In a world where cancer treatment is as barbaric as it is necessary, it’s the dream of many to find more benign substances as capable of killing cancer cells as are current chemotherapies. With that hope in mind people have put their faith in apricot pits, almonds, and peaches as potential cancer stoppers. The good news is scientists agree, some natural compounds indeed can treat faulty cancerous cells. The better news is that at least one of these compounds can actually kill cancer cells, and even better news than that more than likely this substance already is sitting on your spice rack.

Researchers from the Cork Cancer Research Centre have found that curcumin, an extract from the common curry spice turmeric, can kill stomach cancer cells. In the laboratory curcumin triggered “lethal cell death signals” which then caused cancer cells to begin to digest themselves – within 24 hours of contact.

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) should not be confused with cumin, another popular curry spice which apparently is altogether different from curcumin (though cumin, a member of the parsley family, has itself been shown to be a significant antioxidant). For centuries practitioners of Asian folk medicine have used curcumin-containing Turmeric to treat ailments from diarrhea, fever, and bronchitis to colds and leprosy. Curcumin has long been thought to play a particularly significant role in the prevention of dementia, especially Alzheimers Disease. In India where foods are full of turmeric, only 1% of people over age 65 are diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease – the disease’s lowest rate of incidence in the entire world.

Curcumin’s lethal effect on stomach cancer cells is not the only cancer research to be done on the substance. Other investigators have found curcumin can also reduce the formation and growth of breast and colon cancer cells. The turmeric powder we have in our kitchens is precisely the form found to work best in fighting pathogens. It also will turn your meal a festive yellow color.

But the good news doesn’t stop there. After your vegetable curry you better leave room for dessert because researchers in New Zealand are creating an ice cream capable of alleviating chemotherapy side effects such as diarrhea, lack of appetite, and anemia. This “medical dessert,” aptly named ReCharge, is a dairy based product developed from two bioactive milk components which apparently help the body battle chemotherapy side effects. Strawberry flavored trials are currently being conducted. When – and if – ReCharge comes to market hopefully it will also be in chocolate and vanilla. You’ll need a prescription to get a scoop.