The Mahdi Times The Mahdi Times, Issue #28, March 2015 | Page 35

were able to take 3.6 grams
of curcumin without noting
ill effects. At this high
dose, some curcumin and
its products were found in
the blood. Lower doses
may be enough to directly
affect the stomach and
intestine. Even though it
does not absorb well into
the bloodstream, curcumin
absorbs into the colon
lining and into cancerous
tissues in the colon. Small
studies have found most
people in study groups
were able to take up to 10
grams of curcumin per day
for a period of a few weeks
without noticing problems
other than the large
volume of pills. There are
also studies going on now
that try different ways to
formulate curcumin so that
it absorbs well enough to
be tested in humans.
A 2011 study took
advantage of the fact that
curcumin stays in the
intestine rather than
absorbing into the blood.
Researchers tested it to
find out if it could reduce
the number of cancer
precursors in the colon and

rectum. They measured
compounds that help
promote cancer in rats, did
colonoscopies to count
abnormal crypt foci (a very
early sign that colon cancer
may be developing) in
biopsy samples, then gave
2 to 4 grams of curcumin a
day to 44 smokers. After a
month on the curcumin,
the researchers did second
colonoscopies and biopsies
to see if there was a lower
concentration of procarcinogenic substances in
the colon and rectum. The
compounds were at the
same level as they were
before the study. But the
smokers who took 4 grams
of curcumin a day had
fewer abnormal crypt foci
after the study, while the
smokers who took 2 grams
a day had the same number
as before. Researchers are
still looking at whether
curcumin might actually
reduce the number of colon
and rectum cancers.
Further clinical trials are
going on to find out what
role, if any, turmeric and
curcumin may play in the