAIDs. The main problem with NSAIDs is what are called “serious reactions.”

Serious reactions (side effects) of NSAIDs

Serious reactions are those types of adverse reactions that can be life-threatening or cause severe damage to one’s health. The serious reactions for NSAIDs, in general, follow:

1. GI bleeding
2. GI perforation/ulcer
3. MI (myocardial infarction: heart attack)
4. Stroke
5. Thromboembolism
6. Hypertension
7. Congestive heart failure
8. Renal papillary necrosis
9. Nephrotoxicity
10. Hepatotoxicity
11. Anaphylaxis/anaphylactoid reaction
12. Bronchospasm
13. Exfoliative dermatitis
14. Stevens-Johnson syndrome
15. Toxic epidermal necrolysis (Lyell’s syndrome)
16. Thrombocytopenia (reduction of platelets in the blood)
17. Agranulocytosis (dangerously low white-blood-cell count)
18. Aplastic anemia
19. Anemia, hemolytic
20. Neutropenia
21. Leukopenia
22. Angioedema

These are side effects that you definitely do not want. But these aren’t even the biggest problems with NSAIDs. The biggest problem with NSAIDs is that they carry black-box warnings.

The Black-Box Warning — your worst nightmare

After reading about all the mild and serious NSAID side effects, you’re probably wondering how it could possibly get any worse.

A black-box warning (see figure below) is a warning that manufacturers have to place on the insert and inside information about a drug once serious reactions serious enough to put users into a black box become common. Yes, a black-box warning is the FDA’s attempt to let you know that you can end up in a coffin or casket if you are unlucky enough to suffer one of a medication’s serious reactions.

Now, not every serious reaction becomes a black-box reaction, but the serious reactions that happen frequently enough to require a black-box warning are far more likely to put you in a black box (see figure below).

Again, this all means that tens of millions of people today are at risk of heart attacks, strokes, and GI bleeds from America’s love affair with NSAIDs. And we are unlikely to fall out of love with NSAIDs anytime soon. As long as most people in the United States follow some variation of the pro-inflammatory standard American diet, the average person will want to take NSAIDs, putting him or her at an even greater risk of heart attacks and strokes. Even more frightening is the fact that the risk is still there, even if someone doesn’t have elevated cholesterol/lipids (heart disease) if that person has heart-disease risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Consider for a moment how common the risk of stroke and heart attack is in America today. Americans suffer approximately 735,000 heart attacks per year; that amounts to almost two people having a heart attack per minute. [7] It is nearly impossible to find someone in the United States who is not at risk of taking one too many NSAIDs and winding up in the black box. In fact, recently the FDA issued a new safety announcement to strengthen the black-box warning. New data from the FDA has shown that NSAIDs increase heart attack and strokes up to 50 percent. [8]

Now with the new, updated black-box warning soon to take effect, the FDA will require the drug manufacturers to remove the word “may” and now state that the medication will “cause an increased risk” of serious heart attacks and strokes. The black-box warning will also include the following language: “The risk of heart attack or stroke can occur as early as the first weeks of using a NSAID.

The risk may increase with longer use of the NSAID. In general, patients with heart disease or risk factors for it have a greater likelihood of heart attack or stroke following NSAID use.” More disturbingly, “patients treated with NSAIDs following a first heart attack were more likely to die in the first year after the heart attack compared to patients who were not treated with NSAIDs after their first heart attack.” Finally, there is also an “increased risk of heart failure with NSAID use.” [9]

In addition to heart attacks and strokes, the average NSAID user is at high risk for life-threatening GI bleeding. Again, the warning states, “bleeding ulcer, stomach or intestine perforation, which can be fatal at any time, can occur without warning symptoms.” Can you believe this? How many people already have GI problems and are taking antacids and acid blockers such as Zantac, Pepcid, Prilosec, and Nexium? If they add NSAIDs to the mix (and they almost certainly are), they are putting themselves at an even greater risk of a fatal GI bleed.

In addition, think about all the people who get ulcers just from high amounts of stress. What about everyone who drinks alcohol in excess (occasionally or regularly) or who smokes? What about everyone who takes any number of other medications that cause stomach irritation? What about those people with food allergies who deal with constant stomach or intestinal issues? Or people with IBS, ulcerative colitis, or Crohn’s disease? Or people having chemotherapy?

People are being set up for serious health consequences from something that is marketed as being very benign. NSAIDs are in everyone’s medicine cabinets, office drawers, lockers, purses, and backpacks, and millions take them on a daily basis. This false sense of security means that you might never see a black-box side effect until — at best — you wake up in the hospital, or at worst, you never wake up again.

If this all seems sensationalistic because you’ve been taking NSAIDs for years and have never experienced anything but pain relief, please believe me; black-box events are terrifyingly under-reported. You might be wondering, in that case, “If these drugs don’t help my joint pain in the long run and are putting me at an elevated risk of a heart attack, stroke, or fatal GI bleed, why are NSAIDs still on the market?”

The answer is that the companies that make these drugs have no incentive to take them off the market. Once a drug gets a black-box warning, this information is simply listed (or alluded to) on every insert, printout from the pharmacy, and web page (usually buried deep down), and it is included in small print on the bottom of the screen during every prescription-NSAID television commercial (e.g., Celebrex). The black-box warning has been provided to you whether you realize it or not, and therefore, drug companies are free of legal liability.

For example, on every Celebrex commercial, you will see and hear the black-box warning in full. Yet most people don’t notice it, as they are misguided by the wonderful images of people walking, hiking, and being pain-free, accompanied by upbeat music in the background. Pay attention next time you see a NSAID commercial; listen closely to the black-box warnings and hear all about the side effects you are legally agreeing to experience.

The Black-Box Warning — the unknown, unconsented agreement

Once the black-box warning has been placed upon a product, you, by opening the product bottle and swallowing the pills, or even by picking up the prescription at the pharmacy, have given consent to the “terms and conditions herein.” Yes — whether you knew it or not — by opening the bottle or package you have accepted that these black-box warnings of serious and fatal side effects can occur.

An analogy to this is the “terms and conditions” form you agree to when you’re updating software for your smartphone or your computer. You see a pop-up that asks, “Do you want to upgrade?” Of course, you do — so you click the box that says, “I agree to the Terms and Conditions.” Most of us, and I’m guilty of this myself, agree on a daily basis to “terms and conditions” we haven’t read.

Have you ever read a T&C agreement? These agreements free software, computer, and phone companies from any liability if your data is lost or stolen, if your information is sold to third-party vendors, if your personal information is collected, and if you encounter any number of other invasion-of-privacy-type situations. What choice do we have, really? In order for us to upgrade our software, we must agree to the “terms and conditions,” or we will be left behind.

As bad as an invasion of privacy is, no one has had a heart attack, stroke, or GI bleed after upgrading his or her software (at least not as a direct result). However, hundreds of thousands of people each year have heart attacks, strokes, or GI bleeds after agreeing to black-box warnings on drugs, never knowing that they were at risk. To my mind, these blanket, fine-print black-box warnings are un-American and grossly unethical.

How can there be no legal liability upon a manufacturer if you have a stroke from taking their product? Why are products with such severe side effects sold over-the-counter? You cannot call “1-800-BAD DRUG” if you end up having any of the serious side effects because you have accepted that those risks can occur just by opening the bottle or package.

So why do almost every retail outlet and pharmacy in the country still sell these products? The answer is what it always is: money and greed. Almost two-thirds of the US population takes a NSAID at least once a week, and fully one-third takes a NSAID on a daily basis. Remember, there are seventy million NSAID prescriptions filled in the United States every year; minimum estimates show that over thirty billion OTC NSAID medicines are purchased every year as well. [10]

In 2013 Americans bought more than 275 million boxes of over-the-counter NSAIDs, racking up $1.7 billion in sales, according to retail tracker IRI. [11] Visit any pharmacy today and you will see dozens of companies selling NSAIDs, from brand names to generics. Since NSAIDs are incredibly popular, and there is no legal liability associated with their use, lots of companies sell their own versions. NSAID sales benefit pharmacies, too, as pharmacies themselves make money selling them to you.

If you’re unlucky enough to get a common or serious side effect from taking the NSAID, doctors, emergency rooms, hospitals, medical and surgical equipment companies, and insurance companies make money trying to save your life. There is plenty of money to be made by everyone involved. But if true health care were the goal of these pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies, and conventional health care, they would have warned you not to take NSAIDs in the first place.

Most of the patients I see for an initial integrative medicine consultation tell me that they take ibuprofen on a daily basis. Almost everyone in the United States has a bottle of NSAIDs in his or her locker at school, at the gym, in a desk drawer, purse, briefcase, medicine cabinet, or even glove compartment in the car. People go to warehouse stores and purchase huge bottles of 2,000 pills or “twin packs” of 4,000 tablets. I even have soccer moms and dads who give every kid who leaves their minivan one ibuprofen before the game and one after the game. Many active adults and children are taking four to eight ibuprofen tablets daily; that’s two tablets every few hours.

