For years, I have researched and utilized Curcumin for my veterinary patients, taking advantage of the herb's tremendous ability to reduce inflammation and likewise pain. Truth be told, I became interested originally in Curcumin to aid in my own personal recovery from cancer, targeting the inflammation in my condition. I wasn't always into so called 'alternative therapies' but had practiced traditional veterinary medicine for over 15 years as a western minded individual. Funny, though, that when faced with your own mortality or illness who one's mindset can change.
I saw some major positive changes in myself and my recovery, enough to make me pursue the use of Curcumin in our patients, specifically horses. My original mindset was that if inflammation was the main target of this herb, why not use it in cases of joint damage or injury in my patients. In the end, we did some small research trials which proved valuable and demonstrated tremendous benefit for the patient, helping to reduce pain, slow progression in some cases and reduce the need for some prescription medications. It was all very interesting as now we had a new option for our patients. However, as time went by, we began to realize that the potential for this herb had yet to be discovered. In many of our equine patients, we began to notice a decrease or reduction in various skin tumors that were present in some of these animals. What was the connection?
That connection is the inflammatory process, which has been demonstrated in human research to be strongly connected not only with cancer development but disease progression as well. Curcumin has been studied for decades noting tremendous potential in cancer management either as a sole therapy itself or in combination with current chemotherapy and radiation protocols. Despite many oncologists refuting the use of herbs and antioxidants during treatment regimens, current research clearly demonstrates the ability of Curcumin to actually sensitize neoplastic or cancerous cells to chemotherapy or radiation. What that means is that Curcumin actually improves the effects of these therapies, enhancing the outcomes, minimizing damage to normal tissue and potentially allowing the use of lowered or less toxic doses of those medications. In some studies, it was suggested that concurrent use of Curcumin in cancer patients could actually extend life and the quality of it for some patients.
One article that I recently became aware of demonstrated the ability of Curcumin to actually work well in conjunction with a chemotherapy agent called 5-FU in cases of resistant colon cancer. The combined use actually improved the cancerous cell death rate or apoptosis, even in highly chemo resistant cell lines, demonstrating the ability to even impact cancer stem cell lines which are often to blame for cancer recurrence. (Shakibaei, 2014)
The reality here is that there is much potential for Curcumin. In my equine world, I often run into the situation where horse owners question the ability of the herb to produce results, thinking that it is a gimmick on some level, despite our research and the research that has been done to date in the human field. When we really begin to look at the logic here, we realize that most herbs such as Curcumin are actually foods, which have medicinal like activity. In fact, most pharmaceutical medications are produced as a direct result of mimicking plant activity on cell lines. If we realize this, we begin to see the impact of diet and nutrition on overall health. We begin to understand that foods not only provide our bodies with various nutrients, vitamins and minerals, but that they can directly impact various processes in the body. Curcumin is just one of many in this category, but appears to be one of the most heavily researched.
So, the question comes as to why Curcumin is not more readily used and recommended, especially in the cancer world? I don't have the answer for this and often, it really frustrates me as I see and read the research that is available. I see the potential to help people and animals, but yet, the research is just tossed aside as if they are hoping for something better. It is my understanding that they (the pharmaceutical industry) have attempted to synthetically copy and enhance Curcumin's activity, but have failed to produce the same level of results that the simple herb yields. There has always been a question regarding Curcumin's absorption and bioavailability, which deters some individuals, but in my eyes with over 7 years worth of clinical experience, this is not a problem. In our equine patients, we have demonstrated very low blood levels of Curcumin, even just 2 hours post ingestion, but somehow, we still have clinical benefits with reduction of inflammatory proteins in the arthritic joints. So, what is going on? I don't know but I have my opinions.
Despite all of this, I am strongly in favor of bringing this knowledge to the public and to those individuals seeking treatment options. We should know about this information as it benefits all of us on one level or another. There are no side effects in any published studies, nor have we encountered any in our patient use. There appears to only be benefits.
We, as the medical and veterinary community, are quick to accept pharmaceuticals that have only been through quick research phases or limited testing as we tend to trust the sources too much. It seems that many of these trusted medications only end up biting us in the rear end a few years down the road due to side effects in our patients. So, if we can accept this information, often blindly, and use it in our patients, then why do we have such as hard time accepting more natural therapies that demonstrate marked potential but no side effects?
Everyone is going to have a reason for this ranging from proven efficacy to lack of substantiated research or concerns over possible side effects. There is always going to be a reason, but the fact is that last time I checked, we became medical professionals to serve the welfare of our patients, which to me includes all options with informed consent. Nutrition and diet includes herbs as they are foods. We shouldn't fear them, but begin to understand the impact that the correct nutritional plane can have on the body in its ability to recover. After all, the body is a machine and requires nutrients to keep it functioning. It just seems to be blind ignorance, in my opinion, to ignore this fact.
Just my opinion.
Tom Schell, D.V.M.
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