Before my integrative medical training, I too took a NSAID if I had a headache or back pain. Like most people, I thought, “Those side effects won’t affect me,” or “Side effects only happen to those people who take too many pills.” I thought, “I only take them rarely,” or “It hasn’t bothered me so far.” And I was well aware of the black-box warnings. I think we all (including doctors) inherently believe that we are exceptions to the rule, as no one wants to think something terrible could happen out of the blue. It’s in our nature to think we will beat the odds, or that such terrifying side effects happen only to other people.

I haven’t taken a NSAID in 14 years. I stopped taking them once even conservative medical journals started publishing statistics about the shocking number of deaths that occur from taking NSAIDs. I was not expecting data that was so overwhelming and compelling, and I am eternally grateful that one journal, in particular, was confident enough to publish researchers’ findings. I immediately made a lifestyle change that has protected me from this common, unnecessary risk, which most Americans are exposed to every day. It also led me to develop Bosmeric-SR.

So, how compelling is the data? Is it really so bad that it compelled me to formulate a replacement product? You bet it is. After learning what I did, you may (and should) change how you think about NSAIDs.

Here is the data that will make you think twice about taking another NSAID — ever:

Conservative estimates published in The American Journal of Medicine, The New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management, and The Journal of Rheumatology all have stated that the average number of people hospitalized for complications from NSAID use as properly prescribed is more than 100,000 per year — with about 20,000 deaths every year (see figure below). [12]

This means that when health-care providers prescribe a NSAID such as Advil, Motrin, Aleve, or Celebrex and the patients take it appropriately, 100,000 of these people end up in the hospital from complications each year. Each hospital admission is estimated to cost between $15,000 and $20,000. [13] (The study was conducted to assess the origins of uncontrolled health-care costs.) And that’s if the patient is fortunate enough not to end up as one of the 20,000 who never leave the hospital alive.

What affects me deeply as a doctor is the fact that these are conservative estimates and do not include inappropriate use (taking more than recommended or prescribed dosages) or OTC administrations. That’s right — the 100,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths annually do not include the 30 billion OTC NSAIDs that are purchased at pharmacies, grocery stores, or big-box stores.

To put these numbers in perspective, Sept 11, 2001, was a tragic day in our nation’s history. More than 3,500 people died in the terrorist attacks that day. That means the annual number of deaths related to prescribed NSAIDS is almost seven times that of the fatalities on 9/11. In other words, it’s like 14 World Trade Centers falling year after year, senselessly killing innocent Americans. And, again, that doesn’t include the deaths from OTC use or intentional overdoses. Let’s have a look at those numbers.

The most recent data from 1984 to 2009 show that approximately 300,000 people have died from GI complications due to NSAIDs, with almost 1.7 million hospitalizations, at a cost of $38.8 billion [14] To put these total statistics into perspective, the number of people killed from NSAID GI bleeding is greater than the number of Americans who died during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the first Persian Gulf War, and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan — combined (287,371 versus 300,000). [15] The total number of people hospitalized from 1984 to 2009 due to NSAID bleeding (1.7 million people) is higher than the American casualties from all American wars combined (1.4 million people). [16] [17]

Even worse, now the number-one cause of death in the United States is adverse drug reactions and medical errors (see above figure). Yes, you read that correctly. More people die from the drugs that we are using to treat them (or more precisely to manage their disease) than the diseases themselves.

These adverse drug reactions and medical errors kill more people yearly than heart disease (number two), cancer (number three), and stroke (number four). You don’t hear about this data because the cause of death is not a disease. Most people know that heart disease is the number-one cause of death (from a disease). But don’t be misled by worrying only about heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Your bigger risk comes from some of the approaches and treatments of our current medical system, which in my opinion has aspects and behaviors like those of a disease.

This is a hard truth to swallow, but millions of Americans swallow it every day without thinking about it.

In addition to the side effects listed in the black-box warnings, NSAIDs also do the following: [18]

• Increase cardiovascular problems, like heart attacks, by 40 percent to 60 percent;
• Increase the risk of heart failure by 60 percent;
• Increase the risk of miscarriage by 80 percent;
• Increase the risk of hearing loss up to 20 percent;
• Increase the risk allergic reactions in people with asthma by 10 percent to 30 percent.

Remember the NSAID called Vioxx (rofecoxib)? In 2004, it was pulled off the market because more than 60,000 people were killed from cardiac events; in addition, at least 88,000, and possibly as many as 139,000 Americans, experienced a nonfatal heart attack as a result of taking Vioxx. In 2005, another similar drug, Bextra (valdecoxib), was pulled off the market. In 2007, Prexige (lumiracoxib) was also removed. Can you see a pattern here? Maybe NSAIDs cause more harm than reported?

Celebrex (celecoxib) was spared from this regulatory carnage because it put a black-box warning on its label while these other drugs were being taken off the market. With this warning on the label, however, it was freed from liability in the United States (even though it has been pulled off the market in other countries). The makers of Celebrex got a very lucrative green light, and today many other drug companies continue to sell NSAID drugs like Celebrex because you the consumer are the only one to blame legally if something goes wrong when you’re taking them.

While it is clearly easy for me to write about the many dangers of NSAIDs, there is an alternative. It’s the result of years of research conducted by some of the most venerable physicians in the world, and it is a far better option to help with pain and inflammation.  You’re about to learn all about it in my article on the synergistic combination of specific potencies, purities, and delivery system of four key ingredients including curcumin, boswellia, ginger and black pepper in the patented, clinically tested safe and effective natural anti-inflammatory called Bosmeric-SR. (see The Vital Role of Boswellia (Frankincense) for Cancer).

For more detailed information on 10 steps to optimum health using diet and lifestyle changes and the use of natural anti-inflammatories, please read An Inflammation Nation.

Modified by permission from An Inflammation Nation by Sunil Pai © 2015.

The post The Dangers of NSAIDs: The Black Box Warning appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

Practitioners most commonly use ginger to treat conditions related to digestion: nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, diarrhea, and motion sickness. To this day, many people grow up sipping ginger ale when sick with a stomach bug. Clinical studies have shown ginger to be helpful for nausea during pregnancy, and it is one of the safest natural therapies for this type of condition. In fact, it is the only natural product — which is actually a food — that even conventional medicine recommends and has given an “approved use” stamp for nausea in pregnancy, as all other medications have side effects that are harmful to mother and baby.

Ginger contains nutrients that have good spasmolytic properties, which is just a way to say that ginger micronutrients soothe and relax the intestines. Doctors commonly recommend ginger to patients who have undergone intestinal surgery, as it also confers great protection against infections. Ginger helps aid many anti-inflammatory problems that occur in smooth muscles or even in the skeletal muscles.

People use ginger not only for GI troubles but also for arthritis, the common cold and flu, painful menstruation symptoms, headaches, and even various cancers. As of the writing of this book, there are more than 2,400 studies on the various benefits of ginger published in the scientific literature.

Ginger: Activities and Actions

Ginger has been shown to have the following properties: [1]

• Immunomodulatory (strengthens the immune system)
• Antitumorigenic (prevents tumors development)
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antiarthritic
• Antihyperglycemic (prevents elevated blood glucose)
• Antihyperlipidemic (prevents elevated blood lipids)
• Antiemetic actions (prevents nausea and vomiting)
• Chemopreventive actions (helps prevent cancer growth when consumed frequently)

Some of the most studied actions of ginger are its analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects through the inhibition of NF-kB, COX-2, and 5-LOX (the major pathways and switches of inflammation mentioned previously). Ginger also has been shown to protect against cancers and to demonstrate a chemoprotective effect, meaning it protects the body from the side effects of chemotherapy. Some characteristics of ginger’s actions include the following: [2]

• Induction of apoptosis (programmed cell death) of cancer cells
• Inhibits IkBa kinase activation (upregulates apoptosis)
• Upregulation of BAX (a proapoptosis gene)
• Downregulation of Bcl-2 proteins (cancer associated)
• Downregulation of prosurvival genes (anti-apoptotic) Bcl-xl, Mcl-1, and Survivin
• Downregulation of cell-cycle-regulating proteins, including cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) (cancer associated)
• Increased expression of CDK inhibitor, p21 (anticancer associated)
• Inhibition of c-Myc, hTERT (cancer associated)
• Abolishes RANKL-induced NF-kB activation
• Inhibits osteoclastogenesis (type of bone cell that breaks down bone tissue to remodel and repair)
• Suppresses human breast-cancer-induced bone loss

If you or a loved one has been stricken with cancer, then you probably know the importance of all of these functions. Thus, it’s easy to see that ginger can play an important role in regulating not only inflammation but also various signals that affect cancer cells.

Ginger and its constituents have been shown to inhibit the following cancers: [3]

• Breast cancer
• Colon and rectal cancer
• Leukemia
• Liver cancer
• Lung cancer
• Melanoma
• Pancreatic cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Skin cancer
• Stomach cancer

To demonstrate just how important ginger can be to helping eliminate cancers, let’s look at one example: ovarian cancer.

In ovarian cancer, there are usually some indicators of the inflammation, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin-8, and prostaglandin E2 (PEG2). Ginger extracts have been shown to greatly decrease these inflammatory markers in ovarian cancer patients. [4] Thus not only can it be taken as a tea or food to help warm someone who may feel cold or have nausea (especially those being treated with chemotherapy), but ginger also has a beneficial effect for those with serious health conditions like ovarian cancer.

Another interesting aspect of ginger is its hypoglycemic effect against enzymes linked to type 2 diabetes. Anyone who has diabetes or even mild insulin resistance can enjoy this added benefit of ginger; it is not harmful to those who are taking diabetes medication. Instead, it may improve overall glucose control. In addition, keeping blood glucose in the lower/normal range is optimal for those with cancer, even if they do not have diabetes.

To sum up, ginger is a strong antioxidant that can help with metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis, and even cancers. Thus, in addition to taking Bosmeric-SR, one should try to include organic ginger in the diet as much as possible. Try adding it to foods like salsa, smoothies, or stir-fry. Ginger is a staple in most Thai and Indian curries and sauces, which are both fun and easy to make at home to liven up the flavors of any meal. You can also cut off half an inch of organic ginger root and blend it in a juicer along with other veggies and fruits to give your juice a kick of spiciness. For those with weak digestion, see Ginger Elixir Recipe to jump-start your digestive system before meals.

Which ginger supplement is best for me?

Research shows that gingerols are some of the most important bioactive anti-inflammatory components in ginger. Most people have taken ginger products, but they may have experienced limited benefits because the supplement contained plain ginger powder. Most dietary supplements on the market contain ginger powder, which is virtually devoid of the beneficial compounds found naturally in ginger.

The ginger extract should be standardized to contain from 10 percent to 20 percent gingerols; the higher the percentage of gingerols, the stronger the health benefits (and the more pungent it is). Bosmeric-SR contains the highest amount of gingerols available today, standardized at 20 percent. A product that says it contains “ginger powder” or “ginger root” and that is not standardized to have gingerols in it truly is not worth taking. You are much better off buying organic ginger root and consuming it as a food, making it into a tea or using some of it in your cooking.

If you take a ginger dietary supplement, make sure it has at least 10 percent standardized gingerols and take 100 mg twice daily with food (most products recommend taking ginger with food). Bosmeric-SR gives you 200 mg of 20 percent gingerols twice daily, with a sustained release that offers lasting effects over eight hours — virtually your entire working day.

Since all four clinically tested and patented ingredients (Curcumin C3 Complex, Boswellin PS, Ginger [gingerols 20 percent ], Bioperine) in Bosmeric-SR act upon cancer pathways,[v] the formulation may help those who have cancer. Its anti-inflammatory and stomach-calming effects are wonderful for those undergoing chemotherapy, as nausea is a common side effect. Taking Bosmeric-SR may not only reduce feelings of nausea safely but also help the condition and protect the non-cancerous cells at the same time. For everyone else, Bosmeric-SR may be a wonderful way to help reduce systemic inflammation in the body and prevent future chronic diseases and cancers from occurring in the first place.

For more detailed information on 10 steps to optimum health using diet and lifestyle changes and the use of natural anti-inflammatories, please read An Inflammation Nation.

Modified by permission from An Inflammation Nation by Sunil Pai © 2015.

The post Ginger is an important part of fighting cancer appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

Here is a short list of the documented activities and actions of boswellia: [1]

• Anti-inflammatory
• Antiarthritic
• Antirheumatic
• Antidiabetic
• Antihyperlipidemic (prevents elevated blood lipids)
• Antiasthmatic
• Anticancer
• Analgesic (pain-relieving)
• Hepatic-protective (liver protection)
• Colon-protective
• Immune-modulatory (positively affects or strengthens the immune system)

The magi brought gifts of frankincense, myrrh, and gold; interestingly, these three items can be further identified as three powerful herbs:

• “Frankincense” is boswellia.
• “Myrrh” is almost certainly the guggul plant (Commiphora wightii).
• “Gold” is thought to be turmeric, as it was the “golden spice” and was traded more than gold during the height of the spice trade.

Today we understand the three wise men were bringing Ayurvedic medicines to baby Jesus.

Frankincense was very popular worldwide for thousands of years. During the sixteenth century in France, frankincense was used in battlefield medicine for the treatment of acute pain and swelling. Although practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine have also used Boswellia serrata for thousands of years to treat arthritis and asthma, a more recent scientific consensus appears to show that frankincense positively impacts inflammation throughout the body and is effective for a number of conditions, including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, [2] inflammatory bowel disease (colitis), [3] colon polyps, [4] and lung diseases such as allergies and asthma. [5]

Frankincense is even the subject of increasing research on its anticancer and anti-inflammatory effects on traumatic brain injury and brain tumors. [6]

Frankincense is not only historically important as internal medicine, but it has been used throughout various religious communities for centuries as incense. You might have experienced frankincense at church or seen it on a televised religious broadcast. Typically, a priest or other clergy member will walk down the main aisle in the church holding a ceremonial censer of smoky incense, which burns throughout the ceremony.

Research into why frankincense has been the preferred incense used in religious practices indicates it may be due to its documented mildly psychoactive properties, which relieve a variety of stressful emotional states like anxiety and depression. The research appears to support its positive effects and its purported ability to draw people in contemplation, meditation, and prayer.

Frankincense stimulates the areas of the brain utilized in states of focus, relaxation, and calm. Therefore, the choice of frankincense might be purposeful, putting us in a calmer state, enabling us to get in touch with our inner being, and fostering a feeling of safety. [7] It is quite amazing how Boswellia serrata reduces not only the inflammation of the body but also that of the mind.

Thanks to the emergence of natural boswellia products, there are now more than 400 published studies on boswellia, with an average of one to two studies published weekly.

Which boswellia extract is best for me?

You might have tried supplements with boswellia before with some or limited success. This is because, as is also the case with curcumin, most boswellia is not standardized. Consumers often get boswellia extract from bark or root powder when the actual anti-inflammatory properties come from the gum resin. Thus, the part of the boswellia tree that manufacturers use makes all the clinical difference.

Without standardization of certain components (boswellic acids, AKBBA, polysaccharides, etc.), the effectiveness of a boswellia supplement can vary from batch to batch, bottle to bottle, manufacturer to manufacturer, season to season, and species to species. Beware of products on the market that are using other parts of the boswellia plant — like the leaves and bark — since these plants are grown more for their use as an incense and not as an efficacious, potent, and pure supplement. But they can still be listed as “boswellia” on supplement bottles!

Research has now shown that certain primary components of boswellia are responsible for its health benefits. Therefore, in order to get true therapeutic value, you must ensure that you are obtaining those components. Various types of boswellia have been shown to have more or greater benefits than others, with Boswellia serrata leading the research. [8]

Let me help educate you on what to look for when it comes to a boswellia product.

First, look to see if it is standardized to a certain amount of boswellic acids. Boswellic acids exhibit anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antiarthritic activities through a unique 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) and human leukocyte elastase (HLE) inhibition mechanism. These acids are crucial to creating an effective boswellia product.

Boswellic acids also inhibit the activation of NF-kB (see figure below) and, consequently, downregulate TNF-alpha and decrease the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-gamma, and LTB4. [9] This means that boswellia helps the lower various inflammatory markers involved in many diseases. Boswellia has recently gained significant attention due to its effect on chronic inflammatory diseases and its anticancer properties.

If a boswellia product is not standardized to contain boswellic acids, then you are not getting the full benefit from it. I would not take a boswellia product that contains no boswellic acids. In general, clinical studies have found that products standardized to contain from 30 percent to 85 percent boswellic acids are the most effective on their own. (But the results are even better when combined with other boswellia components. See below.)

Second, look for how much AKBBA (acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid) is in the product. This should also be standardized to a certain percentage (between 5 percent and 30 percent AKBBA). This component appears to be just as important in improving effectiveness as boswellic acids alone. Products standardized to have AKBBA and boswellic acids are much more effective than Boswellia serrata (extract or powder) alone.

Third, look for PS (Polysal-polysaccharide). A newly discovered part of boswellia has been named a Polysal (PS) fraction. In Bosmeric-SR, this Polysal fraction is called Boswellin PS. It is the new benchmark for boswellia supplements as it contains all three major components of the compound (Polysal, AKBBA, and boswellic acids).

Without all three of these components, you simply aren’t getting what your boswellia product is promising.

Boswellia serrata-Boswellin PS: The new gold standard

Boswellin PS is the new gold standard for boswellia. In addition to its documented anti-inflammatory effects, this combination of the three critical compounds at specific potencies has been shown to be more readily and more quickly absorbed. Boswellin PS contains the key polysaccharide fraction Polysal that improves therapeutic benefits and increases the absorption and efficacy of both the boswellic acids and AKBBA. [10] Studies have been conducted to see how much of each of these main components one needs to maximize the anti-inflammatory benefits of boswellia.

In developing Bosmeric-SR, I intended to create a full-spectrum anti-inflammatory activity that has an immediate onset of action (water soluble) and a sustained-release effect that lasts more than eight hours. Boswellin PS gives us a clinically significant synergistic effect from a patented compound. Boswellin PS contains only clinically tested, specific dosages of Polysal, boswellic acids, and AKBBA, providing for maximum clinical benefits every time.

Once an ingredient has shown promise, most companies will try to cram the highest dose possible into their supplements. For example, some companies use only AKBBA at 90 percent concentration, with no boswellic acids or Polysal. This type of “more is better” approach, which I consider to be the general pharmaceutical approach, does not necessarily translate into better results. Scientific data has shown that synergistic compounds — not a “scorched earth” approach that bombards the body with high doses — appear to have the most beneficial effects.

The careful scientific investigation into each of the three important synergistic components of boswellia has detailed the specific ratios that provide the greatest anti-inflammatory effects. Bosmeric-SR uses these ratios. When it comes to a boswellia product, high concentrations of these three ingredients matter less than specific potencies in the right combination. Bosmeric-SR provides just that.

How much Boswellin PS should I take?

If you take a product that is standardized to have at least 65 percent boswellic acids and 10 percent AKBBA, then I recommend 500 mg twice daily with food. But if you take Bosmeric-SR, which contains the patented components of boswellia in the most effective ratios (Boswellin PS), then you need to take only 200-400 mg (that’s one to two caplets of Bosmeric-SR) twice daily with food.   For those with chronic or severe health conditions such as cancer, 2 caplets three times daily with food is recommended to obtain 24 hours of inflammation support.  Again, with the synergistic and enhancing benefits of curcuminoids (combined additionally with ginger and black pepper), Bosmeric-SR is more effective than even boswellia products that may offer higher concentrations of AKBBA or boswellic acids alone.

For more detailed information on 10 steps to optimum health using diet and lifestyle changes and the use of natural anti-inflammatories, please read An Inflammation Nation.

Modified by permission from An Inflammation Nation by Sunil Pai © 2015.

The post The role of boswellia (frankincense) for cancer appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

It is the common ingredient in many curries. Grown as a root crop, it can be used as a root directly (as it often is in cooking) or converted to a powder for use as a spice. For example, turmeric seasons yellow curry at Thai restaurants and a variety of curry dishes at Indian restaurants. Commonly known as the “yellow-colored spice,” it is even used as a natural coloring agent in foods in the United States, for instance in French’s mustard and other products that have a yellow color.

When using turmeric as a food (or dietary supplement), one should take into consideration important factors such as whether it is synthetic, GMO, or grown with the use of pesticides and herbicides. Further, turmeric is available in many grades, ranging from very good to very poor. To get the benefits of turmeric, one must choose the right cultivar.

Turmeric is a very powerful adaptogenic and anti-inflammatory compound when grown and processed responsibly. Its many health benefits come from a powerhouse compound in its root: curcumin.

Curcumin — a vital component of turmeric

The most vital therapeutic component in turmeric is curcumin.  Although curcumin was described more than a century ago, the last two decades have seen an explosion of research into the compound and its numerous health benefits. Currently there are more than 8,000 published studies on turmeric and curcumin, making it one of the most researched natural ingredients. Curcumin has been shown to have more than 600 potential health benefits despite making up only 2-5 percent of the turmeric root on average.

As you can see from the above diagram, curcumin provides both a multitargeted and monotargeted approach to its therapeutic actions. [1] Multitargeted means that curcumin works on hundreds of biochemical processes. For example, it works on transcriptional factors, protein kinases, adhesion molecules, enzymes, and inflammatory cytokines through its multifunctional actions and effects. Monotargeted means that, like conventional pharmaceuticals, curcumin works specifically on single-targeted pathways. Additionally, curcumin works by inhibiting the same pathways as NSAIDs — in addition to more than 100 other inflammatory pathways — without the unwanted effects.

For those who are interested in the scientific specifics, curcumin has been shown to reduce inflammation via NF-kB a major switch which plays an important role in health and disease (see image below). In addition, curcumin reduces COX-2, 5-LOX, C-reactive protein, IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-12, TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, AP-1, macrophage inflammatory protein, matrix metalloproteinase, human leukocyte elastase (HLE), several types of protein kinases, adhesion molecules, and genes involved with inflammation — to name a few (see image below). In addition to reducing and inhibiting factors that aggravate health conditions, curcumin also activates important protective factors such as Nrf2.

 Other protective factors include curcumin’s demonstrated ability to boost antitumor immunity through different mechanisms. These include: increased population of CD8⁺ and CD4⁺ T cells, along with increase in Th1 cytokines like IFNγ, which mediate tumor cell apoptosis. Curcumin can block Treg cell development, thereby decreasing immunosuppressive cytokines like IL-10 and TGFβ. Curcumin also reduces tumor-induced T-cell apoptosis. All these actions help to invalidate the overall immunosuppressive environment created by a tumor (which is how the tumor avoids being recognized by the immune system) and lead to tumor regression. Thus curcumin has the ability to provide a favorable response by supporting the immune system and restoring immune system-mediated elimination of tumors. [2]

The foregoing explanation is heavy on scientific terminology. In simple terms, curcumin has been shown to exhibit the following properties: [3]

• Antioxidant
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antiviral
• Antibacterial
• Antifungal
• Anticancer

The above effects are mediated through the regulation of various transcription factors, growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, protein kinases, and other enzymes. For those who have severe chronic inflammatory health conditions—such as rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and even some cancers—you probably have been treated with pharmaceutical immunosuppressive agents and anticancer agents, offering some benefits along with heavy side effects and a large list of black-box warnings (see The Dangers of NSAIDs: Black Box Warning) . Curcumin has been shown to work similarly to these powerful medications, but without unwanted and unpleasant side effects.

Curcumin: A natural pharmaceutical without side effects?

Curcumin exhibits activities similar to an astonishing number of major pharmaceutical anti-inflammatory drugs and chemotherapy drugs, including (but far from limited to) the following: COX-2 inhibitors (Celebrex), TNF blockers (Humira, Remicade, and Enbrel), vascular endothelial cell growth-factor blockers (Avastin), human epidermal growth-factor receptor blockers (Erbitux, Erlotinib, and Gefitinib), HER2 blockers (Herceptin), topoisomerase inhibitors (Camptothecin), tubulin inhibitors (paclitaxel, Taxol), and BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Gleevec) — without side effects.^* In fact, there are no reports of death or serious injury from the consumption of turmeric or curcumin — just millions of tasty meals. [4]

So promising is the therapeutic potential of curcumin that a recent turmeric study published in Cancer Letters is paving the way for a revolution in the way that we understand and treat cancer, titled “Targeting Cancer Stem Cells by Curcumin and Clinical Applications.” [5] Researchers in the United States demonstrated via many cell and animal studies that curcumin has the ability to target cancer stem cells (CSCs), getting to the root cause of tumor formation and malignancy. [6]

CSCs are the deadliest cell types within a tumor or blood cancer, since stem cells have the ability to give rise to all the cell types found within a particular cancer. CSCs are capable of dividing (by mitosis) to form either two stem cells (increasing the size of the stem population) or one daughter cell that goes on to differentiate into a variety of cell types and one daughter cell that retains stem-cell properties. This means that CSCs are tumorigenic (tumor forming) and tumor sustaining. Therefore, it makes good medical sense to focus cancer therapy on treating the disease at this level. CSCs are also increasingly recognized to be the cause of relapse and metastasis following conventional cancer treatment.

Turmeric and curcumin extract have been extensively studied for their ability to kill various cancer-cell lines. Research identifies a number of ways in which curcumin provides an ideal CSC-targeting therapy, including the following: [7]

Regulation of the CSC self-renewal pathway: Curcumin appears to directly and indirectly influence at least three self-renewal pathways within cancer stem cells, namely Wnt/b-catenin, sonic hedgehog 89 (SHH), and Notch. The authors list 12 different cancer-cell lines that curcumin appears to affect positively.

Modulation of microRNA: MicroRNAs are short noncoding RNA sequences that regulate approximately 33 percent of the protein-coding genes in the human genome. They bind to target messenger RNAs (mRNAs), leading to their degradation or inactivation. Curcumin has been found to alter the expression of microRNAs in cancer stem cells in a way that would suggest a strong suppression of tumor formation.

In addition to the dozens of anticancer activities that curcumin has demonstrated, it also acts as a chemotherapy and radiation-therapy sensitizer. This means that it helps sensitize the tumors to cancer therapies, making those treatments more effective. In other words, making toxic therapies more targeted. Curcumin can sensitize tumors to many different chemotherapeutic agents, including doxorubicin, 5-FU, paclitaxel, vincristine, melphalan, butyrate, cisplatin, celecoxib, vinorelbine, gemcitabine, oxaliplatin, etoposide, sulfinosine, thalidomide, and bortezomib.

Chemosensitization has been observed in cancers of the breast, colon, pancreas, GI tract, liver, blood, lung, prostate, bladder, cervix, ovary, head, neck, and brain, as well as in multiple myeloma, leukemia, and lymphoma. Similar studies have also revealed that curcumin can increase the sensitivity to gamma radiation of a variety of tumors, including glioma, neuroblastoma, cervical carcinoma, epidermal carcinoma, prostate cancer, and colon cancer. How curcumin acts as a chemosensitizer and radiosensitizer has also been studied extensively. [8] For example, it downregulates various growth-regulatory pathways and specific genetic targets, including genes for NF-kB, STAT3, COX-2, Akt, antiapoptotic proteins, growth-factor receptors, and multidrug-resistance proteins. [9]

Furthermore, curcumin also helps protect healthy tissues from the toxic side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Curcumin has been shown to protect healthy organs and tissues such as the liver, kidney, oral mucosa, and heart from chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-induced toxicity. The protective effects of curcumin appear to be mediated in a variety of ways: through activating Nrf2 and inducing the expression of antioxidant enzymes (e.g., heme oxygenase-1, glutathione peroxidase, modulatory subunit of gamma-glutamyl-cysteine ligase, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1, and increase glutathione — a product of the modulatory subunit of gamma-glutamyl-cysteine ligase), directly quenching free radicals, and inhibiting p300 HAT activity — to name a few. [10]

To summarize all that dense scientific language, curcumin exhibits some of the most amazing anticancer properties, such as the following, which apply to most cancers:

• Inhibits TNF-alpha, NF-kB, and hundreds of other mechanisms that stimulate inflammation [11]
  • As little as 150 mg of curcumin twice daily, standardized to three curcuminoids orally, can significantly decrease TNF-alpha [12]
• Prevents multidrug-resistant cancers [13]
• Destroys cancer stem cells (CSC) [14]
• Protects tissues and organs from chemotherapy- and radiation-induced damage (reducing overall toxicity from these treatments) [15]
• Works synergistically with chemotherapy and radiation therapy to make those therapies more targeted and, therefore, more effective. [16]

In addition to inhibiting and influencing the biological mechanisms of inflammation as described earlier, curcumin has been shown to improve endothelial function and reduce vascular inflammation (which increases blood flow and prevents plaque buildup in the arteries), downregulate adipokines (including resistin and leptin, factors involved in obesity) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1, and upregulate Nrf2 (key factors involved in brain-inflammatory processes and brain-degeneration issues that manifest in disorders such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, traumatic brain injury, and other neurodegenerative conditions).

So what does all this mean in terms of preventing and treating disease? It means curcumin may be the most powerful natural therapeutic substance for a wide array of acute and chronic health conditions.

Conditions helped by curcumin^*

• Osteoarthritis
• Autoimmune arthritis (rheumatoid)
• Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease
• Cancer (breast, prostate, brain, colon, bone, and liver), via immune-modulating, angiogenesis, tumorigenic properties
• Allergies and asthma
• Diabetes and diabetic neuropathy
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Obesity
• Fibromyalgia and other chronic-pain syndromes
• Neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, etc.)
• Acne, psoriasis, and eczema
• Liver diseases (toxic insults and dysfunction)

Which form of curcumin is best for me?

Now that you know some of the amazing benefits of curcumin, and you’ve seen that there is a lot of low-quality curcumin on the market, how can you tell what is best?

The gold standard for curcumin is called Curcumin C3 Complex, (which is part of Bosmeric-SR formula; see The Vital Role of Boswellia (Frankincense) for Cancer).  It is the patented form of curcumin that contains standardized 95 percent curcuminoids and is supported by 50 human clinical studies (and counting) at major universities, hospitals, and health-care institutions worldwide, making Curcumin C3 Complex the most clinically studied brand of curcumin on the market today.

Curcumin C3 Complex is not only the most effective form of curcumin and the most clinically studied but also contains the three major constituents (curcuminoids) in specific ratios, guaranteed:

• Curcumin (70-80 percent)
• Bidemothoxy curcumin (2.5-6.5 percent)
• Demethoxy curcumin (15-25 percent)

These three curcuminoids are guaranteed to be in the same ratios in every batch, which is almost unheard of in the natural-product world. Most importantly, these curcuminoid ratios are also the precise ratios that have undergone the most clinical studies. This guaranteed uniformity ensures consistency of health benefits and enables physicians to more accurately recommend and administer these incredibly beneficial compounds.

What about generic curcumin extract standardized to 95 percent curcuminoids?

If you’re familiar with curcumin supplements, then you’re familiar with the ways in which companies try to assure consumers that they’re getting what they’re paying for. Most companies use generic “standardized 95 percent curcuminoids,” but that standardization doesn’t guarantee that the curcuminoid ratios are exactly in the proportions that have been clinically studied. In fact in a recent study in 2016 on the “Strong Anti-inflammatory Effects of Curcumin” by Vetivicka and Vetivickova, demonstrated that only Curcumin C3 Complex had both anti-inflammatory and immunological activity in comparison to four other brands of generic 95 percent curcuminoids in both vitro and vivo testing.

The study showed the other major brands and sources of generic 95 percent curcuminoids had little to none inflammatory and immunological activities. Thus not all curcumins available are equal.  The reason for the difference it is not the just the total amount of the three specific curcuminoids that was patented in Curcumin C3 Complex but also the process on how they are extracted.  Therefore since generics cannot extract the curcuminoids in the same way, their physiological benefits differ and in this case there is little to no activity.

This explains why in the clinical trials there are benefits to lowering inflammation through a variety of mechanisms and improving cancer outcomes but many people in the public do not obtain this benefit when they use generic 95 percent curcuminoid products. Thus generic standardization limits the effectiveness and purity of most curcumin supplements. Generic curcumin has no potency guarantee and is not validated by third-party testing; most supplements fall short of efficacy and safety measures. With this recent study, it proves again the difference between real science of proven natural patented ingredients and the ineffective generic products that are heavily marketed.

Supplement manufacturers from China and India, driving the marketplace to provide the cheapest product possible, generally purchase generic curcumin products. In this competitive international marketplace, corners are cut to further drive down costs; the most basic cuts are to safety (not testing enough or at all) and efficacy (not verifying clinical effectiveness).

Most companies (including MLM companies, health-practitioner channels, and retailers) will purchase generic curcuminoids not knowing (or caring) which type of turmeric they come from, how the turmeric is grown (whether pesticides, herbicides, GMO, or synthetics were used), whether harmful solvents were used for the extraction process, whether the product was irradiated, or whether or not the curcuminoids are effective. All that matters is the bottom line and having a “buzz worthy” ingredient. Thus by providing a substandard material and citing the clinical studies done on Curcumin C3 Complex as also applicable to their curcumin, these generic suppliers are misleading the consumers.

Remember, the FDA classifies a dietary supplement as “not intended to treat, prevent, or cure disease.” This limitation actually works in unscrupulous supplement companies’ favor. Since the FDA has defined what a supplement can’t do, supplement manufacturers can take advantage of this disclaimer by obtaining the cheapest (even completely ineffective) product because they are not being held to any standard of efficacy, potency, or purity. In essence, they don’t have to provide products that actually work anywhere close to how they are marketed.

Curcumin C3 Complex (see The Vital Role of Boswellia (Frankincense) for Cancer) contains only this proven form — the curcumin supported by the most safety data. This safety data has been reviewed and acknowledged by the FDA for GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status, a process that includes a comprehensive review of safety and toxicology data. Most other curcumin products on the market cannot make that claim.

Because Curcumin C3 Complex is made using a patented and proprietary process, the safety data for Curcumin C3 Complex is not applicable to other curcumin products. In fact, many other curcumin-supplement companies derive their indirect and direct health claims and advertising from research studies using Curcumin C3 Complex and not their own products! And you may see other curcumin products advertise that their curcumin is touted to be safe…

Our recommend Curcumin product is the C3 Complex found in Bosmeric-SR, which is guaranteed safe.

The use of turmeric and curcumin supplements has skyrocketed because of the enormous amounts of research published on a near-weekly basis (again, there are over eight thousand studies). Curcumin is one of the top five best-selling herbal ingredients every year. Because of this high demand, many companies and products state that they use curcumin, but, in actuality, their curcumin compounds are not as potent, as effective, or even as safe. The only one I recommend is found in Bosmeric-SR (see The Vital Role of Boswellia (Frankincense) for Cancer).

Natural versus Synthetic

As I touched on in the previous section, because of the competition in the marketplace and the drive for higher profit margins, you might have thought you tried Curcumin C3 Complex in the past. Over the past few years, companies have been caught claiming Curcumin C3 Complex on their label when in fact they were selling generic curcumin, synthetic curcumin, or turmeric extract. More nefariously, some companies have added a small amount of Curcumin C3 Complex to their product but illegally cut the product with generic curcumin, synthetic curcumin, or turmeric powder to make the margins on the product better.

This year synthetic curcumin was discovered being sold as turmeric extract with forged certificates of analysis. A major company selling curcumin extract in India for export to the United States was adulterating their product with synthetic curcumin (43 percent). What makes it worse is that the company was not revealing the synthetic contents. This leads one to a few obvious questions. What was it synthesized from? What chemicals were used? What process did they use to make it? And the most important question: is it safe for consumption by humans?

Synthetically made materials may have distinctively different pharmacological activities compared to natural products. If a company is selling synthetic curcumin and not identifying that some or all of the product was synthetically derived, that lack of transparency is not only misleading consumers who think they are taking a product derived from turmeric root, but it has the potential to hurt people.

Therefore, in order to avoid questionable contract manufacturers, I prefer to go directly to the source of ensuring each batch is consistent and guaranteed every time.  This is what you get with Bosmeric-SR, 100 percent guaranteed of the right form (purity) and dose (potency) of Curcumin C3 Complex each time you take it.

In a time when it seems everyone is trying to make a fast buck on supplements, transparent quality control and safety protocols have never been more important. Curcumin C3 Complex (as well as Bosmeric-SR) is manufactured in an FDA-inspected facility compliant with CGMP (the FDA’s standard for “current good manufacturing processes”). Its manufacturer maintains quality through the sourcing of raw material; they have direct control and access throughout the sourcing and manufacturing process. They use only analytical and biological testing labs audited and certified by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). Bosmeric-SR is manufactured in state-of-the-art facilities assessed by NSF International and certified to be in compliance with GMP. [17]

Again, although all manufacturing facilities should be up to these standards, because of the staffing limitations of the FDA and other regulatory agencies (since there are hundreds of contract manufacturers opening all over the country on a regular basis), not all companies actually comply with current FDA regulations.

Whether you decide to use Bosmeric-SR or not, it is important that you know the guidelines and the regulations that all supplements should abide by. The more informed we are, the higher standards these companies will have to hold themselves to if they want to stay in business.

What about the newer forms of curcumin that claim to be better absorbed?

Many companies claim to be selling newer forms of curcumin that they advertise as “new and improved,” “better absorbed,” and “more bioavailable” products. The industry uses these new buzzwords to help sell products, but as you might imagine, they aren’t necessarily providing the results they’re promising. I am not saying that some products do not have additional benefits or even improve on the benefits of a previous formulation. But when I started looking into actual formulations and actual data for “better absorbed” curcumin, what I found was shocking.

Bioavailability: A path and not a destination

The supplement industry has placed a disproportionate emphasis on the role of bioavailability of their formulations, but bioavailability is not the sole criterion for judging the therapeutic effect of curcumin.  Bioavailability is the amount of a substance (in this case curcumin) that is absorbed and made available at the site of physiological activity.  Therefore increasing bioavailability is important, but making sure that the substances, which are measured, also have health benefits is critical.

Vast amounts of research, along with the expert opinions of those who specialize in the field of curcuminoids, have continually maintained that bioavailability is only a “path” and not the “destination.” Enhanced bioavailability cannot be used as an alternative to or as a substitute for clinical studies. Now, I am interested in increasing bioavailability with all my products (see article on Black Pepper), and I also favor those companies that have invested in making their products more bioavailable. But these companies must have also initiated, supported, and invested their resources in several curcumin-based clinical trials. Science trumps buzzwords, always.

Formulations that contain curcumin-phosphatidyl choline, curcumin-lecithin, and micronized and micelle-curcumin mixtures deliver curcumin as a small fraction of the actual mass (most offer less than 20 percent curcuminoids; one even provides only 7 percent). Although the studies on these products show some benefits (as they should, since they are providing some curcumin), their claims of “29 to 60 times” to even “185 times more absorbed” contain flat-out skewed data.

When curcuminoids are absorbed in the body, they are converted to many byproducts or metabolites such as glucuronides. Studies of these newer formulations are measuring not the actual curcuminoids but these other metabolites. They are using the increase in the metabolites to show increased absorption, but they are not actually providing those metabolites directly. For example, the above formulations do not inhibit the biotransformation of curcuminoids, which is the limiting factor for improving bioavailability. Instead, these formulations just load the body with more of the inactive glucuronide metabolites of curcuminoids. Additionally, many of these metabolites have been recently discovered to have little to no anti-inflammatory effects! [18]

Companies routinely misrepresent data and skew it to exaggerate the comparisons between formulations — especially in relation to other products. In fact, pharmaceutical companies may be the biggest offenders in this area. According to a handful of medical studies on the pharmaceutical industry, most of the comparison graphs and data that pharmaceutical sales reps and advertisements presented to doctors were not accurate. [19]

If this happens within the pharmaceutical industry — which the FDA regulates — you can imagine what happens when there is no regulation or oversight for such marketing from dietary-supplement companies. Exaggerated graphs and data are shown every day in supplement advertising and by sales reps. Store clerks, doctors, and the general public have probably seen a chart that shows “increased absorption” or “better bioavailability.”

Often these charts are comparing apples to oranges. As one example, I was presented with studies on curcumin that showed increased absorption rates, but those higher rates were for curcumin in a liquid versus a tablet form, and the company giving the presentation sold only tablets. This is a common trick in which sales representatives extrapolate data from one form or type of supplement and try to use it to their advantage; most products, when taken as a liquid, deliver better absorption than as a solid. In the case of this tablet company, however, they were attempting to misguide me with inaccurate data that made their product look better than it was.

Another newer form of curcumin uses something called “colloidal dispersion technology” and states that it has “enhanced absorption and bioavailability up to twenty-seven times.” A sales rep from the nutraceuticals company marketing this product arrived at my office and tried to tell me that this new curcumin was superior to anything else on the market. He had a colorful graph showing that it was “twenty-seven times” more absorbable than “regular” curcumin.

He did not know that I was familiar with the study used for the infographic. In that study, the authors tested their newer form of curcumin (which contained far less curcumin than most brands) against a turmeric product, but they (purposely) never stated the actual quantity of curcuminoids that the comparison product contained — only that theirs dissolved better in water. Thus, the rep was using an invalid comparison, which is sadly all too common.

Aside from that, however, this salesman didn’t mention that his product contained far fewer curcuminoids, and he declined to disclose the product’s sources. On top of that, a supplement that disperses better in water does not necessarily correlate to improved efficacy or absorption in the blood. What does this mean to the consumer? It means that dietary-supplement companies that sell these sorts of well-marketed “more bioavailable” products can make bigger claims and bigger profit margins while using lower potency or lower amounts of curcuminoids.

Another wrinkle in the bioavailability competition is the rise of lipid- or nano-encapsulated ingredients. These processes take standard ingredients and encapsulate them in tiny absorbable particles, making them smaller and more dispersible. Nanoparticles may be beneficial, although they certainly have their detractors, but with curcumin I tend to use what is tried and true. To date, no nanoparticle curcumin has been studied against Curcumin C3 Complex — just generic, nonstandardized curcumin powder or extracts without disclosed potencies. Generic forms never test against patented forms. Again, be wary of unsourced supplement studies and read very carefully between the lines—especially when it comes to an extremely popular compound like curcumin.

When assessing the bioavailability of curcumin in the body, ignoring the role of curcumin’s metabolites reveals a lack of knowledge and expertise. Curcumin breaks down into certain metabolites, which are mainly tetrahydrocurcumin, curcumin glucuronides, and sulfates. While the positive effects of tetrahydrocurcumin have been recognized, most bioavailability studies have failed to quantify the bioconversion of curcumin into this efficacious metabolite, tetrahydrocurcumin. [20]

This means that most studies are not giving the full therapeutic picture. The bioefficacy of glucuronides and sulfate metabolites, which is what the newer forms of curcumin formulations are claiming are better absorbed, has not been well established. They even have been shown to be less active and have weak activity. [21] Furthermore, they have no anti-inflammatory effects, nor do they have any effect on mitotic catastrophe, an important step in preventing proliferation of some cancerous cells. [22]

A world-renowned cancer and inflammation researcher in natural therapeutics announced at a recent cancer conference that his research demonstrated that “curcumin glucuronides show very little antiproliferative activity against human cancer-cell lines and have no inhibitory effect on NF-kB, thus lacking the anti-inflammatory activity of curcuminoids.” [23]

Although many products sold in health-food stores, on the Internet, through MLM companies, and through doctors’ networks may claim better absorption, they are measuring curcumin metabolites — especially the glucuronides — and thus are missing the stronger intended anti-inflammatory effect. In the real world, such absorption claims have nothing to do with efficacy; they’re simply the stuff of cleverly written research articles, with graphs that seem to illustrate meaningful differences, and very convincing marketing campaigns. Again, instead of searching for the “new and improved,” I tend to go with what has been tried and true — and backed by research.

Since many products are being introduced into the market almost monthly, and it would be impossible to go through all the comparisons here, I have provided comparisons on the most popular curcumin products being sold on the market which is described in detail in my book An Inflammation Nation.

Turmeric cultivation and processing: What is best?

Since so many supplement companies focus on marketing “better absorption,” maybe we should ask them, better absorption of what, exactly? What type of curcumin are they using, and how is it cultivated and processed? You might make a smoothie with a high-quality blender such as a Vitamix, but that doesn’t mean that the smoothie is good for you — especially if it contains conventional, nonorganic, and GMO foods. What makes a smoothie better for you is not just the quality of the blender but, more importantly, the quality of the ingredients.

Most companies that sell curcumin products have no control of the actual turmeric crop, nor any control over how it is cultivated (e.g., with pesticides, herbicides, radiation, or GMOs). These companies only worry about getting the cheapest raw ingredients from the world market (mainly from China) and then trying to improve upon them with their proprietary processes.

However, when using foods as medicine, starting with the best ingredients makes the biggest difference. The curcumin in Bosmeric-SR is controlled, from crop cultivation at the farms to the highest certified processing facilities, to a patented process of extracting the specific ratio of curcuminoids — guaranteed batch to batch — to the manufacturing of the unique delivery system. All of this ensures a superior product that is consistent, potent, pure, and effective every time.

Taking things a step further, I have ensured that the Curcumin C3 Complex in Bosmeric-SR is not irradiated. Here’s why this is vitally important.

Many people are not aware that since 9/11, all food ingredients imported into the United States must be irradiated to ensure “safety” and destroy contaminants (bacteria, fungus, etc.). I have researched extensively and traveled to India (where most of the turmeric is grown) and discovered that almost all curcumin — especially curcumin grown in China, which is the second largest producer — is irradiated prior to being sent to the United States. My experience in India was truly disheartening. During my search for the best type of turmeric/curcumin, I witnessed many batches of raw product being sent to facilities to get irradiated. At these various facilities (which irradiate products and then provide certification of the completion of such treatment), there was no difference in the amount of radiation used to sterilize each different product.

For example, I personally witnessed the irradiation of a variety of herbal turmeric products from the biggest exporters in India (exporters that provide turmeric/curcumin to the major retailers and common brands at the health-food stores). These exporters have their products irradiated at the same dose that is used to sterilize surgical equipment. We are all familiar with the harmful effects of extreme doses of radiation, and sterilizing the herbal ingredients at that extreme level dramatically decreases the effectiveness of the antioxidants, phytonutrients, and other important aspects.

Curcumin C3 Complex is also non-irradiated to preserve the therapeutic benefits that are stripped out by massive doses of “protective” radiation. It does cost more to obtain certifications and to follow extremely strict importation procedures to ensure that there are no contaminants (bacteria, fungus, etc.) without irradiating anything. Naturally, it takes extra money, time and steps of quality control, but it is worth it to provide the true benefits of these incredibly powerful natural ingredients. Most of my patients who have tried other turmeric supplements said they did not work as well as they expected, but almost all reported that when they took Bosmeric-SR, they noticed an immediate and ongoing difference.

Not only does Bosmeric-SR have ensured potency and efficacy because it uses Curcumin C3 Complex, but it also has guaranteed safety from contaminants like heavy metals. Heavy metals? How do they wind up in any supplement? When supplement manufacturers request turmeric, the bulk spice is shipped to the United States in large containers. During the past few years — especially in 2008, 2011, and again in 2013 — independent consumer groups discovered that 33 percent of turmeric and curcumin supplements failed quality testing, and many popular brands contained lead and other contaminants. [24] Turmeric was being shipped in lead containers (mostly from India and China), and the containers’ linings were leaching lead into the turmeric. Makes you wonder about other foods, such as grains, shipped in those containers.

During the time of greatest lead contamination, many patients who came to see me were taking turmeric supplements for their joint pain. They told me they were taking it because they had read all the health benefits, but they felt that they were actually getting worse. No surprise: they were taking products from companies whose turmeric/curcumin products failed safety tests for lead contamination. Even worse, the patients had high levels of lead when we screened them using blood testing. This is a tragically obvious example of why purity is so important.

You will almost always get what you pay for. Sometimes a bargain costs you far more in the end. Remember, by the FDA’s own definition, “Dietary supplements are not intended to prevent, treat, reverse, or cure any disease.” Far too many companies follow that rule, but not to avoid getting in trouble for making sensationalistic health claims; instead they use the FDA’s disclaimer to absolve them of providing high-quality, effective, or safe products.

Furthermore, it is important to make sure that no harmful, toxic solvents are used in the process of extracting real curcumin from turmeric, as solvent residues do remain on extracted products and can cause harm. No harmful solvents are used in the extraction of the Curcumin C3 Complex used in Bosmeric-SR. Again, this processing is an investment in the health of anyone taking Bosmeric-SR; it costs slightly more to make a cleaner and safer product than to use cheap, poisonous chemicals, but it’s an investment worth making for so many reasons.

In addition to checking purity and quality of source, one must make sure that they’re getting real curcuminoids from real turmeric. Companies in China and India can make synthetic curcuminoids in the laboratory, creating something like a pharmaceutical compound. This is why you see turmeric/curcumin products priced as low as $2-5 for a bottle on the Internet. These cheap products are usually synthetically derived; you are taking an isolated molecular compound, and therefore, you are not receiving the full benefits of the curcuminoids — as well as the other active turmeric compounds.

Cheaper products mean that more harmful chemicals have been used in the production process, and, thus, they expose you to greater risk of side effects and allergic reactions. Next time you see a cheap generic turmeric product, see if the word “natural” is listed in the ingredients. I can say with near 100 percent certainty that you will see only the words turmeric or curcumin or turmeric extract (or powder) or curcumin extract (or powder). All the supplements with their ingredients listed this way will be priced at or below five dollars per bottle. On top of that, some branded turmeric or curcumin products are actually synthetics. Some supplement companies sell products honestly thinking they are using real turmeric when they are actually purchasing synthetic curcumin or turmeric and don’t even know it! The deception can seem insidious, but it’s not over yet.

When investigating your dietary supplements, always look for NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) and CGMP (current good manufacturing practice) certifications and a guarantee that the supplements have been formulated and packaged in registered ISO 22000 facilities only. These certifications establish strict guidelines that make sure the manufacturer follows ethical practices that all boil down to ensuring that the label matches the contents of the bottle. These certifications ensure compliance by requiring audits that verify that the company is meeting the highest standards of manufacturing and handling of products at all times.

I prefer to obtain a finished product directly from the company that owns the patents and ingredients instead of buying from third-party vendors — especially when it comes to turmeric, because of all the pitfalls I described above. Since the FDA does not regulate dietary supplements but only offers guidelines (which are not enforced until after an adverse report or event), many companies cheat their customers and increase their bottom line by blending patented ingredients with generic ones.

In essence, this means that they can state on their labels they are using the patented ingredients—like Curcumin C3 Complex — when in fact the product might contain only 5 percent to 10 percent Curcumin C3 Complex. The rest could be generic turmeric powder or even synthetic curcumin extracts. This practice is so widespread as to be epidemic. Consumer groups decry it, but federal agencies do not have the resources to investigate every supplement manufacturer.

Since I work closely with the manufacturers of the ingredients I use in my products, I know the raw cost of the product — that is, the actual price of the product before it is sold to wholesalers and then to retailers. Even nutrition companies that sell exclusively to healthcare providers and on the Internet join the many online discount vitamin companies (I like to call them the “big-box vitamin shops” or “discount warehouses” of supplements) that sell Curcumin C3 Complex at prices lower than the actual raw cost of the product.

No matter how much volume discount a company receives, the price of any product at retail should never be lower than the raw cost. Products sold below raw cost guarantee that the branded ingredient is being cut or diluted with generic or synthetic ingredients, or it contains other ingredients altogether. If you look at a patented ingredient and find a competitor with a price that is greatly lower or even half the price, you’re virtually guaranteed that the cheap product would not meet its label claims of potency or purity if tested.

Therefore, when looking for turmeric/curcumin — and, really, any other natural products — make sure they are:

• Tested for heavy metals (there is a high risk of lead contamination in cheap supplements)
• Produced in an NSF- and CGMP-certified facility
• Manufactured in an ISO 22000-certified facility
• Guaranteed for potency and purity, with documentation and third-party test results
• Using patented ingredients (like Curcumin C3 Complex, for example) to ensure quality, potency, and purity
• Certified GRAS (generally regarded as safe) by FDA

How much Curcumin C3 Complex should one take?

Now that you better understand the potential pitfalls of generic curcumin, I would like to talk about the product I know best and tell you how you can use it best to achieve your health and wellness goals.

Most of the clinical studies on the use of curcuminoids suggest a daily dose from 1 g (1,000 mg) to 3 g (3,000 mg), in divided doses for a better response (e.g., 1,000 mg three times a day). I recommend the divided doses because when curcumin is absorbed into the body, it has a short “peak” and then falls off over time. Therefore, multiple doses provide a better response throughout the day. The more chronic or severe the health condition, the higher the dose that the person would require. Some studies suggest upward of 8 g (8,000 mg) or more for severe, life-threatening diseases or end-stage cancers. [25]

When I first started recommending turmeric — and especially Curcumin C3 Complex — my patients were taking multiple pills three times daily, as there were no other options. That was one of the driving forces behind the development of Bosmeric-SR. I made sure we improved the efficacy of curcuminoids (through a combination of synergistic ingredients) and the potency of curcumin itself through a unique delivery system that requires just one to two caplets, twice daily with food. Those with severe health conditions, such as cancer, can take two caplets three times daily with food for twenty-four hours of full support.

Bosmeric-SR comes in an easy-to-swallow bilayered vegetarian caplet that has an immediate action — meaning it is designed to start working within 20 minutes (like a “fast tab”) but also incorporates sustained release for over eight hours of support. This specific type of sustained release provides the clinical benefits of 3 g (or more) of curcuminoids with the intake of just 1 g.

What about taking curcumin products during chemotherapy, radiation, or imaging (CT and PET scans)?

In the past, most oncologists and internal medicine physicians advised their patients not to take anything herbal while undergoing their chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Thankfully, this is now considered to be out-of-date advice.

Most recent studies (in vivo studies on various cancers) have shown that animals and human patients that took the combination of conventional treatment along with curcumin did better than those taking conventional treatment alone. Curcumin has been shown to have both chemo-protective and radio-protective benefits. [26] In other words, it helps protect the healthy cells from the damaging effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Thus, curcumin has a threefold effect:

1. Curcumin reduces the toxic side effect of damage to healthy cells.
2. Curcumin decreases inflammation and other dangerous cancer signals that aggravate cells (see figure Curcumin Targets).
3. Curcumin sensitizes cancer cells to chemotherapy and radiation, which makes these toxic therapies more targeted (helping to attack the cancer, while leaving healthy, unaffected cells and tissues unharmed). [27]

Curcumin is only one means that might be able to improve someone’s treatment outcomes. Bosmeric-SR and all of its synergistic compounds may be an important part of an overall protocol for those suffering from cancer. The ingredients in Bosmeric-SR have not only healing aspects but also protective or preventative aspects. For that reason, I recommend all my patients take Bosmeric-SR for added radiation protection when they get CT and PET scans, and other imaging as well, including full-body scans at the airport.

For more detailed information on 10 steps to optimum health using diet and lifestyle changes and the use of natural anti-inflammatories, please read An Inflammation Nation.

Modified by permission from An Inflammation Nation by Sunil Pai © 2015.

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Historically, black pepper was used as a spice and as a medicine. The underlying reason it became so ubiquitous is rooted in science. Black pepper enhances bioavailability. In other words, black pepper helps improve the absorption of whatever one takes with it, improving the digestive process and the absorption of foods in tandem.

Black pepper is used not only in foods but also in Ayurvedic medicine. It has been a staple in formulations to improve the absorption of natural medicines for thousands of years.

BioPerine is a patented and standardized extract of black pepper (Piper nigrum). Piperine, an alkaloid contained in black pepper, causes its pungent bitterness; BioPerine has been patented and standardized to contain exactly 95 percent piperine. When the patented BioPerine is added to patented Curcumin C3 Complex, it has been shown to increase the absorption and length of time for penetration in organs such as blood, bone, heart, liver, spleen, kidney, and muscle more than just with Curcumin C3 Complex alone.[1] This increase has been shown to improve absorption up to 2,000 percent.

No other black pepper extract (as well as curcumin extract) can make that claim. This is why Ayurvedic medicine traditionally places black pepper with curcumin in medicines and also why we cook our spices together in our foods. Bioperine also has been shown to increase other vitamins and nutrients dramatically.

BioPerine has the ideal bioavailability-enhancing potency needed from black pepper, and it has been clinically demonstrated to aid in the absorption of many supplements. Bioperine has been shown to improve the absorption of curcumin (specifically Curcumin C3 Complex) by up to 2,000 percent, boswellia, and ginger from 30 percent to 60 percent. That is a big difference.

Not only are you getting the most potent and clinically effective forms of curcumin, boswellia, and ginger in Bosmeric-SR, you are getting 2,000 percent of the most clinically studied form of curcumin plus 30 percent to 60 percent increased absorption of the other ingredients—sustained over eight hours.

BioPerine: activities and actions

There are currently more than 500 modern cell, animal, and human studies that describe the following actions and properties of black pepper (piperine), contained in BioPerine. [2]

• Anti-inflammatory (e.g., COX-2)
• Antioxidant (i.e., lipid peroxidation)
• Antiasthmatic/anti-COPD
• Immunomodulatory
• Chemopreventive (prevents cancer cells from growing)
• Controls progression of tumor growth
• Anticancer (i.e., decreases NF-kB, STAT-3, and MMP-9)
• Assists in cognitive brain functioning
• Boosts nutrient absorption and bioavailability of herbal and conventional drugs
• Improves gastrointestinal functionality
• Antimicrobial
• Antiulcer (gastro-protective)
• Antidepressant
• Antiamoebic

BioPerine helps to boost the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, and gastro-protective properties of Bosmeric-SR (combination of Curcumin C3 Complex, Boswellin PS, and ginger extract) while enhancing the overall absorption of the formula.  However, similar to Curcumin C3 Complex and how the patented extraction makes the clinical effectiveness versus generic curcumin extracts standardized to 95 percent curcuminoids, the same applies to Bioperine.  The patent is on how the piperine is extracted, not just the amount.  Therefore, formulas using the generic 95 percent piperine extracts will not have the same clinical benefit as the patented form of Bioperine.

How much BioPerine should I take in a supplement?

For those who take BioPerine in a dietary supplement, the clinical dose for enhanced absorption of curcumin is 5 mg per 250-500 mg of curcumin (the same dose applies to boswellia and ginger). Many companies tend to put less than 5 mg of BioPerine in their supplements, just enough that they can include it on the label and market the increase in absorption. But, more often than not, these amounts aren’t even close to the clinical dose needed for improved absorption.

If you see a product with less than 5 mg of BioPerine, question the other ingredients in the product as well. Again, this is where the industry uses hard data for marketing purposes, employing a bait-and-switch tactic, whereby they make consumers aware of the benefits of BioPerine but then shortchange them by providing so small a dose that it delivers virtually no clinical benefits. This bait-and-switch tactic again illustrates the frequency with which companies prioritize profits above efficacy, safety, and purity.

If a product contains “black pepper extract” only, then beware of this as well. You’re probably not getting a product standardized to contain 95 percent piperine (the clinically effective concentration), and therefore, you will not get the results that the company claims (directly or indirectly).

Can black pepper be dangerous?

Over the past few years, this question has come up, not only from consumers or from people who have had problems but also from other supplement companies that sell natural anti-inflammatory products and do not want to use the patented form of piperine (i.e., BioPerine) or use black pepper at all (again, to keep their profits higher). In fact, some of these companies have their director of education/marketing state that the increased absorption provided by black pepper could potentially increase interactions with prescription medication and cause liver problems. Let me assure you that this is just a scare tactic.

First, black pepper has been used safely for thousands of years without any side effects or harm. I have been practicing medicine for nearly 20 years, and I have never heard of any fellow doctor or health regulatory agency warns the public to be careful of taking medication with meals that may contain black pepper. You probably had some black pepper the last time you ate lunch or dinner. Black pepper has never been banned from a restaurant table anywhere in the world.

In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Millions of people worldwide take their medications daily with food that has black pepper in it. In some cultures and dishes, there may be dozens of times more black pepper than you would get in any dietary supplement.

Try not to become a victim of fear mongering and scare tactics. Companies use educational, marketing, or sales people to disseminate this misinformation on purpose — to drum up sales for whatever they are selling or to discourage customers from purchasing a competitor’s product. Nothing more.

No actual M.D. or anyone trained in nutrition would ever tell you to avoid black pepper unless you have an allergy to it. Most respectable supplement companies understand these scare tactics, but unfortunately, many wholesalers, retailers, and health-care providers don’t. Don’t buy into the hype. More importantly, you might want to question companies that go to such lengths to create such misinformation.

For more detailed information on 10 steps to optimum health using diet and lifestyle changes and the use of natural anti-inflammatories, please read An Inflammation Nation.

Modified by permission from An Inflammation Nation by Sunil Pai © 2015.

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It’s perfect for those who are undergoing panchakarma or a detoxification program.  It also can help with lowering nausea and strengthen the ability to absorb nutrients.

Ingredients:

• 1 three-to-four-inch piece of unpeeled fresh organic ginger root
• 4 to 6 organic lemons
• 1 cup purified water
• ¾ cup raw organic honey (for those who are strict vegans, organic agave nectar can be substituted)
• ¼ tsp. organic crushed black pepper

Directions:

• Cut the ginger into ½-inch pieces.
• Using a powerful juicer, push the ginger through the juicer and juice enough to make 1 cup.
• In a citrus juicer, juice the lemons to make 1 cup of juice.
• Combine the juices in a large bowl.
• With a wire whisk, mix the water, honey, and black pepper into the ginger and lemon juice. Whisk until blended.
• Store in a pitcher or glass jar in the refrigerator.

Note: ginger and black pepper are sprayed with pesticides/herbicides and therefore Organic forms must be used to avoid these toxins and for best results.

Recommended use: One ounce twice daily, 10 minutes before meals.

For more detailed information on 10 steps to optimum health using diet and lifestyle changes and the use of natural anti-inflammatories, please read An Inflammation Nation.

The post Ginger Elixir Recipe appeared first on Cancer Tutor.